Biography of Wiz Khalifa

Wiz Khalifa, whose real name is Cameron Jibril Thomaz, is a rap singer born on September 8, 1987 in Minot, North Dakota, United States. His parents were members of the United States Armed Forces, which led him to frequently move to places like Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There he studied at Taylor Allderdice High School. At the age of three, his parents separated and his grandmother, who was Muslim, nicknamed him Khalifa.

Due to his mother’s career in the military, Wiz had to be taken care of by his aunt during the Iraq War, which made him mature faster than his peers and made it difficult for him to make friends outside of his family circle. However, this experience inspired him to write his feelings in songs. At the age of 14, he already had several compositions and began to receive attention for his good voice and attractive lyrics.

Beginnings of his music career

Wiz Khalifa was inspired by musical idols such as Jay Z, Snoop Dogg, Cam’ron and Notorious B.I.G., but he set out to create his own musical identity rather than copying their styles. In search of a recording studio in Pittsburgh, he found ID LABS, where the owner Eric Dan immediately recognized his talent. Together with manager Chad Glick, they began to develop Khalifa’s talent. Soon, he joined Benjy Grinberg’s project at Rostrum Records, after hearing his contribution to a mixtape called Prince of the City2: Welcome to Pistolvania, featuring various emerging artists in Pittsburgh. Under Benjy’s tutelage, Khalifa joined the Rostrum Records family. In 2006, Rostrum released his first mixtape called Show and Prove, followed by two more mixtapes: Grow Season, organized by DJ Green Lantern, and Prince of the City 2, released on November 20, 2007. With these releases, he began his ascent in the music world.

His first contract with Warner Bros Records label

At the age of 16, Wiz Khalifa signed a contract with the prestigious Warner Bros Records label, directed by Grinberg, who considered him a diamond in the rough despite his young age. For the next seven years, he developed his artistic career in an exceptional way within the label. His debut was with the single “Say Yeah”, which led him to reach position 25 on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 and number 20 on the Billboard’s Hot Rap Tracks. He also appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, being mentioned as an “artist to watch”. In addition, he performed near the final of the Pittsburgh mash up 2008. In September 2008, Khalifa released the mixtape “Star Power” and in April 2009 he released “Flight School”.

The reason for his departure from Warner Bros Records.

With “Flight School”, Wiz Khalifa decided to part ways with Warner Bros Records due to repeated delays in the release of his debut album planned for the label, “First Flight”. Despite this, Khalifa expressed his gratitude towards the record label as he learned and matured as an artist during his time there. After leaving Warner Bros Records, Khalifa resumed his association with Rostrum Records, releasing the single “Teach U to Fly” and the mixtape “How Fly”. On August 9th, 2009, he also collaborated with New Orleans rapper Currensy. At this time, Khalifa was building a more melodic style, alternating singing with rapping.

Wiz Khalifa was the opening act for Wu-Tang Clan member U-God at the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon held in New York City. Later, he released the mixtape “Burn After Rolling” on November 2nd, 2009, which included songs such as “If I Were a Boy” and “Diva” by Beyoncé, and “Best I Ever Had” by Drake

. Twenty days after “Burn After Rolling”, Khalifa released his second album “Deal or No Deal”.

Khalifa: included in the list of the best singers

Wiz Khalifa appeared on the cover of XXL magazine that same month, and was included in the list of the best singers along with other artists such as Donnis, J. Cole, Pill, Freddie Gibbs and Fashawn. In 2010, he was nominated by The Source Magazine, alongside Rick Ross, as Man of the Year. Khalifa released the mixtape “Kush and Orange Juice” on June 14th, 2010, which could be downloaded digitally and due to its high number of downloads and popularity on the radio, it became the #1 trending topic on Twitter. His fame was such that he signed with Atlantic Records in April 2010, although initially this was only a rumor. In addition, he began working on a new musical project with All Hip Hop. Khalifa confirmed to MTV on July 30th that he had signed an agreement with Atlantic Records.

His marriage with Amber Rose

It is no secret that Wiz Khalifa has a large amount of money, his net worth is estimated to be 45 million dollars. An example of this is that in 2012 he purchased a luxurious house in the vicinity of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. In that same year, Khalifa proposed to model Amber Rose. On September 6th, 2012, at the MTV Video Music Awards, they announced their pregnancy. They planned to get married in the first semester of 2013. Amber gave birth to a son named Sebastian Taylor Thomas on February 21st, 2013. After the birth, Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose got married in a private ceremony, a marriage that lasted until 2016.

Some interesting facts about Wiz Khalifa

Khalifa has had several legal issues with the Pittsburgh City Council due to his use of cannabis, the singer stated that he requires $10,000 per month to buy marijuana and he also smokes daily. In addition to being a great lover of rap and Hip Hop, he is a fan of all the city’s sports teams, especially the Pittsburgh Steelers, and others such as the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates, Arena Football League’s Pittsburgh Power, and also the NHL Chicago Blackhawks.

Posthumous video tribute to actor Paul Walker

Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa are part of the soundtrack of the video “See You Again”, which pays posthumous tribute to actor Paul Walker. It has been one of the most played videos in recent times, with this, they earned an average of $1,000 for each million visits.

Visit to Colombia in 2007

Wiz Khalifa visited Colombia in 2017 where he participated in a concert in the city of Medellín with Puerto Rican Tego Calderón, and then in Bogotá to attend the rock and pop festival Estéreo Picnic. However, his visit generated controversy due to his behavior in Medellín, where he visited the tomb of Pablo Escobar, taking pictures leaving flowers and smoking marijuana, he also visited the Hotel Mónaco, where Pablo Escobar lived. This generated great indignation among the inhabitants of Medellín and nationally. Later, the singer upon returning to his country apologized on his social media accounts, stating that his intention was not to offend anyone.