Who Is Wiz Khalifa? Facts About The American Rapper

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Wiz Khalifa, a rapper, singer, and songwriter, was born Cameron Jibril Thomaz on September 8, 1987, in Minot, North Dakota, to Peachie Wimbush-Polk and Laurence Thomaz. Thomaz’s parents were both in the Air Force and divorced when he was three years old. Thomaz grew up with both parents and lived in Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom before his mother moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1996.

Thomaz began writing his own music when he was nine years old, and by 2002, he was recording music in a professional studio. In 2005, he released his first mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania. Thomaz graduated from Philadelphia’s Taylor Allderdice High School in 2006, the same year he released his debut album, Show and Prove, on Rostrum Records.

Thomaz signed his first major label contract with Warner Bros. Records in 2007, but continued to release mixtapes with Rostrum Records for the next two years. He left Warner Bros. Records in 2009 with no releases under the label. Thomaz then released his second album, Deal or No Deal, but neither of his first or second albums charted.

He rose to prominence after touring with The Game, U-God, David Banner, and Yelawolf, and was named MTV’s Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010. Thomaz’s third album, Rolling Papers, featured the single “Black and Yellow” (2011). The single was his first hit, and it was certified six times platinum (sold 6 million copies), while the album was certified double platinum.

The first single, “Work Hard, Play Hard,” from Thomaz’s fourth studio album, O.N.I.F.C. (Only Nigga In First Class), as well as the album, were certified platinum. Blacc Hollywood (2014), his fifth studio album, featured the single “See You Again,” a tribute to the late actor Paul Walker from the film Furious 7. The single sold 4 million copies, and the album received gold certification (selling 500,000 copies). Rolling Papers 2 (2018), his sixth album, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and eventually sold 500,000 copies.

Thomaz made his film debut in Gangs of Roses 2: Next Generations (2012) and has appeared in a number of television shows. He appeared in Season 1 Episode 9 of MTV’s This Is How I Made It, and he also appeared in Season 5 of Fox’s The Masked Singer, where he finished third as The Chameleon. Thomaz has received three Billboard Music Awards for Top New Artist (2012), Top Hot 100 Song (2016), and Top Rap Song (2017), as well as two Teen Choice Awards for Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song and Choice Song from a Movie or TV Show (2015).

In 2011, Thomaz began dating model Amber Rose. They married in 2013, but divorced soon after the birth of their son, Sebastian Taylor Thomaz, in 2014. Thomaz is a marijuana enthusiast who is sponsored by RiverRock Cannabis, a national medical marijuana dispensary. Thomaz’s strain, “Khalifa Kush,” is sold by the company. Wiz Khalifa Day has been declared by the Pittsburgh City Council on December 12.

 

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