Wiz Khalifa has quietly been one of the defining artists of the 2010s. Sure, there was a fair share of hits like “See You Again” and the Pittsburgh anthem “Black and Yellow”. But hip-hop heads fell in love with the chill, care-free demeanor shrouded in tons of weed smoke. Mixtapes like Kush & Orange Juice and Taylor Allderdice are canonical classics during the blog era. Though he may not exist in the realm as the lauded big 3 of Drake, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar, Khalifa’s legacy is etched in stone.
However, many people probably wouldn’t consider Wiz Khalifa one of the premier lyricists of his time. Instead, they’re infatuated with him as one of the pioneers of the 2010s rap scene. But if you know anything about the kind of music that made him who he is, you’d know that he comes from a deep lineage of lyricism.
In a 2017 conversation with XXL, Wiz mused over the influential hip-hop that informed his taste and style over the years. Dipset was a big name that definitely tracks in how he approaches the art of rapping. But Wiz Khalifa equally values the formal golden age lyricism you could call in with Biggie and a group like Black Star.
“I would say I came up more on East Coast music, and I valued more lyricism as a younger listener. I was into Wu-Tang [Clan], Mobb Deep, of course, Big, Nas. Just a lot of the really lyrical guys. I was into Talib Kweli and Mos Def as well. That’s what really inspired me the most,” Wiz recalled.
Wiz Khalifa Shares His Influences As a Rapper
As Wiz grew into his teens, Cam’ron and Dipset held more value for how they approached rapping as an art form, pursuing something markedly different from their contemporaries. “It was more fly, and it spoke to where I wanted to be at as an adult, especially knowing what I know, lyrically… At the time, Dipset was my favorite group,” he continued. “Cam’ron, my favorite rapper, was somebody who really inspired me to be different, be flamboyant and have fun with the flow, as well as saying some dope s**t.”
The interviewer then prompted Wiz Khalifa to reflect on the state of hip-hop at the time and how people felt like it wasn’t as lyrical as it used to be. Though he certainly agreed, he also stressed how important it is for listeners to have fun and appreciate the lyricism as Wiz did. Eventually, people will come to learn the foundational hip-hop albums if they truly love the genre and culture.
“For artists like me, like Cole, Kendrick, [Curren$y], Spitta, Big Sean, we have mainstream success, and we’re accepted everywhere, but we always have that hint of underlying lyricism because of what we come from [and] what we listen to. We all listen to Common, Mos Def, Talib, Prodigy, Mobb Deep, Nas. We all listen to every classic album. We’ve all been able to digest that and make that a part of what we do,” Wiz Khalifa explained. “I wanna have that impact that artists had on the game. So yeah, I’ll give the newer generation a lot of time to just grow, and develop, and figure out exactly where the music takes them.”
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