Wiz Khalifa On Weed, Jazz, Fans And More

Fifteen years after his musical love letter to weed culture, Kush + Orange Juice, hip-hop superstar Wiz Khalifa recently released a long-awaited sequel, one that reflects his maturity.

Kush + Orange Juice 2 is still all about the weed life, but musically it calls to mind a serious ‘70s vibe, it is, as he tells me, jazz influenced, reggae influenced, R&B influenced. This is Khalifa, the dad.

A humble superstar, Khalifa spoke to me about the album, jazz, his fans, community and more. It is indeed all good vibes, the name of his upcoming tour with Sean Paul.

Steve Baltin: I love doing this today because I talked to Bootsy Collins three weeks ago and Ice Cube last week and they were telling me their crazy stories of the greats before them. I’m sure you have stories from working with Bootsy and Cube, the greats before you.

Wiz Khalifa: All these dudes you name got the same spirit. I met Bootsy at this concert that I did with George Clinton, because I played George Clinton in a movie, and I got to meet him and jam out with him and his band, and I met Bootsy and his wife. And they had like the same outfit on and everything. It was super inspirational and cool to see somebody who was a player and a real big figure in the 70s and 80s still having that energy and still caring and still putting that effort into what his reality is. And that’s what I think is real about all those guys. It’s beyond making amazing music and being incredibly talented in music, whether it’s playing instruments or bringing people together to create one, these guys were able to create a world based off that sound and what to expect from that sound or what to expect from an album cover or what to expect from a live show. That’s what a true artist really is, is when they’re out here world building and changing people’s lives. Like anybody who listened to their music for the first time, whether it’s as a kid and you hear it through your parents or an older sibling or something or you get of age and you smoke a little bit of weed and you start to experience what they’re talking about. It latches on to you and it stays with you for life.

Baltin: I see Kush + Orange Juice 2 the same way. Vibe wise, it reminded me of the ‘70s, with the spoken word interludes and the music was so chill.

Khalifa: Thank you. It’s definitely inspired by the 70s. Its jazz inspired. Its reggae inspired. It’s R &B inspired. Its funk inspired. It’s really soulful. It’s a soulful album.

Baltin: What’s the perfect day today?

Khalia: Perfect day is waking up about six a m., kissing my daughter, she’s still asleep. Kissing my son on the forehead, he’s still asleep. Feeding my dogs, getting my son up, getting him to school, making it back home to my daughter. She’s awake, having breakfast with her, smoking a few joints, playing with my dog, getting on social media, making about three posts that are going to do at least a million each. Eating breakfast, going to the gym, doing some yoga after, making it home by three, eating lunch, taking a nap, waking up by five, making sure my son does his work, making sure my daughter’s getting ready for her last little round, eat dinner, get dressed, go to the studio, maybe record about two verses, stay out till about 12, maybe make it back home, take a shower back in the bed, that’s perfect.

Baltin: When you think of doing the original Kush + Orange Juice and what a perfect day was to you then, could you ever have imagined that this would be a perfect day for you now?

Khalifa: No, I wouldn’t imagine that at all. And not that I looked down on it, but at that age, I never knew what that would feel like. It wasn’t even a goal of mine at that time. So, I’m very appreciative that I am fortunate enough to have learned that lesson, especially at my age. So, I wouldn’t have imagined it, but I’m very grateful that I’ve achieved it.

Baltin: What makes life so worth living is you have this idea of what you think you want your life to be and then it turns out to be something completely different and it’s way better than you imagine.

Khalifa: It’s way better and people change. You have to allow yourself to change and let go of certain things and be comfortable with it. And there’s just certain things that I know if I put myself around it, what the results are going to be. So instead of continuously just offering myself to that, I know the difference. I can be over here where I really enjoy myself, or I could be over here where it might be necessary, and I’ll pop in and pop out. But having that discretion, I think, is worth a lot.

Baltin: Like I said, I just talked to Cube last week, he runs a basketball league. He’s having the time of his life doing movies and more. Is there anybody you are really inspired by?

Khalifa: I’m really inspired by Snoop. Just getting close to Snoop and him being one of the first real superstars to embrace me, he really set the bar high for what behavior is supposed to be. I’ve only seen Snoop be nice and pleasant and really giving with his platform and with his talents and with anything that he does, whether it’s knowledge or information or weed, whatever it is, he just gives it to you. And Snoop, he stands in his role as somebody who can change other people’s lives, even if it’s just him being kind to them or shaking their hand and whatever it is, letting them go before him. There are just certain things that Snoop does that show me that when you reach a certain level of greatness, how gentle you’re supposed to be and how much care you’re supposed to put into having that so you can have longevity through that position. So I definitely look up to Snoop in a lot of ways when it comes to that.

Baltin: I have found the thing that drives successful people, whether you’re an athlete, whether you’re an author, whether you’re a CEO, is the internal fire. The only way to keep motivated is with yourself.

Khalifa: Yeah, I figured it out just by knowing my connection with my fans and the people who really support me. Those are the people who’ve taken me to the top and who continue to support, challenge, inspire me and motivate me. And that’s what creates that fire because I’m not afraid to run things past them and be wrong or find out exactly what right is and what serves this community. My community is full of peaceful people. My community is full of hard workers. My community is full of people who respect themselves and respect the people around them. So, it’s not hard to really navigate and make good decisions based off what we all would expect from each other. In turn, I think that just brings up the whole vibration and elevates everybody around us. Cause who doesn’t want to be cool just for who they are. Or who doesn’t want to just feel good about trying some s**t and making a mistake and still being all right. And that’s what I think a lot of my following is all about, just figuring this whole thing out together and doing it the right way, who we really are deep down inside. Music is a channel for that because it makes everybody feel good. And if you see me on stage, whether you know my music or not, I make it so you remember the performance. You remember that night. You remember moments. And you’re in love with it. You leave happy. You feel elevated and I just think that everybody deserves that feeling whether you know it or not. Through the music you’re able to discover it and I put all of that energy into making sure that my fans have that first. That’s what keeps me focused on that mission.

Baltin: At what point did you first realize that power of music to transform you? Were there one or two records early on that spoke to you?

Khalifa: For me, it was Bone Thugs and Harmony. I was born in ’87, so I grew up in the Nineties. When they first started releasing music, it just sounded so different to me. And I remember when I heard ”Crossroads,” I just fell in love with that song. The first time I heard it, it was so good that I thought I was never going to hear it again. I was like, “This song is so good.” Then I got to the age where I was able to figure out the artist and see the videos and stuff like that. Then I went to one of their concerts. And that’s where it really hit me instantly, just that love and that being captivated that much by something and feeling positive about it. That’s when I knew music was really powerful.

Baltin: The one person who nearly killed me smoking was B-Real.

Khalifa: B-Real, the top smoker. He is top of the top.

Baltin: That’s funny cause he said the only person he couldn’t keep up with was you. He said you were doing like six joints at a time.

Khalifa: Yeah, I’m just trying to hang with the big dogs, man (laughs).

Baltin: I also think obviously that just makes you a better musician, the more stuff you listen to.

Khalifa: Absolutely, it opens up the way that you’re able to approach things. And while I understood listening and being inspired by jazz, I couldn’t make a full jazz record. I did go there and take the important parts and bring it back to where I was at, especially having Terrace Martin on. I’ve known him since I was like 19 years old. So, to be able to have him on the album is a full circle moment. I learned a lot about jazz just by watching him play. I went and saw him play four or five times during the process making this album and was just blown away. Even just seeing it live had a huge effect on me while making this album.