Wiz Khalifa "Rolling Papers" review

Being a fellow environmentalist, “Rolling Papers” has been a record that I have been eagerly anticipating for a long time. Following the success of the massive “Kush & Orange Juice” mix tape, Wiz Khalifa seemed to become a household name overnight, beating both Nicki Minaj and J.Cole to win MTV’s Hottest MC of 2010, gracing the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, as well as releasing one of the top songs of yesteryear “Black and Yellow.”

               

                Backpacking off of the success of “Black and Yellow”, “Rolling Papers” has been released with much hype behind it and Wiz delivers with a solid major label debut. Putting my excitement behind me, I listened to “Rolling Papers” with an open mind, careful not to proclaim it an instant classic before I gave it a thorough listen. While “Rolling Papers” is not an instant classic, it is a strong album which features fun, catchy songs with big choruses. Wiz mixes it up nicely with his melodic format that showcases both his rapping and singing style, which is enough to satisfy fans of Wiz before and after the “Kush & Orange Juice” era. The album is easy to listen to all the way through and most importantly does not contain any filler. Every song maintains an element of replay value and the reason for that is the approach Wiz takes on all the songs. The composition of the album follows a rhyme and chorus arrangement but this works for Wiz considering he has a knack for creating memorable sing-a-long choruses that are easy to follow upon the first time hearing them. While nobody will ever confuse Wiz for being Jay-Z or Lupe Fiasco, his rhymes and flow are solid enough to carry the song until the chorus hits, where he will win you away.

                “Rolling Papers” opens up with a calm, piano lullaby which gradually builds into a triumphant swagger filled song about living life for today and enjoying the present at every moment before closing with the same piano harmony on “When I’m Gone.” This song sets the theme of “Rolling Papers” perfectly as the album is a testament to Wiz Khalifa’s hard work and struggle to make it to the top and he does not shy away from proclaiming it at every chance he gets. The next song on the record, “On My Level” features Too Short as a guest and is the first song on the record about Wiz Khalifa’s carefree lifestyle. This song is the perfect example of the catchy non complicated choruses Wiz is able to create as he croons over the Jim Jonsin produced beat. Up next are the two songs I’m sure everyone by now has heard: “Black and Yellow” and “Roll Up.” Both songs were produced by Stargate and they are two of the strongest songs on “Rolling Papers.” “Black and Yellow” was one of the biggest songs of 2010 being played everywhere, especially during the Pittsburgh Steelers run to the SuperBowl, and has been remixed numerous times by countless artists. “Roll Up” on the other hand, is the second single from the album and is a clever play on words. Contrary to what fans of Wiz would expect from a song barring this title, the song is instead a song for the females and a strong one at that, again containing a mighty chorus.

 From here, “Rolling Papers” makes a turn as it moves away from the high energy production and settles in on more of a “Kush and Orange Juice” type of vibe. These are the best smoking songs on “Rolling Papers”, and feature spacely production with heavy bass perfect for lighting up. Of these four, “The Race” and “Wake Up” are the strongest with the former containing a Biggie Smalls inspired skit at the end and the latter once again featuring production from Stargate containing a memorable chorus.

                Immediately following these four songs, Wiz hits us with “No Sleep” a poppy high energy song produced by Benny Blanco the creator of Katy Perry’s summer hit “California Gurls.” Again with all songs on “Rolling Papers”, “No Sleep” features a great chorus and I believe it could be perfect for radio later in the year as a third or fourth single off the album. From this point on, “Rolling Papers” gets more creative as evident by “Get Your Shit”, the next song on the record. “Get Your Shit” caught me off guard as it shows a completely different side of Wiz, I had never heard before. There is more anger on this one breakup song then anything Wiz had done throughout his career and he pulls off this risk nicely. However, Wiz hits a bump in the road with “Top Floor.” Wiz usually has an aptitude for choosing great production to rhyme over, but for some reason he chose a beat featuring a loud and annoying, repetitive sample which is distracting and ultimately hinders the song. The beat feels like it drives the track, placing Wiz in the background which is opposite of what I wanted to hear on his debut. The creativity continues on the next song “Fly Solo.” This song has Wiz rapping over a ska influenced beat featuring drums and a guitar and is one of the catchiest songs on the record. Fans of any genre of music will enjoy this song as it offers something for everyone due to its lighthearted nature. “Rooftops” comes next and features New Orleans rapper Curren$y on the track. Back in 2009, Wiz and Curren$y released a mix tape together and it showed they had great chemistry. “Rooftops” is another clear example of that, as the two effortlessly flow over the beat and create one of the stronger songs on the album.  “Rolling Papers” concludes with “Cameras”, a song which has been released for a couple of months now but is a good choice to wrap the album up. Everything Wiz has been through since his rise in popularity over the last couple of months is addressed here and shows just how far the man has come in the short time.

While there is still a lot of room for growth, “Rolling Papers” is an enjoyable release that should make fans of Wiz Khalifa happy. The album is mostly fun and full of positive energy and is an easy listen all the way through. All of the songs flow nicely from one to the next while still containing enough variety to keep the listener on their toes and maintain a level of replay value. One of the elements about “Rolling Papers” which I really enjoyed was the fact that the spotlight always remained on Wiz and never ventured off to a different part of the album. The album does not feature any big time guests or producers and is instead a true solo album, focusing completely on Wiz Khalifa. Something which surprised me about the record was that it did not feature a true smoker’s anthem. I was expecting to hear at least one song solely about marijuana but weed was not Wiz’s focus this time around. Instead, “Rolling Papers” ventures out into different themes and creates a different journey delving deeper into the Wiz Khalifa persona. Although I do respect Wiz for choosing hometown producers who have helped him achieve all his fame and fortune, I would still like to hear him work with some of the major players in the game, such as Just Blaze or DJ Premier to help shape his sound in the future. While it is not an instant classic album, “Rolling Papers” is still a strong showing worthy of the fame Wiz has recently found and is an enjoyable record to burn one and relax too. Overall, “Rolling Papers” is a solid 3.5 stars out of five.

3.5 Stars out of 5.

Recommended Songs: Black N Yellow, Roll Up, Fly Solo, Rooftops