Known for his strong grassroots fan base that he lovingly calls the Taylor Gang - a reference to his signature Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoes - Wiz Khalifa has been steadily claiming the rap scene limelight, as evidenced by the chart-topping success of his single "Black and Yellow." With his 2005 mixtape Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania and his 2006 album Show and Prove, Wiz earned recognition from Rolling Stone Magazine as an "artist to watch." Since then, Wiz Khalifa has released eight free mixtapes, which helped him develop an extremely loyal fan base, has been named a "Top 10 Freshman" by XXL and "Rookie of the Year" by "The Source" and has rocked in front of a sold-out crowd at the Jefferson Theater last September. His amazing journey, coupled with the early leak of his third and most recent album, Rolling Papers, escalated anticipation for the album's official release last Tuesday. Rolling Papers is a culmination of his musical development: With poppy pieces and new stoner favorites, Wiz displays his full lyrical genius and all the lessons he has learned since he dropped his first mixtape.
Wiz Khalifa's abundant number of mixtapes is a testament to how much he has to say and his creative force. Rolling Papers is no exception; his lyrics are as fresh as ever. His his lyrics always have been tight and clever, but in his early years he had a tendency to rap straight through songs with few other musical elements tied in. With the release of the 2009 mixtape How Fly, we started hearing Wiz alternate between more cadenced rapping and singing. With Rolling Papers, Wiz strikes a brilliant balance between rap and song, which makes the album much more pleasurable to listen to without pause. I think this is especially evident in "When I'm Gone," the first song on the album. Its great rap lyrics nicely punctuate a catchy chorus line and are complemented by background music that will have you grooving, making this song a synthesis of everything Wiz has learned.
Rolling Papers also shows a huge improvement in the musical and instrumental background to Wiz's verses. Perhaps recognizing that producing is not his strong suit, Wiz brought in others - ranging from Grammy-winning producer Jim Jonsin to Norwegian production/songwriting team Stargate - to help fill out the beats, and it makes a world of difference. Thankfully, Rolling Papers as a whole is light-years ahead of his past albums and mixtapes in this respect. Songs such as "Black and Yellow," "Hopes & Dreams" and "Wake Up" are naked without their background music, but as the success of the tracks show, with the proper beats and instrumental choices, witty lyrics suddenly can be transformed into an amazing song.
Timed perfectly, I think this chill-vibed album will become a favorite, with "No Sleep" and "When I'm Gone" becoming summertime anthems. Balanced between pop crowd pleasers such as "Black and Yellow" and "Roll Up" and more atmospheric tracks such as "The Race" and "Star of the Show," Wiz successfully has managed to fuse his authentic lyrics with fitting background music and create a euphonious album that is distinctively Wiz Khalifa. I'm dubbing Rolling Papers Wiz's coming out album: If you haven't heard of him yet, you will, because this album is sending vibrations through the spring and summer atmosphere.
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