What was your mindset going into recording that, and paying homage to your fallen friends? On a more serious note with “Homies,” I’ve never heard you open like that on a record. I’ve had a lot of influence on different people in different genres, so to give nods to the people who are important to me was real fun. That was a good opportunity to ingrain that DNA. Definitely people I’ve grown up respecting and loving and even having the pleasure of meeting, to the point of becoming friends or acquaintances. Was that to show love to your influences?ġ00 percent. Getting to some tracks, “High Maintenance” sees you naming rappers like Nas, 50 Cent, JAY-Z and Lil Wayne. I wanted to let that be the DNA of the album and not make a traditional rap record - but it has hardcore hip-hop elements to it, with the structuring of the songs, amount of verses, or length of the verses. It was just diving deep into my inspirations, and the things I feel like really make me. Would you agree this is the album where you colored most outside the lines of hip-hop, so to speak?ĭefinitely experimented outside of the hip-hop area. I wanted to bring that out lyrically, aesthetically and vocally, and I think I was able to do all of that with this album. Anybody who is a fan of my projects, they know how textured they are - and I want this one to be really detailed to how I feel and operate with the things that are important in my life. What did you have in mind for welcoming us into the Multiverse ? (Catch Wiz on the Vinyl Verse Tour with Logic this summer.) The joint-smoking legend has embraced the “big homie” role, and hopes to pass some of that OG knowledge on to the next generation of artists.īillboard caught up with the Khalifa Kush founder last week to hear more about his new album, how he ended up on Chief Keef’s “Hate Being Sober,” being asked to re-write verses, and the state of rap. Although ‘Multiverse’ couldn’t be presented as his best work it still holds weight in the scope of his releases and points to an artist who is still seeking adaptation and new spaces from growth within their catalogue.Over 15 years in the music industry rat race has Wiz Khalifa looking at the game with a newfound maturity and perspective. In some ways, he connects very closely with the message he’s putting together, especially in his spoken word rap on ‘Homies’. It seems incredibly limiting to hold an artist like Wiz Khalifa to his highest points on every release. The lyricism doesn’t come through as strong here but it definitely presents as one of the more experimental parts of the album, along with the incorporation of drill on ‘Keys’ where Wiz Khalifa’s iconic sound melds effortlessly with the cadence that a drill beat provides. ‘Mirror love’ is a synth-infused melody that narrates rediscovering yourself after walking away from a connection. In truth that appears to be what happened on ‘We Don’t Go Out To Nightclubs Anymore/Candlelight Girl’ where a brilliant horn-laden intro gives way to a second half that places an ill-fitting pop-style lyricism on top of what would otherwise be a spectacular interlude. However, if you’re going to bring in a more experimental side it’s also important to bring your A game, otherwise, you can start sounding a little bit out of place and not in the avant-garde “I wanted it like that” kind of way. It’s entirely comprehensible that an artist who’s hitting so many milestones in terms of longevity would take an opportunity to challenge their range rather than jumping around in the same conceptual box. In some ways, it presented as slightly confused but on the other hand, did delve into a more experimental realm than Wiz had been through in his past releases. ‘Multiverse’ has drill, hip-hop, pop, R&B and a little bit of 80s synth influences floating around. He raps about embracing meaningful connections within a relationship rather than fixating on struggles over a breezy beat, bringing out the mid-2010s sound that has entrenched so many of his best-loved releases. ‘Memory Lane’ Stands as one of the most classically Wiz Khalifa tracks on the project. ‘Big Daddy Wiz’ pulls in a Taste of Honey sample (also used on the old school Positive K track ‘I Got A Man’) right off the bat to start the project on strong grounds, even if it does start to unravel slightly towards the end.