Wiz Khalifa has one of the most interesting careers of any rapper in hip-hop history. His incredible collection of mixtapes in the late 2000s and early 2010s makes him a legend by itself. That’s before you dig into the many hit records he’s made over the years. Nowadays, he just tours, trains in MMA, and occasionally makes music. It’s the kind of life any artist would dream of: resting on their existing catalog for the rest of their life.
But there was one song in particular that made all of that possible for him. During a stream with content creator DeenTheGreat, he revealed that his smash hit “See You Again” netted him the most money in his career.
“Not too many artists get the opportunity to have that big of a song in their career,” Wiz Khalifa said. “I’ma always be good ’cause of that song. One of the most popular songs ever. The video is on the top on YouTube. I could perform it anywhere in the world—no matter what language people speak. ‘See You Again’ is definitely a blessing.”
Wiz Khalifa Opens Up About His Massive Hit Song ‘See You Again’
“Black and Yellow” was another song that Khalifa holds close to his heart because of the personal connection it has with his city of Pittsburgh. “We never really had an anthem, you know what I mean?” Wiz Khalifa added. “So to be able to grow up in the city and to make the anthem for the city, that’s like a f**king dream come true.
“See You Again” was famously made as a tender ballad after Paul Walker’s death. After passing away in a horrific car accident, the Fast & Furious franchise used the song to send off the Brian O’Conner character and eulogize the late actor.
While Wiz Khalifa benefitted greatly from the record, Charlie Puth launched his career from the song. In past interviews, he noted that a litany of different artists recorded their takes on the chorus. Everyone from Chris Brown to Sam Smith to Adele tried their hand at it but never quite stuck the landing. Brown was the closest one to approximating Puth’s tone of voice, according to the singer.
“None of the vocals had the [right] feeling … What I was singing about specifically, you just couldn’t hear it in your voice,” he told Howard Stern. “I think Chris Brown got the closest to it, but they ended up, lucky me, going with my vocal.”
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
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