knottwire.com FEATURE: Word to the Wiz...
knottwire.com interviews hip-hop artist Wiz Khalifa

 
 
They say hip-hop is a young man's game:
 
 The word "young" often implies a lack of wisdom, but any MC will tell you hip-hop is not a game. Although at age 19, Wiz Khalifa fits the description of a young man, he proves that wisdom cannot be measured merely by years on Earth.
 
This Pittsburgh native has been constructing lyrics since he was 9 years old.
 
"I took it [seriously] when I first started writing. People just started telling me I was good. My parents kept me involved with a lot of things when I was younger, but the music is what I really stuck to."
 
And stuck to it he did. Today, Wiz hits the studio with a work ethic that makes you think he has been here before.
 
"By the time I was about 15, I met DJ Huggie and E Dan. They are the owners of ID Labs, which is a big studio here in Pittsburgh. They just really recognized my talent. I could really write songs and record them fast. They noticed I had a formula to recording, so they started letting me get free studio time and beats." With endless beats and studio time at his disposal, Wiz unleashed a slew of mix-tapes on the streets of the Steel City.
 
Despite such mix-tape success in a city not known for it's hip-hop market, Wiz explains his reason for staying: "I think everybody, at a point, has to leave home, to establish themselves in other places. For me, because there was nobody from Pittsburgh, my whole grind was to stay here and gain the fan-base and love of my people. I figured they would support it so much harder because of the music, who I am and how I represent the city. What made it special and unique is that my city jumped on my back and supported me so much. I get a lot of hometown love."
 
That love piqued the interest of Warner Brothers A&R Tick.
 
Wiz recalls, "Tick [saw] me pop up in a couple of publications (Rolling Stone and XXL) and was aware of my music. He came out to Pittsburgh to see some of my shows and met with Benji. Benji is the owner of Rastrom Records, the independent label I'm signed to. He was focused on trying to make me a big name. He took my project and stuff that I was doing back to Warner. They loved it. The whole building jumped behind me."
 
From there, Wiz released the single "Say Yeah!," where he invites us to experience the ego rush of frivolous spending over samples of Alice Deejay's Better Off Alone. "I wasn't really trying to do anything on “Say Yeah.” I knew it was going to be a hit, so I went in with the hit mind-state. As far as (all) my music goes, it comes natural. If I make an underground song, that's how I feel that day. If I make a cross-over hit potential song, that's how I'm feeling that day. I feel like I'm a real versatile and diverse artist. All types of music come out of me at all points. I really don't have to sit down and make myself create a “Say Yeah” type of song."
 
When asked If his new deal came with added pressure to create more "Say Yeah" kinds of songs and work with different producers, Wiz responded, "I've experienced that, but my whole goal isn't to jump in the studio with the hottest producers and pay the biggest amount of money and try to get a hit. I want to vibe with a bunch of people and build real relationships with these cats so we can make real good music. Warner gives me a lot of freedom to do what I want to do with the producers that I've been working with. Warner really feels that formula as well. They are comfortable with the music that we are making."
 
Wiz is currently on the DUBB tour with Lil Webbie, Shorty Lo, 2 Pistols and Willie Northpole, and is also preparing for the release of a new mix-tape. "There's going to be a lot of different types of stuff that I do. I'm just happy that “Say Yeah” caught on as well as it did and people received it as well as they did."