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When it comes to music, Wiz Khalifa takes his time
By John Benson
There’s a sense of urgency — almost desperation — that has inherently imbued hip-hop music. The lifespan of rappers is seemingly only as long as the date their next single drops.
However, there are a few artists that have belied this anxious image while at the same time established longevity in hip-hop (mind you, longevity and hip-hop until recently rarely appeared together in the same sentence).
There’s Jay-Z, Kanye and now it seems appropriate to put Pittsburgh’s own Wiz Khalifa into the same category. The latter is set to release his new album “Blacc Hollywood,” which is the follow-up to his 2012 effort “O.N.I.F.C.,” later this month. While some artists would never wait two years between albums, Khalifa isn’t worried.
“It takes time,” said Khalifa, calling from Hollywood. “People just want music, but as far as the album goes, that’s part of the pressure. I think artists feel too much like they have to drop an album here, they have to drop an album there. I drop an album when I feel like it.
“It’s going to be filled with what’s in my mind, and what I want to put out there to people. There’s definitely a strategy with singles and videos. But the creation process all the way up to the artist, it doesn’t really matter about time.”
If there’s one common denominator over the past decade it’s been the steady rise of Khalifa. Right out of high school, the young MC’s debut mixtape, “Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania” turned heads leading to his full-length debut, “Show and Prove,” which garnered national attention.
What followed was one critically acclaimed and highly influential mixtape and album after another. The mixtapes include “Grow Season,” “Prince of The City 2,” “Flight School,” “How Fly” and “Burn After Rolling.” The albums are “Deal Or No Deal,” “Rolling Papers” and the aforementioned “O.N.I.F.C.”
During this time his star began to rise higher with more than one million friends on Facebook, more than 500,000 fans following him on Twitter and his 2012 single “Black & Yellow” getting 3 million views on YouTube.
Khalifa has remained in the spotlight of late. His latest mixtape “28 Grams” dropped in May, while there’s a feeling as though “Blacc Hollywood” (featuring guest appearances by Juicy J, Snoop Dogg, ScHoolboy Q, Nas, Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj) could launch the 26-year-old into a higher orbit that already finds him branching out into fashion.
He recently collaborated with Parisian brand Eleven Paris and has his own Wiz Khalifa Collection with Converse. Now Khalifa is turning his attention to this incredibly successful “Under the Influence of Music” tour, which is currently in its third incarnation and comes to our area for shows Friday at First Niagara Pavilion and Aug. 8 at Blossom Music Center. The high-profile bill includes Jeezy, Tyga, Ty Dolla $ign and Rich Homie Quan.
“I always like going on tour,” Khalifa said. “The experience is fun for not only me but for the fans. They get to see what’s in our minds while we’re making the songs. It’s better than just an interpretation from the studio.
“It’s becoming more and more exciting with this being our third year of ‘Under the Influence of Music.’ There are so many things added to it, and it’s not just a tour. It’s like a lifestyle thing where people are going to grow with me for years to come.”
That said, does Khalifa ever think about longevity?
“No, I don’t worry about longevity,” Khalifa said. “I think you make your own longevity based on the work that you put in and the ideas and the creativity that you always put forward. It’s most important to stay influenced as an artist and coming up with new things.”