In June of 2007, Wiz Khalifa made history for the city of Pittsburgh by signing a major record deal with Warner Bros. Records. Led by his Rostrum Records team, Wiz burst into the national hip hop spotlight by way of a riveting grassroots movement. Rolling Stone magazine honored Wiz as a “New Artist To Watch” and his "Pittsburgh Sound" video was selected for the Editor’s Hot List a few months later. XXL’s March 2007 issue featured Wiz in their coveted “Show and Prove” section. Mass Appeal had Wiz as the lead artist for 2007’s “Next of Kin.” He has been praised by VIBE magazine as “an East Coast star in the waiting,”,while also recently being featured in their October 2007 issue as a “Next” artist. Major magazines overseas in 2007 also took notice of the 19-year old prodigy’s talent, with features in UK’s Hip-Hop Connection and France’s RAP US.
The year 2007 also showcased Wiz live on stage with national acts such as Nas, T.I., Rich Boy, Lil Scrappy, Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne, T-Pain, The Clipse, Ghostface, Lupe Fiasco, Styles P, and Bone Thugs N Harmony.
Wiz has also continued to get lots of honors from the online community. AllHipHop.com named Wiz as one of the Best New Artists of 2006 with Lupe Fiasco and Rick Ross. His debut street album “Show and Prove” was labeled by Okayplayer.com as “arguably the best hip hop release of the year”. The Prince of Pittsburgh has had nine songs featured on XXLMag.com’s “Bangers” section, seven on AllHipHop.com’s media zone, while firmly putting his city of Pittsburgh on the national hip hop map.
In early 2007, after bringing home “Best Male Artist” and Lyrcist Of The Year” at the 1st annual Pittsburgh Hip Hop awards, Wiz premiered his worldwide debut video “Pittsburgh Sound.” It exploded via the Net and in the spring of 2007 FUSE TV debuted it on Cable, eventually being chosen by fans as an "Oven Fresh Keeper" on the channel. In the summer of 2007,he put out a new mixtape, “Grow Season,” with DJ Green Lantern, performed on the DUB tour, and released a video for “Youngin On His Grind” that has been featured all over the Internet.
Wiz's massive presence on the Internet has attracted many new fans to his music. In the past year, Wiz Khalifa’s profile on Myspace.com has exploded, being visited in excess of 2,000,000 times, tracks played over 2,000,000 times, and accumulating over 55,000 "friends" from all over the world.
Now with a debut major label single “SAY YEAH” beginning to buzz nationwide, Wiz is officially ready to be the new face of rap. With his Rostrum/Warner Bros. Records team behind him, Wiz is garnering more attention than ever. Stay tuned for the latest…
Pittsburgh has long been searching for its first major Hip Hop star. Some have flirted with success, while others have floundered in the masses. At the age of 19, Wiz Khalifa has developed into the prodigy that Pittsburgh has been looking for, and he plans to represent his city to the fullest.
Born Cameron Thomaz in North Dakota in 1987 to a mother and father serving in the military, Wiz moved to Pittsburgh at the age of 2. Over the next thirteen years, he would move between Pittsburgh and South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, Germany, Japan, and England as his parents were reassigned to different posts.
In October of 1990, Wiz was separated from his mother, who left him in the hands of her sister while she served in Operation Desert Storm. During his travels, Wiz was forced to mature quicker than his peers. He was constantly faced with new surroundings, schools, and friends, making it difficult to become attached to anyone outside family. Nomadic life, though, gave Wiz an opportunity to broaden his mind and offered many experiences from which to draw inspiration. He began to perceive the world differently than most kids and this motivated him to write his thoughts down every day. These thoughts would become the foundation for his future recordings.
By the age of 14, with a few songs under his belt, Wiz was drawing comparisons with his commanding voice and witty wordplay. While artists such as Jay-Z, Snoop, Cam’ron, and the Notorious B.I.G. have influenced him, Wiz was determined to create his own identity that would, one day, be loved and revered by fans
Ready to take the next step, Wiz began his search for a new recording studio in Pittsburgh. He found ID LABS, where owner Eric Dan immediately recognized Wiz’s talents. Along with Chad Glick of ID Labs Management, they began to network Wiz to another Pittsburgh native, Benjy Grinberg of Rostrum Records. Benjy realized the raw talent that Wiz possessed, and immediately brought him into the Rostrum family. Rostrum released Show and Prove, as well as 3 other mixtapes, and began their ascent into the National music scene. Not long after, Wiz was inking his first major label contract with Warner Bros. Records.
This year, XXLmag.com ran a feature on Wiz stating that “his buzz has officially started to outgrow the streets.” After rave reviews from his first debut single “Youngin On His Grind,” Wiz premiered his follow up “Say Yeah” on AllHipHop.com.
People usually struggle their whole lives trying to figure out how they can make their mark on this world, but Wiz has known his calling for years and is crafting his future with pen and pad.
