Two feature THEMXXNLIGHT, a soulful duo of twin brothers who seem like Taylor Gang’s answer to indistinguishable, OVO-approved R&B acts like Majid Jordan and dvsn. Six of the tape’s fourteen tracks showcase vocalist and Taylor Gang signee Young Deji. There are collaborations with regular members of Khalifa’s stable- Problem, Curren$y, Ty Dolla $ign-but more space is given to emerging artists. The lyrics aren’t especially profound, but that’s never really been the point of Wiz Khalifa’s music- Fly Times is about the vibe above all else. Instead, Fly Times goes for something closer to the chilled-out G-funk of Kush and Orange Juice, but with more of a throwback R&B flavor: whiny keys, MIDI strings, and copious amounts of 808 cowbell. With the exception of the TM88-assisted “Big Pride (Bag Talk),” almost nothing here feels like a bid for a spot on Rap Caviar. There’s a consistency here that seems to suggest a growing maturity on the part of Khalifa who, at thirty-one, is a bit of an elder in the game. 1: The Good Fly Young, exceeds the expectations set by his less-than-topshelf recent output and his history of incessant trend-hopping. Many a millennial-this one included-learned to roll a perfect joint by watching the now-canonical “ How to Roll a Perfect Joint with Wiz Khalifa.”īut at his laziest, Wiz Khalifa’s inability to commit to a single style can leave his albums unfocused, as on last year’s woeful Rolling Papers 2. His Taylor Gang record label revived the career of Juicy J, introduced us to Ty Dolla $ign, and he was one of the first mainstream acts to work with the likes of SpaceGhostPurrp, Chief Keef, and Thundercat. This adventurousness has made Wiz Khalifa one of the most quietly influential rappers of the last ten years. His greatest assets are malleability and flexibility, which have allowed him to try out a variety of styles and subgenres, from the relaxed stoner rap of Kush and Orange Juice to the Top 40 trap of “ We Dem Boyz.” Khalifa claims Pittsburgh, but he’s also an army brat his voice is accentless, and there’s little in the way of regional flair to his music. His appeal was always in his effortlessness-every syllable crisply annunciated, each bar delivered with a little melody. Somehow, throughout rap’s tumultuous and transformative last decade, Wiz has persisted. But instead, Cameron Jibril Thomaz signed with Warner, dropped a single that sampled Alice DJ’s “Better Off Alone,” ended his relationship with Warner, released an independent mixtape that flipped everything from Camp Rock to the Chrono Trigger score, signed with Atlantic, and became a star off a Super Bowl anthem. It is now a word to generally describe full-length albums released for free, which is the modern form of mixtape that was made a popular following by 50 Cent and his group G-Unit in the early 2000s, sometimes containing all original music, other times composed of freestyles and remixes of popular tracks.There’s an alternate universe in which Wiz Khalifa fell off the face of the Earth entirely, like his fellow 2010 XXL Freshman Pill, or became a full-time marijuana farmer like the fizzled-out Internet sensation Jackie Chain, who debuted a year after “Say Yeah” with his own trance-sampling single. In the hip hop scene, mix tape is often displayed as a single term mixtape. Also since the 1990s, it describes releases used to promote one or more new artists, or as a pre-release by more established artists to promote upcoming "official" albums. Blend tapes became increasingly popular by the mid-1990s, and fans increasingly looked for exclusive tracks and freestyles on the tapes. Ron G moved the mixtape forward in the early 1990s by blending R&B a cappellas with hip hop beats (known as "blends"). In the mid-1980s, DJs, such as Brucie B, began recording their live music and selling their own mixtapes, which was soon followed by other DJs such as Kid Capri and Doo Wop. (who later became known as Whiz Kid) and DJ Super V would create personalized House Tapes which would eventually circulate throughout New York City. In the late 70's into the early 80's DJs began recording mixtapes out of their homes, referring to them as House Tapes. As more tapes became available, they began to be collected and traded by fans. Hip hop mixtapes first appeared in the mid-1970s in New York City, featuring artists such as Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa. In hip hop's earliest days, the music only existed in live form, and the music was spread via tapes of parties and shows.
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