Bringing You Up To Speed: Wiz Khalifa

If you don’t recognize the man in the screen shot, you soon will.  Wiz Khalifa spent his 2009 hard on the grind, parting ways with Warner Bros. and eventually achieving greater buzz than he ever had while on the label.

His hustle, coupled with Rostrum Records‘ impressive grassroots campaign, has given Wiz quite possibly the strongest buzz out of all the “new” artists in the game.

Not being included in the infamous XXL 2009 Freshman Class list greatly fueled Wiz’s 2009 hustle, which saw him drop a number of impressive releases.

When next month’s issue of XXL Magazine drops, Wiz’s face will no longer be in the shadows.  His once hard-to-pronounce name is becoming more common place in hip hop discussions.

Here’s the 22-year-old emcee’s XXL Magazine freestyle, released last week:

That quick freestyle did a good job of showcasing Wiz Khalifa’s style, as most of his laid back rhymes involve getting high.

On November 24th, before being chosen by XXL, Wiz impressed the hip hop community with the successful independent release of his Deal or No Deal album.  The video for the album’s “This Plane” dropped last week, and shows Wiz chilling on a clear runway.  It’s no secret that planes and jets are affiliated with the emcee and his good friend, Curren$y.

Wiz Khalifa – “This Plane.”

“Left that major situation alone and became richer.” — Wiz Khalifa

There’s not too many artists who can live up to that quote, but since we’re seeing a new age in how music is consumed, the future looks bright for independent artists.

Wiz’s most recent track, “Cabin Fever,” was leaked unexpectedly and is set to be the title track off of the upcoming mixtape.

Wiz Khalifa – “Cabin Fever.”

Fans of Wiz Khalifa already know he has an impressive ear for beats, and this track proves to be nothing out of the ordinary with it’s chilling piano keys and heavy bass.

Wiz speaks to the hating rappers with:

“You show up to concerts looking like a fan,
I pull up in car service looking like the man,
Hella refer smoke, a lot of pictures being taken,
My bitch from Atlanta, my weed is Jamacian,
I don’t talk much too many niggas hatin.”

Speaking of “car service,” I often find myself playing this video of Wiz and Curren$y live in concert, performing their hit of the same name.

Curren$y was recently tweeting with Wiz about “Car Service,” and how it deserves radio play.  I can’t say I disagree.

If you haven’t seen Wiz live, you’re in luck as he just started touring with Jasmine Solano and U-God from Wu-Tang.  Also, the Alabama emcee, Yelawolf, will be jumping onto the second leg of the tour, if you’re lucky enough to catch one of the later dates!

In the meantime, keep an eye out for the Kush x Orange Juice mixtape, set to drop very soon.