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Wiz Khalifa Explains 'Rolling Papers' Sound

The MC says he aimed for 'the next level.'

For many Wiz Khalifa fans, the MC's major label debut "Rolling Papers" felt like new territory. While fans were excited to hear new music, the musical transition from the "Black & Yellow" MC's 2010 "Kush And OJ" mixtape to his major label debut "Rolling Papers" felt drastic. 

“In my mind, I was just trying to do everything different," the rapper told Complex magazine. "I didn’t want it to sound like 'Kush and OJ' or use the 'Kush and OJ' flows because I had a lot of people watching me from the label [as well as] my own people.

The Pittsburgh, PA MC admitted to shifting from his creative direction on the record but for a reason.

"They would know if I was just reusing and redoing the same things over and over," he said. "For the album, I wanted to take it to the next level. The mind state was to do the biggest records possible, not hold back anything, and not do anything just for the sake of doing it. People don’t get it right away, it takes time and years from now they’ll understand what I was doing.”

Pharrell Williams is also joining the list of producers working with the A-list MC, however Wiz doesn't want the collaboration to be in name only.

“Anybody that I get with, I want to make my own connection with them. I’m going to be working with a lot of different people on the new album," he said. "I’m working with Pharrell, but Pharrell is known for what he’s known for. But when he gets with me, I want it to be a unique sound where it’s like, ‘That’s that Pharrell and Wiz shit.' "


(Photo: Chaz Niell/Picturegroup)

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