There aren’t many rappers hotter than Wiz Khalifa right now. After slowly building a solid fan base of college students and potheads through mixtapes, small concerts and a strong social networking presence, it appears Young Khalifa man decided enough was enough — he’s taking his stardom to the next level. With the release of “Black and Yellow,” his ode to the Steel City, and its very successful football team the Pittsburg Steelers, Wiz Khalifa went from Internet celebrity to the cover of Rolling Stone in a matter of months. Propelled by the Steelers’ run to the Super Bowl, the track quickly rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and the rhyming stoner became a household name. Now Wiz Khalifa is trying to capitalize on his burgeoning success with Rolling Papers, his debut LP, without alienating his fanatical followers (dubbed the “Taylor Gang”).
As Wiz Khalifa ventures further into the mainstream, his music has taken a noticeable change for both the better and worse. The catchy “Roll Up,” for example, shows Wiz in a different lane than what most of his fans are used to. The song, much like “Black and Yellow,” is catered to the masses with its sing-songy hook and summertime feel. Wiz raps, “I ain’t gon flex / I’m not gon front / Know if I ball then we all gon’ stunt.” It might not have the same underground appeal of his widely popular mixtape, Kush & OJ, but “Roll Up” is irresistible in its own way, and personifies Rolling Papers completely.
As Wiz Khalifa aims for a more mainstream crossover sound, how does he balance making popular music with the songs his fans expect from him? “No Sleep” isn’t much help.. The track has become an instant success on iTunes, and is tailor-made for the radio and club scene. but doesn’t necessarily sound like Wiz Khalifa, or at least the Wiz Khalifa his fans are accustomed to. But just when songs like “Get Your Shit,” “Top Floor” and “Fly Solo” begin to take their toll on the listener, Wiz comes out of nowhere with “Rooftops” a throwback to a Wiz much different than the one found throughout Rolling Papers. Addressing his ever-changing status and growing fame, Wiz lashes out, “A lot of shit done changed, new clothes, new cars, new thangs / Them same boys that used to be at the bottom came up / That’s what they say.”
Beyond the abandonment of his original sound, what makes the album truly frustrating is its repetitiveness. Though Wiz is at his most lethal more often than not, the songs generally sound the same and there might not be enough to break up the album’s sound. Most of the songs are in the vein of “Black and Yellow” and “Roll Up.” Although both are are immensely popular and infectious, an album full of them is overkill. Finding a formula and capitalizing on it is understandable, but even the most successful styles tend to struggle across an album as long as this one. At 15 songs Rolling Papers does indeed drag on.
Rolling Papers is sure to cause a stir in the rap realm. With its energetic hooks and likeable lead, Wiz Khalifa’s path to superstardom is almost guaranteed. But in the process, he’s likely to lose some of the fans who supported him from the start.
