Wiz Khalifa - Khalifa

Bringing you the soundtrack for stoners everywhere this year is Wiz Khalifa, offering up Khalifa. Wiz brings his signature trap rap game to the table, continuing to appeal to only stoners and those who think doing drugs make them cool. It’s an album that has little to offer to consumers outside of it’s intended audience but does have some small moments.

The greater majority of the album has little to offer instrumental. Most of it is trap beats on top of repetitive synth lines. There are some surprising moments on the album that over some variety, though. ‘Elevated’ - the only standout track on the album - has a great instrumental featuring a piano/synth line on top of an atmospheric bass synth, with a wonderful piano outro to top off the song. ‘Call Waiting’ also has a notable instrumental, featuring use of brass and being particularly jazzy. ‘iSay’, which features Juicy J., ruined by the lyrics, would be another great track with it’s driving piano instrumental. Much of the album just gets repetitive and stays relative to a formula of simple beats and minimalist noises that don’t offer any color to spice up the tracks.

Lyrically, it’s exactly what you’d expect from Wiz Khalifa. Besides exceptions in ‘Elevated’ and ‘Zoney’, while they do share similar themes with the rest of the songs, actually makes good use of the lyrics, the album is almost completely about getting high or being drunk. The lead single, ‘Bake Sale’ with Travis Scott and ‘Lit’ with Ty Dolla $ign are probably the lyrical low points on the record, literally offering nothing of worth besides the sentiment of weed. There really isn’t much to say lyrically about the album... ‘Elevated’ has some substance, but overall the album doesn’t have great lyrics at all. ‘Zoney’ features his son Sebastian on it, making the ending a pretty cute moment, but that doesn’t save the entire tracks from what it is - another average song on the album.

Wiz Khalifa brought little to the table with Khalifa, though if you’re looking for a record to put on whilst getting high, this might be just the album to party to. Other than the pop appeal and angst magnets, Khalifa is a flop. If you don’t fall under its demographic, there’s little chance you’ll enjoy it. There’s nothing worth focusing on - the instrumentals are repetitive and the lyrics sloppy and lack any meaning. Perhaps for his next record, reducing the amount of drugs in the studio may help the quality. Maybe.

Favorite Tracks: Elevated

Least Favorite Tracks: Lit, Make A Play, Most Of Us

Rating: 4.5/10