![\"Issue35-wiz-khalifa\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Issue35-wiz-khalifa.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nAmong the artists originally slated to guest on Wiz Khalifa\u2019s fifth album, Blacc Hollywood<\/i>, was Miley Cyrus. The controversial pop star\u2019s presence probably wouldn\u2019t have hurt sales, but if Wiz is bummed or angry about her track getting cut, he doesn\u2019t show it. This will surprise no one acquainted with the rapper\u2019s work. Born in North Dakota, raised in Pittsburgh, and now based in L.A., Khalifa is the most laid-back MC since Snoop Dogg\u2014his co-star in the 2012 stoner comedy Mac and Devin Go to High School<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Khalifa would have been happy to have Miley on the record, but he\u2019s certain it\u2019ll smoke anyway. The same goes for him\u2014literally. \u201cDamn, I\u2019m smoking weed in my Mercedes,\u201d Wiz raps on \u201cWe Dem Boyz,\u201d the disc\u2019s lead single. \u201cThat\u2019s just a great song, which every artist needs to start it out,\u201d says Khalifa. \u201cThe album is basically the story of my life. It\u2019s everything I\u2019m into in song form.\u201d<\/p>\n
Produced by Noel \u201cDetail\u201d Fisher, \u201cWe Dem Boyz\u201d is a pulsating synth-powered banger about sex, money and, of course, marijuana, the subject of countless Wiz jams. The music is tense, but with this 26-year-old on the mic, there\u2019s absolutely nothing to be nervous about. As for the rest of the album, Wiz says he and his team of producers explore a wide range of beats and styles. You can do that when you\u2019ve got one of the most effortlessly elastic flows in the rap game. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely varied on the record,\u201d Khalifa says. \u201cYou listen to my music, I can do a West Coast beat. I can do an electronic beat. Blacc Hollywood<\/i> is a mixture of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to Detail, production duties fell to a relatively small group of studio aces: pop kingpin Dr. Luke (Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson), hip-hop hit-maker Jim Jonsin (Lil Wayne, Pitbull), and I.D. Labs\u2014the Pittsburgh duo Wiz has been working with since Rolling Papers<\/i>, his 2011 major-league debut. \u201cThat was really important,\u201d Khalifa says of re-enlisting I.D. Labs. \u201cJust keeping the sound consistent and building on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same goes for guest rappers. He\u2019s got Ty Dolla Sign, Juicy J and a few others, but mostly it\u2019s him and his Taylor Gang posse busting the kinds of lackadaisical good-time rhymes on which they\u2019ve built their reps. While some rappers strive to seem as hard as possible, Wiz is fine with being known for party-rap anthems.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m completely comfortable with that,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t listen to music to get aggressive or mad. Music is an escape for me, so when I\u2019m making my music, I want people to escape and feel good about life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013Kenneth Partridge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WIZ KHALIFA The laid-back rapper lets the good times roll on another smoking party set Among the artists originally slated to guest on Wiz Khalifa\u2019s fifth album, Blacc Hollywood, was Miley Cyrus. The controversial pop star\u2019s presence probably wouldn\u2019t have hurt sales, but if Wiz is bummed or angry about her track getting cut, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[7652,7646],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14580"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14580"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14582,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14580\/revisions\/14582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}