On the track “No Sleep” Wiz Khalifa raps, “Good weed and cold drinks, that’s the motherfucking recipe”. The Pittsburgh-based rapper adheres faithfully to that formula on his Atlantic studio debut, cooking up an album full of easy-going tracks about hitting the bongs and the clubs. Rap purists will surely lament Khalifa’s departure from the heavier offerings of Show and Prove and Deal or No Deal, but Wiz reminds us that pandering to the pop crowd doesn’t always yield disappointing results. Less confrontational than Snoop Dogg, more credible then Bruno Mars and more widely accessible than Kid Cudi, Khalifa’s latest offering feels right at home in the mainstream.
Rolling Papers is characterized by melodic choruses and club-friendly beats, sure to gain Khalifa a wider audience and multiple radio plays. The unexpected opener “When I’m Gone” sets the tone for the album as a more pop-oriented endeavour. A full minute of piano gives way to a melodic and somewhat melancholy track about the transience of material existence. Using this carpe diem motif, Wiz advises celebrating the finer things in life – weed, women, and wads of cash – while you’re young enough to enjoy them. The track is only one of several radio-friendly hip-hop ballads.
“On My Level” featuring Too Short is the purest rap song on the album. Layered over a simple beat, the rhymes celebrate the good life, a trope which will carry through the rest of the track listing. The album’s breakout single, “Black and Yellow”, proves that adhering to the hip-hop formula has its advantages. It’s thoroughly catchy and flawlessly produced, a track that will continue to tear through clubs in the coming months. “Wake Up” is charmingly earnest, marking Khalifa’s rise from rap obscurity on the strength of several acclaimed mixtapes and a loyal Twitter following. “No Sleep” consciously shapes itself as a quintessential club beat in the vein of R. Kelly’s “Ignition”, reminding us to “live it up like it’s the weekend” and “drink and party all night long”.
With so many mainstream numbers, it’s unavoidable that at times Khalifa’s swagger seems manufactured, for instance on “Star of the Show” when he raps about the pitfalls of fame and advises us to “stay away from the fake or phony n-ggas who can’t support their own”, or on “Rooftops” where he lauds his own rise to stardom. Neither of these tracks are unsuccessful by any means – either one could easily end up in the Top 40 sometime soon. But it’s hard to take him too seriously when his songs could so easily find their way onto an FM playlist alongside Justin Bieber.
Rolling Papers isn’t transcendent; it doesn’t take hip-hop anywhere it hasn’t been before. But I don’t think that was ever the point. Wiz Khalifa wants the world to know his name, and now they will.
He didn’t sell out – he bought in.
Wiz Khalifa – “Rolling Papers” (Atlantic) / In Stores Now
by Rebecca Hiscott
