Benz and a Backpack

Wiz Khalifa has been blowing up in the mixtape game, especially as of late, the only problem is… he knows it. “I’m killing these blogs,” he says in one of his most recent mixtapes - a true statement, I mean the evidence is right here in this post, blog killed indeed. He has, in his arsenal, and to his credit, a hundred very playable tracks dating back to his first tape, Prince of the City (he hails from Pittsburgh), most of which he straight kills. And as demand for the artist has increased (hundreds of thousands of downloads for all of his tapes combined) his quality hasn’t really followed suit. But I still fucks with him.

Now I’ve been with Wiz from the beginning, four and five starring his tracks in my library and bumping them through the night, spreading word on this up and comer, and even using some of his lyrics to resemble my own life (youngin on his grind!) and in no way and I writing him off, I just hope he’s not getting complacent with his position in the game right now, a game, some say, he could help change. If you want to know what I mean, check out this progression of tracks, from early in his career (only a few years ago) to later (only a few days ago).

This first, “Self-Titled” is from his first tape, Prince of the City, Welcome to Pistolvania, which you NEED to cop right now. Even if you can’t hear and feel his young hunger in it, you should definitely hear the fresh rhyme scheme: “I aint never nice/ line up up fuck em twice/ lie em down middle finger up screamin fuck your life…” He changes flow on it constantly over a not-too-easy beat. Grade A Wiz.

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This track, from Prince of the City 2, is called “Who I Am,” and it just has nice vibes and really shows how Wiz can slow it down and still keep it fresh.

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“If you want that real shit, then fuck with Wiz nigga.” This track was, truly, a youngin on his grind, hustlin and trying to make rhymes.

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For me, his mixtape “Flight School,” exemplified a turning point in his career. The title, “Flight School,” is meant to be taken as the jump off from underground and into a larger part of the hip hop community. With this tape, he truly did that. The usuage of the autotune, though widely hated on, was definitely working for him on this tape, and though some of the tracks felt a bit popcorny, it seemed as though he was ready to hit the stream, the mainstream that is, and get the success he’d been working towards.

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His mixtape with Curren$y, “How Fly,” which came out no more than a few weeks ago over much speculation and some snags that pushed the date back (it sounds like an album doesn’t it? who knew mixtaping was so complex) definitely showed he could collaborate with another respectable artist, but Wiz didn’t seem at the forefront of it, being a bit overshadowed by Curren$y on most of the tracks. The tracks were solid, definitely, but not as worthy of the type of play some of his other tracks get. A real vocalist on the hook would help both of these guys.

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But it was Star Power, which, having just dropped a few days ago, (though recorded much earlier) provided inspiration for this article.  First of all, I don’t know how much money is in the mixtape game right now (or was then), but judging from the fact that downloads are more or less free, and the host website can only pay the artist so much money, I’m gonna go ahead and say Wiz is not whippin in a Maserati right now… nonetheless there are mentions throughout of “good friends, rolexes and benzes.”  Maybe he’s just a hustler. And that “pop” thing, the idea that you can put a dope beat and a catchy hook on a track and think it’s good is in full effect on the tape. The tape is older, however, and represents a much younger, unfurnished Wiz Khalifa. He’s definitely come a long way, but even back then, his talent is evident. Here’s a bad one and a good one… you tell me which is which.

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So the kid Wiz has talent, no doubt, the evidence is everywhere, even on his lesser works, but it is possible that he’s hitting a slump before even putting out an album. Perhaps it is just to get the hype up, to hit all audiences and spread the word about this relatively young artist with a very promising future, this he has certainly done. Free downloads don’t mean everything, but the word is spreading, and maybe when its out all the way then he’ll do something great. So I’m spreading the word, I just have one word of advice for him: Stop fucking around and put out an album, I will buy it! And that, right now, I can’t say for very many artists.

seanermc

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