Wiz Khalifa is an American rapper born in 1987 in Minot, North Dakota. He specializes in hip hop and pop music targeting younger audiences. He began his career by selling mixtapes in Pittsburgh and got signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His 2011 album Rolling Papers, released through Atlantic Records, contained the hit single "Black and Yellow" and was promoted through its themes of cannabis smoking.
The Fine Line Between Honest and Evil Comics by Salty Vixen
Wiz Khalifa's rise to fame in the music industry
1.
2. Who are they, where are
they from?
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born
September 8, 1987), better
known by the stage name
Wiz Khalifa, is an American
rapper. He released his debut
album, and signed to Warner
Bros. Records in 2007. Wiz
khalifa was born on
September 1987 (age 24)
Minot, North Dakota, United
States
Origin Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, United States
3. What genre music do they
create?
What genre music do they create?
Wiz khalifa specialises in both hip hop and pop music
Who is their target audience?
Wiz khalifa targets a younger generation that enjoy to smoke cannabis such as
teenagers
How did they break into the music business?
His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old. His parents' military
service caused him to move regularly: Khalifa lived in Germany, the United Kingdom,
and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High
School. He started selling mix tapes which created a buzz and soon large record
labels were interested in him.
4. How did they first get signed to a label?
Wiz khalifa released his debut album how and Prove, in 2006, and signed to
Warner Bros. Records in 2007
What can you find out about the label(s)?
Rostrum, Rostrum Records is an independent record label, founded in 2003
by Benjy Grinberg in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The label is currently focusing
on its newest artist, Mac Miller, as well as his first album, titled Blue Slide
Park which was released on November 8, 2011.
Warner Bros, Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the
foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now
operates as a wholly owner subsidiary of that corporation
Atlantic, Records (Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American record
label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and
roll, and jazz.
5. What kind of record deal do they have?
He stated to AllHipHop in June 2010 that he was working
on a new album, but was weighing his options and had
not yet decided on a label to distribute it. Khalifa
confirmed to MTV on July 30 that he was signing an
Atlantic Records deal.
How are they supported and promoted?
Wiz khalifa has a variation of methods to market him as
an artist. One of them is TV advertisement, wiz khalifa
was recently promoted through Bing which is a search
engine its main intention was to make the public aware of
who he actually is and how he made it to fame, one
possible reason that Bing promoted khalifa could be that
he is one of the most searched artist on the internet and
Bing could of used him to advertise their service.
6. Timeline of recording career?
1987: Born Cameron Jibril Thomaz in Minot, N.D., to a military family
1989: Family moved to Pittsburgh, Penn.
1990: Mother left to serve in Operation Desert Storm, Khalifa left at home with his sister
2001: 14 years old and influenced by such recording artists as Jay-Z, Camp Lo, and Notorious B.I.G., Khalifa began to discover and harness an ability to write
and perform rap lyrics
2002: Signed to then independently-distributed Rostrum Records
2005: Releases first mix-tape “Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania to positive reception from hip-hop fans. Rolling Stone Magazine raves. Full-
length debut album “Show and Prove” follows
2006: Khalifa’s garners further critical reception for his LP from national publications XXL Magazine, VIBE Magazine and Okayplayer.com.
2007: Khalifa inks deal with Warner Bros. Records, debut single “Say Yeah” reaches No. 20 on Billboard’s Rap Charts. Two popular mix-tapes, “Grow
Season” (with DJ Green Lantern) and “Prince of the City 2”, are released but no second LP
2008: Mixtape “Star Power” is released. Khalifa begins touring extensively
2009: Khalifa releases three more mix-tapes — “First Flight”, “How Fly” with rapper Curren$y and “Burn After Rolling.” Mid-year parts ways with Warner
Bros. Rostrum later releases Khalifa’s sophomore studio album “Deal or No Deal”
2010: In the spring, The Source Magazine names Khalifa “Rookie of the Year”, his follow-up mix-tape “Kush & Orange Juice” is released for free download;
Khalifa becomes No. 1 trending topic on Twitter, No. 1 search subject on Google; In the summer Khalifa signs with Atlantic Records; In the fall is arrested
for marijuana possession while on tour in North Carolina
2011: Single “Black & Yellow” rockets to No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles Charts; Third full-length studio album, his first with Atlantic, is set for release.
Khalifia keeps title and possible tracks a secret; Continues to tour to sold out shows across the country
7. Future plans?
Wiz khalifa plans to marry amber rose and release his new film mac
and devlin go to high school.
Focus questions: Latest Release – Promotion and distribution
When did they start work on the album – what’s it called?
Rolling Papers is a studio album by American rapper Wiz Khalifa he
worked on the album from 2010 and released in March 29, 2011
8. How many tracks on the album?
With his album containing 14 hits it also contains the
singles "Black and Yellow", "Roll Up", "On My Level",
and "No Sleep". The album has been noted by music
writers for having a pop rap style.
Where did they record the tracks?
Recorded, 2010–2011. Downtown Recording Studios
Lotzah Matzah Studios
What technologies were used to produce the album?
For wiz khalifa to achieve such high quality music for his
smash hit ‘rolling papers’ up to 100 mics were used to
achieve such quality.
9. How has the album been marketed?
As the main theme of rolling papers is related to cannabis
the album was focused on smokers and by wiz khalifa
promoting cannabis he was also marketing his album
What formats is the album available in?
Rolling papers is available in both audio CD and mp3
How much is the audience asked to pay?
Within the UK the album is currently priced at 8.99 and 12
dollars in America.