the type of career that I want for myself. And that’s what I did. I just bossed up and bounced. And it worked for me. Did it frustrate you when major deal didn’t work out like you’d hoped? It didn’t frustrate me afterwards; it was frustrating during. Because when you sign a deal they always tell you, “We have your best interest,” and, “We know this and we know that.” I felt like when I signed the deal they thought they knew what they were talking about, so in the middle of it I was a little bit frustrated. But soon as I figured out how the game was going and what I needed to do, I let all feelings go, and just started going hard. And right when I did that it started paying off. What was your plan at that time? Smoke hella weed, get on the internet, be way cooler than anybody else that was trying to do what I do, and make the best music possible. And I realized how valuable the internet was and who my true fans were, so I just went after that. How would you describe your fan base? They definitely smoke hella weed, they like to party, they like to have fun, them muthafuckas are crazy, dawg. Like, my fans are crazy. It’s mixed, black, white, Mexican, Chinese, everybody comes out to the concerts. It’s crazy. Lets talk about your album, Deal or No Deal. When you saw it doing big numbers independently, did that surprise you? Yeah, definitely, it did. Cause I’ve been working so long, and just putting shit out, and I’m so used to being looked over. When I put it out, I expected to make a couple bucks off it and then just go on to the next project. But when it got received like it did and did the numbers that it did, I was like, “Aight, cool.” I didn’t have too many expectations, but it’s been on and poppin’ ever since.
WIZ KHALIFA In April, Wiz Khalifa released his Kush & Orange Juice mixtape on the internet. With the phrase “#kushandorangejuice” making its way to the top of Twitter’s trending topics and “kush and orange juice download” appearing at No. 1 on Google’s search trends, without a doubt there were quite a few people looking at their computer screens thinking, “What the fuck is a Wiz Khalifa?” But for thousands of others already familiar with this former Warner Bros. artist, Kush & Orange Juice was just the latest free offering in a long line of Wiz Khalifa projects. After a 2009 independent album Deal or No Deal that landed at #1 on iTunes Rap albums, followed by a Deal or No Deal tour through 40-plus US cities and the success of Kush & Orange Juice, we figured now is as good a time as any to introduce OZONE readers to Pittsburgh’s Wiz Khalifa. How hard was it to come out of Pittsburgh, compared to other cities like Atlanta or New York? It wasn’t really hard. I never focused on the fact that I wasn’t from a major city. I just focused on the fact that I had dope music, and that I felt like people really needed to hear that shit. So, I figured out a way to put it out, and it took off. It took a lot of time, but all the time that it took to get there, now we’re here. So, it’s like, we’re at least gonna last that long. I’ve been working for almost ten years, so that means I’m at least gonna be here for ten years. What happened to your major deal with Warner Bros.? I think they had me figured out to be a different kind of artist. I’m a multidimensional type of dude. I make different types of songs. I’ve got a lot of radio-friendly, hit-potential songs, and I’ve got real creative and fun shit that I do, too. I think they wanted me to stay in this box where I wasn’t comfortable. I just had to decide to be a boss. I was in a situation where I could just sit there, cool out and have all these handouts, or I could really make 56 // OZONE MAG
What about your Kush & Orange Juice mixtape? I’m just gonna go on record and say Kush & Orange Juice is the best tape of this year, the best body of work that anybody’s gonna give out for free. This is it right here. I just really zoned out on this one, just on some creative shit. I tried a lot of different shit. I brought some stuff that people already expect from me and know, and then I meshed it up with a bunch of new shit. I’m rappin’ a little bit different on there. I always try to switch it up every tape. Not totally different, but it’s like a more abstract, poetic type shit. It’s easy listening, man. Anybody can listen to it, from straight Hip Hop fans to like a gangsta nigga that wants to shoot people all day. He’s gonna fuck with Kush & Orange Juice, too. He’s gonna shoot somebody and then listen to Kush & Orange Juice. What do you have planned next? Right now I’m about to smoke this Headband. I’ma finish this tour up. We did 40 cities; my voice is almost done! My dog is gonna kill me when I get home, cause she misses me so bad. Finish that up, do the album this year. Keep smoking different types of weed and shit…and um…just try to rule the world, man. Nothing major, I’m just here. Last year you released the How Fly mixtape with Curren$y, and you collaborated numerous other times. What’s your relationship with him like? That’s my fucking brother! I meet a lot of people in the industry, I’m cool with a lot of people, but that’s my nigga. We just be on the same shit, just some G shit. I meet him through the internet, but then kicked it on some cool shit. His grind is unmatched, his music is crazy, his fan base is like none other. And we share a lot of the same fans, too. That’s what was so powerful about me and him getting together like we did. I think it opened people up to a whole different type of music, a whole different type of living, then what they expect from music. So it’ll be fun to see what happens in the next couple years after this shit, but we’re always gon’ be working together. We got movies in the making, more CDs, collectibles for people, it’s gon’ be crazy. Are you planning to stay independent or are you looking to sign back with a major? If a situation presents itself, I’m not against it. I went independent because that was the move. But now that I did what I did with my independent shit, if a major situation presents itself that’s better, of course if the money is right and the terms are right, as far as creative control, it could work. Also, I’m a boss, I make what’s gonna work, work, you know what I mean? And if that ain’t the situation, then I’ll bounce and get some money from somewhere else. But whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen. I’m out selling these shows out and working on a great album. I have a wonderful fan base, so just based off that I could keep going forever. // - Words by Randy Roper / Photo by Clevis Harrison