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Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa 7, 2012.jpg
Khalifa performing Under the Influence of Music Tour 2012 in Toronto.
Background information
Birth name Cameron Jibril Thomaz
Born September 8, 1987 (age 26)
Minot, North Dakota, United States
Origin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres Hip hop
Occupations Rapper, singer
Years active 2005–present
Labels Rostrum Records, Taylor Gang, Atlantic Records (present)
Warner Bros. Records (former)
Associated acts Chevy Woods, Curren$y, Juicy J, Mac Miller, Snoop Dogg, Smoke DZA, Yelawolf
Website wizkhalifa.com
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His Eurodance-influenced single, "Say Yeah", received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008.[1]
Khalifa parted with Warner Bros. and released his second album, Deal or No Deal, in November 2009. He released the mixtape Kush and Orange Juice as a free download in April 2010; he then signed with Atlantic Records.[2] He is also well known for his debut single for Atlantic, "Black and Yellow", which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album for the label, Rolling Papers, was released on March 29, 2011.[3] He followed that album with O.N.I.F.C. on December 4, 2012 which was backed by the singles "Work Hard, Play Hard" and "Remember You".
Early life

Khalifa was born in Minot, North Dakota on September 8, 1987 to a mother and a father serving in the military.[1][4] His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old. His parents' military service caused him to move regularly. Khalifa lived in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School.[1][5]
His stage name is derived from Khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was a young boy.[6] Khalifa stated to spinner.com that the name also came from being called "young Wiz 'cause I was good at everything I did, and my granddad is Muslim, so he gave me that name; he felt like that's what I was doing with my music." He got a tattoo of his stage name on his 17th birthday.[7][8] He cites Jimi Hendrix, Camp Lo, The Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony as musical influences.[9]
Career

2005–08: Early mixtapes and Show and Prove
Rostrum Records president Benjy Grinberg first heard about Wiz Khalifa in 2004 when the rapper's contribution to a mixtape of various new Pittsburgh artists attracted his interest.[10] When Grinberg finally met the 16-year-old artist, he immediately decided he wanted to work with him, later telling HitQuarters: "Even though he wasn’t all the way developed you could just tell that he was a diamond in the rough, and that with some polishing, guidance and backing he could become something special."[10] Khalifa signed to the label shortly after and began a seven-year period of artist development.[10]
Khalifa released his first mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania, in 2005. The mixtape paved the way for his first full length album entitled Show and Prove in 2006. Khalifa was declared an "artist to watch" that year in Rolling Stone magazine.[11][12]
In 2007, Khalifa signed to Warner Bros. Records and released two mixtapes through Rostrum Records: Grow Season, hosted by DJ Green Lantern and released on July 4, 2007, and Prince of the City 2, released on November 20, 2007. His debut Warner Bros. single "Say Yeah" reached number 25 on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 music chart and number 20 on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks. The song samples "Better Off Alone" by