Wiz Khalifa's "Khalifa" Album Review

It's crazy to think about 28 year old Wiz Khalifa being a veteran in rap; but with almost 20 different projects put out (hard to distinguish the difference between albums and mix tapes, though most would say he has 4 albums), there's no debating that Wiz Khalifa is a veteran in this here rap thing. He's experimented with his sound since 2006, being once known as the Prince Of The City, "Trap Wiz" on his 2014 mix tape 28 Grams, and asking How Fly is he really with frequent collaborator Curren$y, but this time it seemed Wiz wanted to combine all of his different styles and personas into one while staying true to the backpacking Wiz that became so huge in the late 2000s. So did Wiz give his fans what they wanted with Khalifa?



It's not hard to tell that the big single from this project was the hyped up Travi$ Scott feature "Bake Sale", and the fun and wavy vibe that this jam gives off is easy to find throughout Khalifa. "Cowboy" is an interesting twist on the typical Wiz song given it's decent storytelling vibe, but is also able to keep the party vibe going, while "Celebrate" brings Wiz back to his comfort zone with some clean shit talkin' over a smooth beat and a nice Rico Love feature.

Old Wiz was making a few worthy appearances on Khalifa as well, this is most evident from the almost inspirational banger "Elevated." The hook on "Elevated" creates the signature Wiz vibe with some spiritual background vocals that Wiz mastered back in his mix tape days, and he gives the same classic Wiz vibe with "City View" featuring singer Courtney Noelle. Seeing a Courtney Noelle feature for Wiz fans is certainly a nostalgia trip, reminiscent of "Bank Roll" off of Wiz's Star Power mix tape.


                (*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)

The features on Khalifa are none too showy; Wiz stuck to the Taylor Gang and that is no surprise. Every feature fits where it belongs, and each person plays their part perfectly. Courtney Noelle's singing made "City View", while Rico Love, J.R. Donato, Chevy Woods and Juicy J all added a vibe that only they could to each of their features. You can feel Wiz and Chevy Woods' chemistry for making bangers on "No Permission", Wiz's son Sebastian adds an almost tear jerking ending to "Zoney", and Juicy J stays doing Juicy J things on "iSay" (a weird beat to hear Juicy over, but an awesome song, nonetheless).        

Wiz came out to show and prove with Khalifa, it seems. The title is fitting, because this album is Wiz to the core. The feel good vibes live throughout almost every song on Khalifa, and it seems Wiz brought meaning back to not only what he was saying, but the overall sound in his music. Wiz is never going to be the most lyrical, but when it comes to creating a certain vibe in his songs, whether it be to turn up to, to chill to, or to even hear some real shit, Wiz creates the vibe with his genius way of song making. Khalifa is a veteran's way of staying true, and staying fun at the same time.        

     

      










          

5 Awesome Wiz Khalifa DayToday Vlogs

The rapper lifestyle is literally always a luxurious one. Like, it's pretty unfair actually. Why can't I live like that?  Anyways, sometimes your favorite rappers give you awesome day to day (DayToday) and behind the scenes looks at what it's like to live that rapper lifestyle. It's been said that the lifestyle itself is addicting, but I'll tell you what's even more addicting than the lifestyle itself; is sitting back and watching someone live that lifestyle. Wiz Khalifa has been doing his DayToday's web series since back in his mix tape days (I believe the first season was around 2009/2010), and has kept the now very popular series going up to this year. I'm not the Wiz Khalifa fan I once was (not just because I don't smoke pot anymore), but every now and then, I can admittedly find myself gawking at the rich and famous lifestyle Wiz flaunts in his DayToday web series, even now. So I decided to chronicle 5 of Wiz's most entertaining DayToday videos below.

Season 3 Episode 5

Season 3 is a goldmine of the alleged rapper lifestyle and how it is lived, and who better to show you how it's lived than Wiz Khalifa?  In this episode a few well known radio DJs make some celebrity appearances, like DJ Drama, DJ Clue and DJ Envy, and Wiz even gives a decent little freestyle on Funk Flex's show.

Season 3 Episode 6

Episode 6 of season 3 is definitely my favorite episode of any DayToday ever made, and if you watch it you'll see why. This episode features classic Wiz doing Wiz things, smoking doobies, rapping classic Snoop songs and partying on the "Puff Bus". Tour life is said to be grueling by other rappers/artists who go through it, but Wiz makes it look like the best lifestyle anybody could live in this classic episode.

Season 3 Episode 8

    
Season 3 episode 8 of Wiz's DayToday series is part 2 of a 3 part mini series that includes Wiz coming home to Pittsburgh, and it begins with Wiz's discussion of his set list he's going to play coming home to the Taylors, and also shows him going through a rather hilarious sound check before the concert. The ending is the best part however, as it ends with an appearance from the legendary Three 6 Mafia member Juicy J.

Season 3 Episode 9

   
The conclusion of the mini 3 part series in season 3 (and also the season 3 finale) starts with Wiz accepting a plaque commemorating his sold out 2011 62 show Waken Baken tour, then continuing to party with the gang and Juicy J for the remainder of the episode. It was only right that Wiz ended the tour in Pittsburgh, and they also got some great footage of Wiz's electric homecoming performance to round out the end of the tour. The rest of the episode shows Wiz partying with Juicy and the gang, and even shows an appearance from then up and coming Pittsburgh emcee Mac Miller. It's funny how time flies isn't it?

Season 4 Episode 2

                                         (*I do not own these videos, or the rights to them*)

I included a lot of season 3 in the post (because it is pretty much the golden age of Wiz Khalifa's DayToday's), but I figured I'd branch out a little for the last video. In the beginning of season 4 episode 2, Wiz is seen hanging out with the squad doing the usual lighting up a bowl, but the episode gets more exciting later on when Wiz performs at MTV Spring Break, and even later on as Drake makes an appearance and kicks it with Wiz, Juicy J, and the rest of the Taylor Gang. You can tell how particular Drake is about his career when everyone around him is drinking and smoking, and he remains sober and doesn't touch a joint or a drink (I guess he's Drake-ing).

Those are just 5 episodes of hundreds of available videos you can find and watch of Wiz Khalifa's DayToday's on YouTube. There are a lot of vlogs online that flourish in the internet age (seemingly anybody who can record a video and upload it to YouTube can be successful, but it's not always good) but these sorts of videos can open up thoughts about an entirely different world to those not familiar with it, and who knows, they can even inspire people to be successful, so they can live this sort of lifestyle themselves. Wiz may just be a chain smoking partyer who raps, but to others, he's an inspiration towards a glamorous lifestyle.       
    


















 

Juicy J Blue Dream And Lean 2 Review (also Announces New Album)

I been workin hard!  Every day!  To give the people the posts they deserve (sorry I'm a tad loopy after listening to this Juicy tape)!  Juicy has been working very hard as of late with the release of his newest mix tape Blue Dream & Lean 2, and now the Three 6 Mafia OG has plans for a new album to be released this July!  But Juicy's album is not the focal point right now, because right now I want to talk about his latest mix tape release Blue Dream & Lean 2.

Juicy starts out the tape on a very high (no pun intended) note with "Stoners Night."  If you drink a lot and enjoy blazing some of that green that Wiz Khalifa (whom is sampled on the hook) and Juicy J himself are so fond of, then "Stoners Night" is probably a stand out track on this tape to you. It's low, down, dirty, and it's bass heavy. You get similar feels from tracks like "Smoked Out Dabbed Out" and the Wiz Khalifa assisted "Whole Thang".

  
Juicy keeps the party vibes going as usual all throughout Blue Dream And Lean 2, but also changes up the party sound a bit and substitutes it with a bit of venting on "I'm Sicka". This Mike Will Made It produced track details Juicy expressing his hate towards dudes that pretend to be ballers and pretend to be rich (even has a line in the hook that sounds like it could ultimately be aimed at label-mate Wiz Khalifa; "pussy buying ass nigga, lying ass nigga, you married a hoe and you a side nigga." It's very unlikely that this line was aimed at Wiz, but listening to the line you certainly would think it was when you put 2 and 2 together.

Juicy vents a bit more on "Throw Dem Racks", a track where Juicy basically tries to prove the point that men and women are all alike in the fact that the money changes them, and the hook is no silent jab; "throw them racks, watch how they react, watch them break their back, throw that ass back, they act a fool for them damn racks."  "Already" is another slick turn up track featuring the currently hot Rae Sremmurd that has laser like vibes when the melody first hits and of course features some hard hitting drums that would knock in the car.

One of the stand out tracks on the tape (though not because of the track itself) is "Don't Trust", the reason being that Juicy announces his next solo LP in the intro of the track, THC: The Hustle Continues. He goes on to say that the album drops in July, but he could get really high and drop it sooner?  This, ladies and gentlemen, is the beauty of free music (and apparently weed, thank you Blue Dream strand). A new Juicy J album is indeed in the works and is apparently coming out in July or sooner!

Juicy is continuing his reign of southern party music with his newest release, and is showing no signs of letting up any time soon. Is there anything better than an old rap OG not only STILL putting out music, but STILL having the ability to put out dope music as well?  You almost have to think Juicy's music would be nothing short of dope considering how much dope he has been smoking (I personally can't tell if it's Wiz's influence on him or if Juicy is still partying hard, though it's probably a mix of both). This tape is simply a warm up for Juicy's newest release THC: The Hustle Continues, set to drop in July and will be no shortage of dopeness for sure.

        





 

Big K.R.I.T's See Me On Top 4 Review

Big K.R.I.T's new album campaign is officially kicking off, and what better way to excite your fans than to put out a mix tape before hand to build the anticipation?  THERE IS NONE. If that was your answer then good for you. Want a cookie?  Well too bad, I'd like one too, but we all got quite the treat when this wonderful mix of Krizzle dropped in the early afternoon yesterday. Yes ladies and gents K.R.I.T is back at it again, and thankfully enough it seems not a thing has changed for the incredibly underrated Mississippi-bred rapper.

I mean really though, I'd like to take a second and say if you're sleeping on K.R.I.T, then shame on you. BAD!  You should know better than that!  Anyways, back to this body of work. K.R.I.T has always been one to show his roots through his music, and See Me On Top 4 is no different. His southern brand of trunk banging, drum thumping music is always very pleasing to the ear for whoever takes the time to listen, and the bangers have "no chill" (as the kids say nowadays) on this project. Songs like "Ridin Dirty", "Ridin Low", and "Shook Up" bring that brand of heavy, strictlyforyocaddys type of bangers that K.R.I.T knows so, so well and really makes better than anyone else in the game right now.

But if you know K.R.I.T, you know that he certainly isn't one dimensional. He shows his range on songs for the ladies like "Mind F*ck", a cleverly-titled slow jam where K.R.I.T simply wants one thing that he establishes on the hook; "let me f@#! your brains out." He also addresses other topics, like the "broke" life and the struggle on the almost inspiring jam "Never Going Back". The talks of hustling and the struggling life in the streets take over this song and he establishes very clearly that he's "NEVER GOING BACK" on the hook of this one. I must say when I heard this I thought to myself "LETS DO IT KRIT!" The struggle is different for everybody, and I might not have grown up in the streets, but we all have our struggles no matter what our background, so don't judge me!

K.R.I.T's hustle never slows down as you know, and he shows that his producing ways haven't slowed down either having produced 13 of the 22 tracks on the tape. He even shows a little bit of "stepping outside of the comfort zone" on a freestyle on Lil Wayne's "Believe Me" instrumental. The rest of the production on the tape was handled by Jim Jonsin, Slade Da Monsta, WLPWR, Scott Storch, and more.

So this definitely turned out to be a pretty nice surprise for fans altogether. It's pretty safe to say that K.R.I.T practically never disappoints. I mean really, NEVER disappoints. The only thing I can honestly say I had to complain about on this tape was the tags and the talking over every record, but that comes with practically every mix tape. It was really sweet, and almost a blast from the past to seemingly hear this entire tape flow from song to song, almost as if the entire tape was 1 song in itself (Nate Dogg anyone?). The features on this project weren't too shabby, but we didn't see many of them. It's hard to say whether or not you expect that from K.R.I.T, although I'd like to say I enjoy solo K.R.I.T a bit more anyways. K.R.I.T handled a huge portion of the production on this one as usual, but switched up the pace a little bit by adding some help this time around. Is this a sign that his album will include more outside production?  I guess we'll find out when Cadillactica drops in November. Check out a stand out cut from the tape, "Drinkers Club" featuring Juicy J, Rittz and ASAP Ferg below.

               
                                 (*I do not own this song, or the rights to it or any of these artists)