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.        

     

      










          

Less is More: Why Musicians (Rappers) MAY Put Less Songs On Albums/Mixtapes (My Theory)

In a hip hop world where mix tapes seem to run the mill of the music nowadays, from a rapper's perspective, this is the last thing they could ask for. As an artist surviving solely on the sales of your music, I ask what is the point of releasing free music?  Well, as fans lets try to figure this out. Do we really even appreciate music how we're supposed to anymore?

Being the unique style of music that hip hop is, generally speaking, its hard to find another genre that puts out as much free music on a regular basis. Somehow mix tapes have found a way to not only be the rise of artists, but also the fall of them at the same time. However you may see it, or better yet, how the artists may see it, certainly changes the strategy of being a successful artist. My mindset on being a rapper, with multiple views of course, follows: "watch out for the mix tape coming soon, with the album coming at the end of the year." This strategy, if you notice the marketing, can definitely help. Giving your fans a sample or a gift for being patient and waiting, or just being nice and saying thank you are reasonable explanations for this strategy. Building hype for yourself is not a bad thing to do, unless of course, your expectations aren't met. But whose expectations?  The fans of course!

The second strategy is much more simple, less work involved and usually is the strategy used by the biggest artists in the game, or the ones who have nothing to prove to you, if you needed to be blunt about it. Nonetheless, still an effective strategy if you've proven yourself, an example of a statement here: "look out for the album coming at the end of the year." That's all it is. Simple, effective, a very easy way to make your fans mad of course, but if it's worth the wait, it's worth the wait. Only the biggest superstars can resort to this strategy successfully. The likes of Eminem, Lil Wayne, Drake, Kanye, Jay-Z and Nas are really the only immediate rappers that come to mind when you think of  rappers having no reason to release a mix tape. In a sense, they have nothing to prove, and putting out free music can only hurt their reputation as an artist, or what they stand for.

I mention artists who do and do not do mix tapes because they are almost two completely different types of artists. The ones who sell records don't normally touch the free music idea, and the ones who do mix tapes normally either just do them for fun, or build up excitement around an important project. With albums it's always been known as a completely different story, every artist has their own approach to recording and song selection. An album will most likely have a theme or a story backing it up, while a mix tape will just be a collection of random songs recorded with no specific goal or theme. But, as things stand today, many people view no single song worth being paid for when you can download any album, let alone any song you want from an album.


So why is it music listeners today are so picky?  I believe it is because we have the choice to be. We very easily and almost unnoticeably take our favorite artists' music for granted, and get bored much quicker and easier than we should. The attention span of today's class of fans is much smaller because of the easy access to any and all music. With downloading, although it seems harmless to the average fan, it can hurt an artist heavily. Money is made when they sell their music; albums, singles, no matter what it may be, hard copy or digital. Our getting free music is a blessing to us, yes, but does not define being a true music fan. Buying an album you get a story, with real artists you're buying a piece of their life or how they felt at a time, you're buying someone's feelings that lie inside their head. You're buying someone's ideas, someone's pain brought into light. Does this sound like something you'd give away for free?  We'll end this discussion with Eminem venting his frustrations with these people.

     



(*Disclaimer: I do not own this video, nor do I own the rights to it*)