Wiz Khalifa

One of hip hop's new breed of rap stars, Wiz Khalifa's gangsta rhymes and relentless beats come with a rock star strut and a body covered in tattoos. Born Cameron Jibril Thomaz, he was nicknamed "Young Wiz" by his grandfather (shortened from wisdom) and took his second name from the Arabic word for successor, before being discovered as a 16-year-old performing on a mixtape with a gang of new Pittsburgh artists. Taken under the wing of Rostrum Records boss Benjy Grinberg, his own mixtapes Show And Prove (2006) and Kush And Orange Juice (2010) created a healthy buzz, and won him a deal with major label Atlantic Records for third album Rolling Papers (2011). Filled with pop hooks and swaggering bravado, it shot to Number 2 in the US and produced the chart-topping single Black and Yellow, a tribute to his hometown's sports teams which sold over three million copies and was remade by Lil Wayne, Fabolous Jermaine Dupri and a host of other artists. More US Top 10 hits came with No Sleep and Young, Wild and Free, and Khalifa teamed up with Snoop Dogg to star in the stoner film Mac & Devin Go To High School in 2012, with its soundtrack album also reaching Number 2 in the US

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