Wiz Khalifa

One of hip hop's new breed of rap stars, Wiz Khalifa's gangsta rhymes and relentless beats come with a rock star strut and a body covered in tattoos. Born Cameron Jibril Thomaz in Minot (North Dakota), on September 8, 1987, he was nicknamed "Young Wiz" by his grandfather (shortened from wisdom) and took his second name from the Arabic word for successor, before being discovered as a 16-year-old performing on a mixtape with a gang of new Pittsburgh artists. Taken under the wing of Rostrum Records boss Benjy Grinberg, his own mixtapes Show and Prove (2006) and Kush and Orange Juice (2010) created a healthy buzz, and won him a deal with major label Atlantic Records for third album Rolling Papers (2011). Filled with pop hooks and swaggering bravado, it shot to Number 2 in the US and produced the chart-topping single "Black and Yellow", a tribute to his hometown's sports teams which sold over three million copies and was remade by Lil Wayne, Fabolous, Jermaine Dupri and a host of other artists. More US Top 10 hits came with "No Sleep and Young", "Wild and Free", and Khalifa teamed up with Snoop Dogg to star in the stoner film Mac & Devin Go to High School in 2012, with its soundtrack album also reaching Number 2 in the US. After his fourth album O.N.I.F.C. that same year, Blacc Hollywood was his first chart-topping in 2014, while the duet with Charlie Puth on "See You Again", a tribute to the late actor Paul Walker for the soundtrack to the movie Furious 7, peaked the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks and received a diamond certification from the RIAA. Among numerous mixtapes releases, the sixth album Rolling Papers 2, supported by the single "Something New", with Ty Dolla $ign, also debuted at Number 1 in 2018. Two years later followed The Saga of Wiz Khalifa, an EP that includes collaborations with Tyga, Logic, and Mustard. Thomas then recorded "Drums Drums Drums" with Travis Barker from Blink-182 in 2020, and released three mixtapes in 2023: See Ya, Khali Sober, and Decisions, followed by Wiz Owens in 2024. Next year, he followed up the 2010 mixtape with Kush + Orange Juice 2, including a dozen of guests such as O.T. Genasis, Gunna, Ty Dolla $ign and JasonMartin, Luh Tyler, Terrace Martin and Curren$y, Juicy J, DJ Quik, Chevy Woods, Don Toliver, and Smoke DZA.