Interview: Wiz Khalifa (10/21/09)

Wiz Khalifa was the star of last night’s South Paw CMJ event, performing for a crowd who mostly came just to see him.  This was evidenced by the crowd thinning out immediately after his performance.

Also, similar to the last time we interviewed Wiz, there was both Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania attire sprinkled throughout the crowd.  People were excited to see the home town hero!

Witnessing Wiz perform hits from his seemingly endless mixtape catalog, to a crowd that knew every word, was an experience!

Wiz Khalifa took a break from the CMJ festivities to discuss his new projects with HipHopAtLunch.com, as well as share some advice on getting tattoos!

That’s crazy to hear “The Thrill” was inspired by a conversation Wiz had with college kids in Kansas.  Burn After Rollin is gonna drop any day now, and after hearing that “Empire Of The Sun” remix, I can’t wait to get into the mixtape.  Wiz has definitly turned his hustle on in 2009, and if you’re a fan hit his Twitter:@RealWizKhalifa.  He uses social media well, capitalizing on the opportunity to communicate with fans!

The 22 year old emcee has stage presence beyond his years, yet allows his young age to come through in his goofy personality.  Check out Wiz Khalifa as he starts off the show with “Air Born,” his remake of Camp Lo’s Luchini (This Is It).

That is one sick remix to a classic record, and as Wiz says on the track, he’s definitely been on the road “choppin and killin them interviews!”

The major surprise guest of the night was Curren$y, who came out to perform “Car Service” off of the duo’s How Fly mixtape.

That performance was crazy, and as you can tell from his facial expressions, Curren$y has a similar personality to Wiz.  Anyone who follows Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y on Twitter, knows that these guys have a lot of similar interests and probably enjoyed that dual performance more than we did!

Before we left the interview, he explained the origin of his stage name.  Check out why they call the dude Wiz Khalifa.

It’s true that Wiz Khalifa may not be the easiest name to learn on the first try, but like Wiz said, once you say it, chances are you wont forget!

A great example of Wiz Khalifa’s hilarious on stage personality and energy filled performance is “Boarding Pass.”

Like Wiz said in the interview, he’s going to be goofy on stage and make funny faces while dancing around. If you don’t like it, leave the show!  That being said, I think his funny faces and dance moves are the crowd’s favorite part.

Check out the crowd going nuts, especially the female crowd, for fan favorite, “Ink My Whole Body.”

As Wiz said in the interview, he has been getting tattoos done since the age of 16 and is well on his way to “inkin’ his whole body!”

I recommend going to a Wiz Khalifa concert if he is ever in your general area, as it’s an experience rarely found in live shows.  Wiz puts everything into his performances for a crowd that can’t get enough.

Big shout out to Jasmine Solano, Stalley, Vinyl Richie, Artie, DJ Jayceeoh, Saint, Mickie Factz, Crosby, Circa95, HipTicsCom, and everyone who came through to show, love!

Deal or No Deal drops on November 24th, but in the meantime check out the snippets of each track on Amazon.com.  For more information on Wiz Khalifa, check out our feature article!