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Thomas
Perfect. Perfect. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Dope as Usual podcast. My name is Thomas Dope as yolo, whatever you want to call me. This is my co host, Marty o' Neal.
Wiz Khalifa
Guys.
Thomas
And guys, you've been asking for this since before we started a podcast. Damn near we're smoking already. Because you already know what it is. You see the title. Please welcome Wiz Khalifa.
Wiz Khalifa
What's up?
Thomas
Sup? Thanks for being here, man.
Wiz Khalifa
Thank you guys for having me.
Thomas
I'm excited, man. We got a lot of shit to smoke today.
Wiz Khalifa
Hey, I'm ready to smoke up. I brought like three pre rolls, but I. I feel like y' all got me covered too.
Thomas
Oh, yeah, we got you. You know what?
Wiz Khalifa
Here. Well, they weren't pre rolled before.
Thomas
You just rolled up here. This is yours.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, sweet.
Thomas
So me and my homie for, we have this company, but this is a guy that paints old schools out here.
Wiz Khalifa
Huh?
Thomas
Right, right. So he made this and then open that up.
Wiz Khalifa
This is nice.
Thomas
What? There's a bunch of hash holes in there, so feel free. Feel free to go for it.
Wiz Khalifa
Hell yeah.
Thomas
There. Ice hatch. Rosin inside too. I mean, not ice hatch, Roger. Ice hatch.
Wiz Khalifa
Damn, that's going to have me high. Let me see what this is here for. All right. Looks like something I can smoke.
Thomas
Yep.
Wiz Khalifa
Thank you. I know it's gas too.
Thomas
Oh, for sure, for sure.
Wiz Khalifa
Nice.
Thomas
Actually, that shit's fire, too. Fire. All right, cool. So now that we're going to smoke it up and get started. Yeah, let's get right into it. I got a bunch of things I want to ask, but first I want to get into the things that you're doing right now. And it dropped, what, two. A little more than two months ago.
Wiz Khalifa
Cushion orange juice too. Huh?
Thomas
And you're on tour. You're on two different tours right now?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, I just finished my. The first leg. Well, the first tour is called the Taylor Gang World Tour. And yes, you're right, I did drop the cushion orange juice too. I'm super happy about that. Super proud.
Thomas
It's been a long wait.
Wiz Khalifa
I know, man. It has been a long way. And it was something that I said I wasn't gonna do it, but my fans, the Taylor Gang, and just people who love me in general, they pushed me over the edge. So I had to go ahead and do it, man. I had to do what I had to do, and it came together really nice. I worked with all the producers that I wanted to. I was able to curate a sound that I was really proud of. And that I did before, but people didn't know that you could come back and do again. And then now with the tours, I just want to be able to get out, get out there on the road and reach people the same way that I did before. And a lot of people think that when you get to this point in your career that you are too big to go and do that. But for me, it's all about the connection and it's all about the experience. So being able to get out there and perform these records and do some of the classics and perform for people who've been to my shows for 15 years and people who haven't been to one show at all, it's a really crazy, crazy experience because you can.
Thomas
You're gaining new fans every day no matter what. Even though we, we kind of did some research on this, but it's kind of funny, man. Like on the top 20 biggest songs of all time on Spotify, you're like three of them in there.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, cool.
Thomas
Yeah, there's like almost 6 billion streams on that.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thomas
It's kind of a trip to think like YouTube too. Oh, YouTube also. Yeah, YouTube. That's, that's, that's, that's the biggest one, I think. Right?
Marty O'Neal
Yeah. I pulled this quote from you earlier that goes with what I was saying, like, really reminded me of Thomas also. The only thing that compares to having a die hard fan base is getting the opportunity to make new ones every day. I appreciate you and I don't take it lightly.
Wiz Khalifa
Yep. Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
That's why you've been around for so long, I feel like, because you're so dialed in with your fans.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, definitely. I love my fans and I really experienced this along with them. We're growing together, we're understanding things together. The people who were there with me early in my career, they choose to be here. So I, I really appreciate it. And it's something that, you know, if I put myself in their place and I want to see me win, I'm gonna keep doing the things that I'm gonna do to make them proud to be fans of mine.
Marty O'Neal
I went back to the top of your YouTube this morning, researching the episode that made me like, sentimental. There's so many vlogs that what I noticed was like, damn, he was doing this for years before Black and Yellow. He was coming out to LA.
Thomas
The first YouTube rapper, YouTuber. You're a vlogger.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Think about it.
Wiz Khalifa
For sure. Me and Soldier boy.
Thomas
Yeah, I know the first one. That's funny. We're gonna say that.
Wiz Khalifa
But, like, you know, Soldier boy, what it really was. I was watching Soulja Boy before I was on. I used to watch Soulja Boy. I used to watch Bow Wow, and I watched Jermaine Dupree. Those were my influences on my social media game. But it was when YouTube first started Twitter, and we would use. We would use AOL Instant messenger as well. We would just give fans our email and just, you know. Oh, like that hit him up on the sidekick. Like. Yeah, just talking to our fans.
Thomas
How many fans got that screenshot and printed out in their room still?
Marty O'Neal
For sure, you had the Taylor Gang cracking way back then, right?
Wiz Khalifa
Like, yeah, yeah. Yep. It's a lifestyle. It's more about just, you know, you know, freeing your mind, kicking it with the homies, having a good time. And this was at a time when music was a little bit different and it was. It was more mainstream, but we brought it back to the grassroots of people, like, doing it themselves. And definitely the Internet played a huge role in that and just allowing us to have a platform to do that on. You know, that's why MySpace, YouTube, Twitter was so big for me, you know, being able to create that fan base.
Thomas
Yeah. The content creation, it just gives you another. How many times you do an interview? You know, unless they ask you certain questions, your fans aren't gonna know certain. Unless you do some raw, which is a vlog. But, yo, what's up? This is what we're doing. It's our actual day.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. It allowed me to be. Be able to, like, paint the narrative for real instead of somebody else telling my story.
Thomas
Exactly.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Like what social media is today. Everybody's seen what every rapper every day with their stories. They know what they do then, where they eat. That's different.
Wiz Khalifa
Right?
Thomas
Back then, you had. There was nothing.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Interview.
Wiz Khalifa
It was just interviews. That was it. There was nothing. And people wanted to be mysterious. So when I was. When we first started doing it, a lot of rappers were like, I don't want people all in my business. I don't want y' all knowing what I'm doing 24 7. Yeah, it's that and the other thing.
Thomas
Like, Cribs broke that wall. Like, that's super.
Wiz Khalifa
A lot of rappers, they really didn't like that back in the day. Like, really? Yeah. And this was when I was younger. This is when I was a Y. N. So. And I'm older now, and I. I. The game has changed with. It's more like streaming and IRL stuff, like, in real life things. And that's cool, too. I love that side of it because I feel like it's just evolved into, you know, more into the hands of the consumer. Because for me and my generation, you have to make the music as well as be a consumer. I'm somebody who's enjoying the music, but I'm going to the studio every day, you know, buying a camera and figuring it out. I'm going on stage and things like that. These kids, they don't even have to get on stage to become who they are. They just need to get the camera and they need to get the content. You don't have to become, you know, the things that you see or that you idolize.
Marty O'Neal
It's the scariest part, too.
Thomas
I started with an iPhone and a grow light.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. It's the consumers are becoming the, you know, the taste makers, which is cool, because that's what it is. Yeah.
Thomas
It dictates what people wanted anyway.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And then the ones who work the hardest, those are the ones who stand out and last the longest. So it's the same thing in music. You know, you could be very talented, but if you don't work hard, you don't outwork your competition, then you're not going to be competition at all.
Thomas
Yeah, you can be dope as hell, but put on album every two years, like, well, I kind of forgot about you.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, every eight.
Thomas
You know what I mean? Some people take hiatuses instead of breaks.
Wiz Khalifa
It's the people who flood who, you know, make the most. Make the most noise out there.
Marty O'Neal
Especially you're the first person to blow up out of Pittsburgh. I mean, like, you had to do that extra.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah. I worked the extra hard being from Pittsburgh and in Pittsburgh, because it's not like I was from Pittsburgh, but I was in New York or I was in a. Yeah, you know, I was. I was. I was just in Pittsburgh. So there's no real way to get known anywhere else or even have people understand what that looks like. But it was something that I was able to, you know, get over, especially through the Internet and traveling and meeting different people and just being able to adapt and adjust and bring different, you know, aspects of the game back home and not really just be stuck in a Pittsburgh mind state, but, you know, take what I know and elevate that as well.
Thomas
Yeah, it's like the. We call it the small town mindset. Like. Well, it's just this I can't do. We got to take. No, you, the world. Yeah, world over and back home.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. A lot of People get caught up on just entertaining the people that they are in reach, are in reach of. Yeah, they really don't have a gauge on what other people expect. And those other people's opinions can be really valid opinions and they can help you out as well. But some people feel such a loyalty to where they're at or who they're around, they don't really expand and they don't really even get to see what that's like.
Thomas
It's. It's eye opening once you leave, man, first thing to LA or big city. Like.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, oh yeah. It's just got a vibe with people other than your immediate circle.
Thomas
Exactly.
Wiz Khalifa
I think that's healthy. It's not even a part of like being like somebody else, but it's just finding like minded people. You could be in Toronto and find some people who are just like you. Or like you said you were in the UK or I seen you guys were in Paris. There's people like us everywhere who aren't the immediate, you know, crowd that we grew up with.
Thomas
100.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thomas
Like you, like you say. I always call it garage talk. Like yes, you can have garage talk with like four dudes at the airport. You never men, but hey, these are tight. Where you from? Yeah, it's different. Like I don't know. But back, back to what I was thinking. The first time I ever really started hearing your name, I remember it was the same like summer I started getting packs instead of like qps.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Oh, someone's running me a few ps. So I just remember that time of like, you know, montage music from Blow, like start getting hell money. And like that's how I, I mean it wasn't a lot money, but yeah, so that's, that's the era of that. And then the High Eyes. The High Eyes with Mac. The Mac Miller stuff. Then I realized like, oh, you've been doing this before. I didn't realize that, you know, because I came into the Mac Miller circle later on. So to see what you were doing is on such a different scale. You're on the radio. I just remember like on the radio, the weed guy. That's what I remember. Like I was just getting into packs, like just going up and down the state. I just remember like whenever I hear those first couple mainstream huge hits, I go, guys, you know, and so you hear a song like that reminds me of so and so's hanging out. So that room, every time I hear those reminds me of the first packs. I put my trunk like hell yeah, yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Hell yeah, I'd be happy to have those, those moments with people. I think that's the beautiful thing about my music. On top of, you know, how much work that I put into it personally, people get to enjoy it for the best times in our lives. Like you said, you just remember awesome things. When it comes to my music, I think that's a cool ass like, legacy to have and still build on. That's what I'm all about now. That's why I did cushion orange juice too. To keep that, that feeling going and give other people the opportunity to have those experiences as well and still, still build on top of that for 20 years.
Marty O'Neal
You're like one of the only huge rappers putting out a positive message too.
Wiz Khalifa
That's the other thing.
Marty O'Neal
Do you have the. Would you say you have the nicest fan base in hip hop? Because I know how cool our fans are and it's like the same people.
Wiz Khalifa
I think it's the same people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think we do have the nicest fans. There's. They're super respectful. It's all love. They're really thoughtful. You can talk to them like regular people. I go out and I go places. I'm driving around in my car, I'm with my son and I don't need a bunch of security or anybody that, you know, get me in back doors or out. Anyway, like, it's all love. And I think that comes from, you know, like the memories and experiences that people have to the music and they're like, I don't think anybody wants to with the weed, man. Like, you know what I mean? Everybody get the weed, man always gets love and, and especially like where I'm at in the game. I'm more in an OG seat than I am like anybody's competition. Like, nobody's really trying to come for my spot. So we good?
Marty O'Neal
Super chilling.
Thomas
Always. That is crazy. Just I'm liking the og. Oh man. I'm like the same age as you, so I started. Like, I don't have kids, but I'm starting to see all my friend's kid. Like he's 16.
Wiz Khalifa
Damn. Oh.
Thomas
So I'm starting to feel it finally, man.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, we're getting up there, dog. My son is 12 and damn.
Thomas
For real.
Wiz Khalifa
I got 12 year olds.
Thomas
I remember your pose like, this is my son.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Little ass boy. And then he's. When you got little glasses. I remember a couple years later.
Wiz Khalifa
Wow, he's 12. He's 12.
Thomas
He's taller than I am.
Wiz Khalifa
I got a daughter, she'll be One next month. So I got family restart. Yeah, I got family going on.
Thomas
I'm sure you're not Mexican. A little bit. You waited 12 years, man.
Wiz Khalifa
That's Mexican stuff.
Thomas
My little brother's 24 years younger than me.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, nice.
Thomas
My uncle's five years older. Younger than me, too.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Y' all got it figured out.
Thomas
Yeah. They're like. So you can watch them when you're 18, and then I can go out again for sure.
Marty O'Neal
It seems like you got, like, such, like, structure. It seems like you're. First of all, it seems like you challenge yourself a lot and, like, learn new skills, and you're always getting after different. Which leads me to believe you're very disciplined and, like, regimented, would you say?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Did having kids, like, lock that in?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. It's something that you learn over time, and it's something that if you want it, that you'll really go out there and get it. And a lot of this stuff is hard to ignore. People just. It's. It's easier to put stuff in front of it, and it's easier to, you know, just keep enjoying and staying in your regular routine or whatever that is. But to certain people, it just clicks right in when you're supposed to be doing the right thing and, you know you're not doing the right. You know, you're reaching if you're not doing the right thing. So rather than, you know, fight with those feelings and stuff like that, you might as well just go ahead and settle into where you're going to be for the rest of your life, you know, and let the. The things that you did already just, you know, let that live and let that be what it was. You always have that there, and it's a part of your personality, but who you are is way more important than who you were.
Thomas
Yeah, like, that outlook on that still. Because this fool wakes up at five every day and does everything in the world.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Three kids does all this.
Wiz Khalifa
That's how you do it.
Thomas
He's on. I'm still. I'm trying, man.
Marty O'Neal
It's still a young, wild and free.
Wiz Khalifa
You ain't got no kids yet. Kids help you grow up immediately.
Thomas
Like Peter Pan, dude. I'm like, do I really want to grow up, though, or.
Marty O'Neal
Every time I talk about having kids, you're, like, discouraged. And if you don't want.
Wiz Khalifa
If you don't. My advice is it happens when it's supposed to.
Thomas
So there you go.
Wiz Khalifa
You know, you can't even plan that, dog. When you're supposed to grow up, you gonna grow the up.
Thomas
It feels like it's the movie.
Wiz Khalifa
It's fun, dog. Is cool, man.
Thomas
Ah, it sounds cool, man.
Wiz Khalifa
It's super cool.
Thomas
Leads me to one other thing and I heard a lyrics like, we're grown now. We spend our time wisely. You're like doing. Was it hot? Yoga and hiking. Is that what you said? Right?
Wiz Khalifa
Yep.
Thomas
So I feel that because sometimes I'll be like sitting there three in the morning, dad. Like I should be asleep right now. Get up early. And then three years go by, like I'm gonna start that. I promise.
Wiz Khalifa
I still have some late nights too. Because living the life that we live, you got to be conditioned for whatever. And it just makes you flexible. So you know, when you have your routine, that's what you're doing. You locked in, you doing, you dialed in. And when you're living young, wild and free, you know what that's like too. And you have the balance of both. It's not too much of either one, but like, you know, waking up early, you see the benefits from that. And then you start to do that over and over and over again and you realize, wow, I'm gonna have to do this forever. This isn't just this week.
Thomas
That sounds so sad. Cuz I used to wake up, you know, for school and every day like, like I can't wait till I graduate. Got do. And that's why I got 10am classes in college. I'm like, that ain't. I don't know, man. My whole family does truck Dr. I'll be up at five in the cold, like hooking up the truck. Like, I hate this, you know, just because, you know, you do it so long. Like, I make money. I don't have to do with that anymore.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, but you realize that's. That's. That's what keeps the world going around. What? Where would we be without the truck drivers who get up at 5am?
Thomas
To my dad, every time I feel lazy, I go, this guy's so much older than me.
Wiz Khalifa
We wouldn't be without him, dog.
Thomas
You know, people like my, like, I see the hardest working people I ever met.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Make me feel lazy as hell.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
So what's your routine? You're getting up because we see you, dude, for Go Go five years ago, right on your Instagram. You're still. I mean, you're a rock star.
Marty O'Neal
Don't go back to the top of that YouTube and see how skinny.
Thomas
No, I'm not even talking about. I'm talking about your regimen, man. You're posting, like, now I kick. I can kick seven feet in the air.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Like, I remember when you started doing all the Muay Thai shit or all the crazy kickboxing.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
What was the catalytic. What was the thing that made you go, damn, I gotta change this. I should get buff, because, you know, you could have did that 10 years before, but you chose now to start, like, a couple years ago. Like, what was the thing that changed you to go, I need to stop?
Wiz Khalifa
I think it was just, like, all the shit that I didn't want to do. I just started doing, like, if I looked at buff dudes before, and I was like, man, I'll never be buff. I was like, fuck it. Let's get buff. And I started to actually enjoy that shit. And it became more mental than it was physical. And just having, like, a real live freaking goal every day in life, like, that feels really good. It gave me a purpose. What gives me a purpose? It gives me validation. All the stuff that I get from music, I'm passionate about it the same way I'm passionate about music. I learn a lot, same way I learned with music. So it gives me a lot of the same, you know, benefits that I get from the other things that I enjoy in life. So it's like, all right, cool. I'm gonna just add that to the list.
Thomas
It's like. Like, I always call it, like, I want to get my player from a video game. The stats all the way up.
Wiz Khalifa
Get them all the way up, and then it's like, certain. Just looks cool as hell. So it's like, yeah, dude, you can.
Thomas
Be standing in the rain and. But if you're buffing the rain, everybody's ass.
Wiz Khalifa
I might as well spend 10 years learning that. You know what I mean?
Thomas
No, I feel you, dude.
Marty O'Neal
So you're part of the PFL now, right?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Can you explain what that is to people that might not know?
Wiz Khalifa
So the PFL is a professional fighters league. It's the direct competition, the ufc. It's where a lot of superstars can come and build their name and get money as well. You fight throughout a season with a point system, and the fighters with the most points in their division fight for the championship.
Marty O'Neal
And I didn't know that.
Wiz Khalifa
A million dollars? Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Thomas
So Karate Kid adult.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. And there's, like. And tournament. Yeah, we do two a year. Two pay per views a year. So there's $2 million that we give away, and the fighters are. The contracts are, like, you know, very negotiable with the fighters. So they're able to go to other leagues or other countries and.
Thomas
Yeah, you don't lock people in. They can't make money.
Wiz Khalifa
They can't make money. It's all about the fighters. It's all about, you know, longevity.
Marty O'Neal
The UFC is getting sued now. There's a clash, accident, lawsuit from how dirty they were to the fighters, that all these, like, old fighters are getting aliens cut out.
Wiz Khalifa
I believe it, man. Because the game is really shady, and it doesn't protect the fight fighters. And that's the most important thing is the. The people who entertain us. Exactly, yeah. So we want them to benefit off of it. Their legacy, their merch, their name, go on to do other things. Kayla Harrison, she used to fight in pfl. Now she's the women's championship in ufc. So she crossed over, but she built her name and her reputation over at pfl, so it's just going to keep, you know, growing, growing.
Marty O'Neal
Superstars, they absorb Bellator, right? So now they are literally.
Thomas
Damn. For real.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Pretty sick.
Thomas
That's hard. Yeah. I know you've been fighting, training. Are you gonna actually fight somebody?
Wiz Khalifa
Nah, nah, I'm not going to, man. No, it's not. It's not my life, man.
Thomas
If, what, in two years later, he comes in all cut up like, this is my life. You never know, man. You might turn a drunk off that damn one day, bro.
Wiz Khalifa
Those. I don't want to take food out of the people's mouths who really do this. And not. Not saying that. That's what that does. I see what you're saying, though, but for me, I'm. I don't. I'm not that passionate about it, so I wouldn't want to just do it, to do it.
Marty O'Neal
Toy around with.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. They're risking their lives. I'm not willing to die over that.
Marty O'Neal
Just hit the heavy bag and myths and.
Wiz Khalifa
Well, I. I just train with a lot of different people, and I train a lot of different styles, so I do boxing, jiu jitsu, Taekwondo, and Muay Thai and all scary. Yeah, yeah. Hell, yeah. Useful stuff, too.
Thomas
Hell, yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
And stuff that can translate other things, because I want to do action movies and stuff like that later on.
Thomas
That's why I said, y' all. See one day, you're in.
Wiz Khalifa
I would much rather do a movie of me kicking some ass than, like, really actually kick some ass in real life, of course. But I have it if I need it.
Thomas
But if you did, what's your walkout song?
Wiz Khalifa
My walkout song would be Shut Them down by epmd. If you never heard it, you gotta listen to it and be like, yo, this is a really actually good song.
Thomas
That's the hype. That's. That's the one that gets you hyped up.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah, yeah, I thought you're gonna say by Onyx. That was my.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, Shut him down by Onyx was hard, but EPMD version was. Was, like, a little bit more gangster, like.
Marty O'Neal
Oh, okay.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Speaking of which.
Thomas
What.
Marty O'Neal
Perfect segue if you had to put together a main card. You Def Jam fight for New York Vendetta style of rappers. What is your, like, main card?
Thomas
Celebrity death match meets.
Wiz Khalifa
You said top two events.
Marty O'Neal
Top two fights in the main card.
Wiz Khalifa
Top two fights of the main card. I would do, like, 50 Cent versus Jay Z and. Yeah, yeah.
Thomas
Oh, someone's threw in him with a lion.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
He says, you know, coming upside down to incentives.
Wiz Khalifa
And that's his intro. I would have to throw me on that car, too.
Marty O'Neal
I respect that.
Wiz Khalifa
But who am I fighting, though?
Thomas
Snoop is the only logical answer. He's the same.
Wiz Khalifa
Same build, almost same attributes.
Thomas
That's what I'm saying.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Snoop might be, like the secret boss that you have to be.
Thomas
He is the boss in Def Jam.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah, exactly.
Thomas
Is Def Jam east coast, too. We're like, yo, he's. What the.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. I don't know who I. I don't know who. I would have to. I would have to. Oh, me versus Drake. That would be hard.
Thomas
You versus Drake.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, okay. Yeah, that would be hard. You're smiling hard, too, because that'd be a good fight. Like, I just see the game on the game. Like, the weed head versus, like, you know, the King of Pop.
Thomas
Okay.
Wiz Khalifa
Popular culture got that for sure.
Thomas
Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
It's like the underground version.
Marty O'Neal
I can see the poster in my head right now.
Thomas
That's.
Wiz Khalifa
I'm seeing that.
Thomas
This.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah.
Thomas
The slide forward.
Wiz Khalifa
Everybody on the game's gonna pick Drake, like, the whole time. They're just gonna beat the whole game with Drake. But, like, you're gonna have some secret whiz fans.
Thomas
Oh, you're my Dawson.
Wiz Khalifa
That's what I'm saying.
Thomas
That's what I'm saying. Like, no, he's got the reach. Do I need that long kick?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, that'll be hard.
Marty O'Neal
Are you bummed out about Jon Jones retiring?
Wiz Khalifa
Nah, I think they're smart.
Thomas
That's why I said I think it's time.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. I mean, it's smart.
Thomas
He's gonna beat his ass.
Wiz Khalifa
There's nothing else that he could do. And if he wants to come Back. He can come back and he's always going to be training. It's not like he's, you know, gonna fall off or anything like that.
Thomas
Ceffles mug shot, the new one, he's always just like. He's like, yeah, I did it. I know. That's his face every time.
Wiz Khalifa
He's used to it by now.
Thomas
Slight smiles.
Marty O'Neal
The most ominous look I ever saw was a reporter was like, are you a good guy trying to be bad or a bad guy trying to be good? And he just, like, grinned at this. I was like, God, yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Be like that sometimes. He's a good dude, man. I like John.
Thomas
Hell, yeah. John Jones, the champ, dude.
Wiz Khalifa
Dude. Yeah, he's a good.
Thomas
That's who I'm picking.
Wiz Khalifa
Who? Jon Jones.
Thomas
If I'm playing ufc, I'm picking that fool.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, for sure.
Thomas
Who else are you gonna pick? Like, in Def Jam, I pick. What was it? David Banner. You can't with me. With David Banner.
Wiz Khalifa
I picked Method Man.
Thomas
Met the man. That shit's hard. I just beat it recently again, like, the first time since I was a kid. Feels good, man.
Wiz Khalifa
That's the man.
Marty O'Neal
Come on.
Thomas
I'll be the skinny. I'll be in shape. I'll be in that bitch all day fucking fighting. Right, rappers, guys, how can we increase these sales? Because obviously targeting boomers ain't doing it. Look at this graph. Why?
Wiz Khalifa
Why is it in a can?
Thomas
It's pretty. Pretty dumb.
Wiz Khalifa
What about a celebrity endorsement? Look what chat came up with.
Thomas
Oh, no, no, no celebrities. We want to target more lifestyle. Thus we can sponsor the Glizz eating contest. Dude, that's a great idea. Shut the fuck up. How about wheat smokers? They do be getting thirsty, but it's just not hardcore enough. Is this hardcore enough? What is that? It's a cross cone, boss. You smoke it from three sides at once, it gets you three times as thirstier. What is this?
Wiz Khalifa
It's the most hardcore thing, boss.
Thomas
Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Now@smokedumble.com and I was thinking, like, as a fan, like, say I was just walking by, I met wizcleaf or somebody was like, yo. Saying, if you can ask one question. When I was thinking about it.
Wiz Khalifa
You.
Thomas
Fuck with psychedelics, right? I know you've dabbled.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Have you ever done them on stage? And if so, what's the experience?
Wiz Khalifa
I used to. I shroomed for like a whole summer. I was microdosing and. And it was cool. I didn't really. I didn't really, like, see Too much.
Thomas
Yeah. Microdose is more like your, your mind.
Wiz Khalifa
I think that, I think, I think the, the highest that I've. That I've been. I took some, some shrooms on 420 and I forgot that I was supposed to come out on stage with, with Snoop Dogg and I did Young, Wild and Free. I was pretty high then, but it was, it was, it was manageable. I've always been pretty manageably stoned and I don't, I don't really do too many psychedelics before I go on stage because I need to know the words.
Thomas
Yeah, that was. Oh, that was a question.
Wiz Khalifa
Like, have you ever.
Thomas
Just because you guys. Are you thinking about like that shit's a talent to be able to go up in front of all those people and go, yeah, I'm doing like, I'm by myself.
Wiz Khalifa
I look at it like, like a, like a fight. Like, you know, I'm not trying to be like wasted out there for, for an hour and a half while I'm like physically pushing myself. Yeah, yeah, there has been some situations, but we don't do that stuff no more. That's what I'm saying. And actually being able to make it through and, and not like knowing the mental exercise that it takes. I don't want to have to put myself through that. I'd rather be in the, in the right state of mind. Yeah. To, to go ahead and do that thing.
Marty O'Neal
When you think of the wildest Taylor Gang stretch of tourists, like what comes to mind, what era or what city?
Wiz Khalifa
I would, I would say from the time from when I dropped Cushion Orange Juice. Which was what, 2010? Yeah, I think it was 2010. I think I went on tour for a whole five years after that.
Marty O'Neal
Dang.
Wiz Khalifa
Straight. I was torn. For five years straight? Yeah, non stop.
Thomas
Well, that's, that's. That's rock star.
Marty O'Neal
Like all theaters, like what size venues when you're.
Wiz Khalifa
Well, it started just like thousand cats or 2,000 and then just went up to, you know, 5,000, 10,000, 15. And we had 20 down and then, you know, we doing 20 and we're doing festivals and we all over the place at this point. Yeah, it was. But it was about five. It was about five years straight that I went on, that I went on a run for.
Thomas
So all those tours.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
People always giving you weed. But what's the craziest thing? You're like, yo, I don't even know if I want to do this because, you know, people come up. This is TMT from a certain scientist from 1990 yeah. When you're at that level, you know, people are coming up with the craziest.
Wiz Khalifa
I don't smoke family.
Thomas
I feel bad, but I give it to people. I can't trust it.
Wiz Khalifa
I give it to the homies. There's somebody who needs it. Ever since I met Burner, that was the last person that I ever let give me weed. Really? Yeah. Burner brought a whole plant on stage back in the day, which was super cool, and he just showed us so much love. But I would say the craziest, like, thing that I've been offered probably was recently. Really another band mate. I'm not gonna put his name out there, but it was a crazy, like, concoction, like a spray. But it was gonna do his thing, though.
Thomas
And that sounds like the slogan. It's a crazy spray. It's gonna do its thing.
Wiz Khalifa
It was, it was. It was gonna do its thing.
Thomas
Psychedelic.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very much so.
Marty O'Neal
Spray.
Thomas
I don't know about that. I can overdo it real fast.
Wiz Khalifa
Me either. Yeah, you spray it and it does that. So I had to. I had to, you know, put that down.
Thomas
I hope he had the DMT pens. He's like, if you want, just take one little pub, like, dude, I got to do. But like, for the next couple years, I don't want to do that. I feel like, what if it changes me?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Recreationally doing DMT doesn't sound like my thing either. Maybe like, I just like smoking weed, bro.
Thomas
Like, do you want to hit this gigantic donut?
Marty O'Neal
That is.
Wiz Khalifa
I just like smoking pot.
Thomas
Yeah. So when you're at home, do you hit bones? You hitting bones and. Or are you taking dabs? Just all joints all the time.
Wiz Khalifa
Mostly joints all the time. Especially because the kids, I'm with the babies. So it's not really, you know, too stony. I mean, I'm smoking hella weed, but this make me tired. This should make me hungry. I gotta get throughout the day. I might smoke it like if the homies come over. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, for special occasions and like that.
Thomas
Oh, I don't know why I expect you, like. Yeah, I got three rigs set up in my balcony. I don't know why I thought that's what it was gonna be. So for bongs, you don't hit bongs at all no more?
Wiz Khalifa
No, no. They made me tired. They my chest up. I will if I got some shit to do. And it's like, quick, just go ahead and get it out the way.
Thomas
Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Or if it's a long night And I just need to like snap back into it real quick. Then I'll hit a bong really fast and that'll like speed things up. But other than that, I'm just on some smoking joints, chilling, cruising, get back home, smoke a few joints, eat. This is after my workout and I usually smoke like two or three joints before I work out. It'll take. It'll take. That's so much time now for these big ass joints. Is. Is good for like the morning until after my workout and then after that.
Thomas
You just. You're constantly burning them. Yeah, because it takes like 40 minutes to smoke these. Yeah, because like it's. That's the exact size joint that I. You know what I'm saying? I rolled those.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, that's why you just roll them fat and you know.
Thomas
Yeah, it has to be like at.
Wiz Khalifa
Least two rolling fat and that's that.
Marty O'Neal
How did you. You just kind of touched on it. But I was gonna ask, how did you meet Burner? Like, how did that happen?
Wiz Khalifa
Mr. Fab, actually.
Thomas
Mr. Fab, let's go.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah. Me and Mr. Fab, we had been on the road a couple times. He performed at some colleges and I performed at some colleges. And we were using an app that predated Twitch and IG Live and all that. It's called Ustream. Oh, yeah, and Rogan started. Oh, Rogan started on you stream as well. Auto OGs, man. And yeah, so we were like a small community on there, especially of artists. And being that he was on there, I followed him and I was doing a show in the Bay Area and I hit him up, was like, yo, I need some weed. I'm in the Bay. I know you. He's like, I don't smoke, but I'm sending you to the homie who does. And he sent me to Burner Shop. And then. Yeah, rest is history. Oh, not for real.
Thomas
Yo, I heard the DJ fresh on the album.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah.
Thomas
Speaking of dj. I mean, Bay Area legendary ass pools.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah.
Thomas
Oh, the Tonight shows. Have you ever done a Tonight Show?
Wiz Khalifa
I haven't. He wants to do one. I'm. I'm gonna actually end up knocking one out at some point.
Thomas
Dude, that'd be legendary as hell.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, it'll probably take like a week or something like that. I actually have a couple songs ready. I got like six right now. So we do like two more, more sessions, we'll be good to go. Yeah, it's happening. It's actually already happening.
Thomas
Threw me back, man.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah. Thank you. I'm glad you like the D.J. fresh joints, man. It was. It was essential to have certain people, you know on the album. And I first worked with DJ Fresh through Currency. I had already. I already knew his work, but I just didn't know that we would go so well together. And Currency, one time when I went to go visit him, he was like, yo, I got these beats, but I actually want to give them to you, so see what you do with them. I was like, damn. And, yeah, it was on after that.
Marty O'Neal
Damn.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
That's hard.
Marty O'Neal
I read that you wrote Black and yellow in, like, 10 seconds.
Wiz Khalifa
It was like 10 minutes for real.
Marty O'Neal
Like, what was that moment like? Did you realize what you were doing in that moment when that happened, or was it just random?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I knew exactly what I was doing. It was one of those intentional things. I had just come off of doing Cushion Orange Juice, and it was just me and Will in the studio. And the whole mind state for Cushion Orange Juices, of course, is like, I'm gonna do whatever the I want to do. I'm not gonna let anybody tell me anything. I know who my fans are, and, you know, everybody.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah, that's our attitude.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And when I got in the studio for Black and Yellow, I was working with Atlantic, and I had already been around a lot of label people before, and I was like, man, I'm gonna do this shit my way. I'm not gonna let anybody really dictate how this goes just because I'm in this situation, like, I'm gonna take the same attitude and apply it to my music over here. And I was like, I'm not gonna be difficult to work with because I want to make a hit, and I want to, you know, I want to. I want to play ball. I want to, like, you know, apply myself to this part of the game, because I see. I always. I see myself as a big artist, so I want to do things that big artists do. And, you know, I'm listening to the beats, and of course, they're not really in my pocket or anything like that. So I just took it upon myself to be creative and just come up with the first thing that came to my head. I was like, if these aren't necessarily going to be the exact beats that I'm going to write to, I'm just going to let go of everything that I normally would do, and just the first thing that comes to my head, I'm going to, you know, lay these ideas. So when they played the beat, it was me and Will in the studio. I looked at Will. I was like, I got an idea for this song. Probably sounds stupid, but it's the first thing that I thought about. And that's what I said, I'm gonna record. I was like, what if I did a song about Pittsburgh and said, black and yellow. Black and yellow over this part right here. He was like, do it. I'm like, all right, cool. Bring beat up. So they just brought it up, and I went in the booth, and I recorded the first verse really fast. Cause I had just bought the black and yellow challenger, so I was like, I already had that verse to rap about. And then I did the hook, and then I did the second verse, and then we kind of edited the hook to make it make more sense as far as radio and stuff like that. But the black and yellow was always the tagline. We just move some things around to make it make sense. And, you know, at the end of that session, we all knew that it was something that could be big. But everybody looked at it like a regional song.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
And so you would think it would be me, too, but I was passionate about it. And the Steelers ended up doing really well that year. So it worked. Yeah. We couldn't even pay the Steelers to win that many times, but every time they score, it the bumping way. Yeah. Hell, yeah.
Marty O'Neal
But then, was YouTube even that relevant? I mean, it was. That was like 2008. I remember. That was like the. Like, the Waka Flocka, like, Wild Boys era. Damn near.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
So when it hit, did it blow up on YouTube or was that still like a. That was like a music video.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was more. We dropped the song in August of 2010, I think, and by February 2011, it had went number one. So it took a long time.
Marty O'Neal
Oh, no.
Wiz Khalifa
It took a minute for it to. For it to build up. But just through radio. It was a really big radio song. Every.
Thomas
Every time a DJ would, like, swap out now with DJ Daglita, like, all right, we're gonna do the song of the marriage.
Marty O'Neal
Those fans responsibly, bro.
Wiz Khalifa
It was a huge radio.
Thomas
That's when, you know.
Marty O'Neal
That's pretty funny.
Thomas
That's when, you know, I could.
Marty O'Neal
I didn't even want to. Like, I'm a diehard Bills fan. I was like, I can't like this. I can't not like this.
Wiz Khalifa
It was all over the place. And then the Steelers, you know, going to the super bowl that year, that really took it over the top. And it just set up a really big situation where I was getting all this mainstream love. But it wasn't out of nowhere. Like, all of my fans were like, this is our guy. Like, we've been waiting for y' all to see what we see. Yeah. So it was like, you know, it's perfect timing. It was really perfect timing. All of the work had. Had come to a head at the. At the right point.
Marty O'Neal
Super Bowl.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. At the pinnacle of America without paying for it. You know, man, that's.
Thomas
I always ask the question certain people, like, was it artists, comedians and actors? Like, so what was the time? The project. You did the thing you did. You went home, went, oh, this is different. I'm about to be big. Like, we'll look in the mirror and go, I did that.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, yeah.
Thomas
Because everybody knows they could go home. Like, I don't care how big of an artist or the biggest act of Brad Pitt. One of these fools goes home, goes, Holy.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Yeah. Black and yellow is my montage.
Thomas
That's right.
Wiz Khalifa
That's my. Push it to the limit on Scarface when he started counting all that money. Yeah.
Thomas
I love that example.
Wiz Khalifa
Smiling and the cigar. Yeah, exactly.
Thomas
And they're care. And then the bankers. Look at them.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
As they're walking with all the money. I love that. And the white tiger.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Were you working a job or were you doing before, like, you started, like, signing deals and.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, no, I never had a job.
Thomas
Never?
Wiz Khalifa
Hell, no.
Thomas
Not even as a kid?
Wiz Khalifa
No.
Thomas
That's why you like to smoke joints and hang out.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Hell, yeah. You're relaxed, man. I smoke joints. Like, I'm about to bench press, like.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Getting ready. Power smoking.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. I never had a job. I was always doing music since a kid. Yeah. Yep.
Thomas
Oh, this is. You're just. All right. You're just one of those. One of those.
Marty O'Neal
When did you start buying studio time?
Wiz Khalifa
And I just. I really started actually just buying equipment, and I learned how to use that myself. And I started making my own beats and put my own albums out. And with my. My dad had opened up a studio, so he made it available for me to do all of this. He didn't even think I really going to, like, take it that serious. He was just like, okay, you like music. I'm gonna get a studio. He was doing his thing, but I'm in another room putting a whole project together.
Thomas
So.
Wiz Khalifa
What age? 14.
Thomas
Oh, dude, this is. This is your life. It's everything.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. I was 14. I stopped hanging out with my friends. I could quit playing basketball. I stopped doing all of that and just really focused on music and this was when Limewire and Napster and all of that was popping. So I would download instrumentals and like freestyle and rap over instrumentals. That was my form of like, you know, coming up sound click. Yeah, yeah. And so like after 1415, I started actually like saving up money going to the studio. Studio time was like 100 for an hour. So I would get like an hour or two, but I would already have my raps written ready to go. Yes, I would go to the studio and you know, by the time I was 16, everybody studio like, damn, bro, you're really fucking good. You're. You're better than the adults. And it wasn't just the raps, but it was how I would say like my voice and delivery, how clean I was and how fast I would do shit. I would just rap it straight through. And they were used to like having to like punch fools in all day, but I'm like, I only got an hour. Like, what the fuck? I'm gonna spend all of this time punch punching for. I'm trying to get this done.
Thomas
Yeah, it costs more.
Wiz Khalifa
They're like, bro, you still got like 35 minutes left. And I'm like, I don't know.
Marty O'Neal
Mix that.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, hell yeah. But just based off of that, you know, Edan was the main guy at the studio. He still is. And it was a group of them actually a bunch like three or four guys who I was working with, who, who really, you know, molded me at that young ass age where I was still in high school. But every day I would leave high school and come to the studio or they would let me like, you know, run and grab shit. I was basically a runner for the studio and I would get work release from school. They sign papers like it was a real job. Yeah. So I'm 16, you know, getting studio time and school credit projects. Yeah, exactly. So yeah, I started releasing mixtapes and in what, 11th grade. And after that it's been pretty much now we're here non stop. You can still go get the mixtapes that I have from 11th grade. Like you can hear all of that. So like I've been doing this for a long ass time.
Thomas
Your fans watch you grow up?
Wiz Khalifa
Oh yeah, yeah. Hell yeah. 100.
Thomas
Like man, you got more tattoos now you have a kid. 30.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
How old? You know, it's. I get it, dude. Because I've been like I said, I've been seeing this the whole time. My homies, I was, it's. We're all, we don't go to a festival like without Hearing your music.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, yeah. And then even culture, you know, at this point with me, it's like, if you hear one song, you're gonna go down a crazy ass rabbit hole of everything. Like just the whole collection. Like my catalog is, is really crazy and I'm proud of it too. There's nothing in there that I would be like, I wouldn't have never released that. Like, it's all part of the, you know, the big plan. Yeah. Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
How'd your parents feel about reading?
Wiz Khalifa
My dad wasn't really with it because he just grew up thinking that we, like, slows you down and it fucks you up. And it's just like, for stupid people. And then especially like showing that shit publicly. Cause I was on MySpace. My profile picture was me smoking as a kid. Yeah. He was like, what the is wrong with you? Like, he couldn't believe that. He was like, oh my God, bro. He's like, I don't even know who this is. Like, but for me, I. I just see. I don't know. I mean, I didn't see it as being that bad. Like us in my city, where I was from, in Pittsburgh and the areas that I was in, weed was chill. Like, it was the other stuff that you had to worry about.
Thomas
World Ms. Dam near the same age, being in 11th grade with a blunt or a joint in your mouth. Your profile picture, you're pushing that dude.
Wiz Khalifa
For real.
Thomas
Hell yeah. Because you go to school like, oh, that's the kid. All the teachers. He's the one with the joint.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Like, oh, that's the one that makes music. Like we already.
Wiz Khalifa
But I smell like weed when I come to class, though. I already know what it's him. Oh, yeah. Like, I'm walking. Yeah, I'm coming to class.
Thomas
Oh, never mind. I was always afraid my mom's in.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, that's the thing. I was just telling you about my dad. My mom smokes weed. Oh, yeah, I smoke weed with my mom.
Thomas
Oh, we know that now. But like, I didn't know that it was.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, like growing up. Yeah, like growing up, it was no thing to have pot in the house. Like, oh, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was.
Thomas
It was a gas life.
Wiz Khalifa
It was super chill. That kept me out of trouble, man.
Thomas
Hell yeah. Come home and smoke weed. We used to go out and do dumb with dumbass.
Wiz Khalifa
That's what I'm saying.
Thomas
That's all I was trying to tell him.
Marty O'Neal
And you were locked the in. Look what it did.
Thomas
Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
For real?
Marty O'Neal
Depends who you are.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, I was super locked In. And the only thing about it was that it was illegal. Considered illegal. So if I got caught with it, I had to pay the price. But, you know, you pay the cost to be the bars.
Marty O'Neal
Sometimes you got to release album from jail.
Wiz Khalifa
You know what I mean?
Thomas
Oh, yes, yes, yes. You gotta get out like that.
Wiz Khalifa
You gotta get out of jail and record Taylor Gang.
Thomas
So hold on. So you're at the airport. You get arrested for weed. No pass. That's what we read, right?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Yep.
Thomas
My biggest fear is getting in trouble at the airport. I've gotten a lot of the, pull it aside, search the bag. When I was a kid, they stopped. They didn't. They didn't find it.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
You know, I'm a dumbass for taking weed in the airport with my dad anyway. I'm stupid. I was 14. I was. I'm tripping, but I know that feeling of, like, I should run, but where am I gonna go? It's the airport, man.
Wiz Khalifa
It's a mile long, Right?
Thomas
So for you, you're already making music. People already know who you are. They see your face like, oh, that's the fool. You should search him if you want to find wheat.
Wiz Khalifa
Right?
Thomas
Like, you're at that point. So what. What's that process? They're like, yo, you're going to jail right now. What happens to your bags? Like, what I always imagine, like, every step, like, where's my.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, and you're in Texas.
Thomas
They extra hand hate weed. Like, there's no other way to put it, dude.
Wiz Khalifa
Close to Mexico. So it was more like being in Mexico than it was like being in Texas. But it was crazy because it was just a grinder. Like, it didn't even.
Thomas
Like, it was a grinder with some weed in it.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Oh, my God. That's not what I imagined.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, a grinder.
Thomas
Oh, you weren't even trying to take weed.
Wiz Khalifa
No, it was just tripping. El Paso is like that. They did the same thing with Willie Nelson. They did the same thing to Snoop, and that's all they did. They just wanted to put me up there with Willie and Snoop. They were like, we messed with Willie.
Marty O'Neal
So goofy.
Thomas
We got him.
Marty O'Neal
They made Willie Nelson the face of Austin.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, but, like, yeah, I mean, they. You know, they're old school down there. Hopefully they. They loosened up and that was chill, but it was just. It was just a grinder and it was, you know, something that I used to my advantage again. Anyway, so thanks. El Paso. No, no, no, no. Never mind. I don't want to say we abide by your laws.
Thomas
So this is when I think of things. I'm like, oh, man, I wonder what it's like for somebody that's like a superstar, incredibly famous. So sometimes I'll be like, going in my hotel, I'm like, oh, I'm change. This shirt, it has a big ass. They're just gonna look at me like, that fool's gonna smoke in the room. Because I got a process to not making it smell. And it works.
Wiz Khalifa
Really.
Thomas
But when they see you, they're like, oh, should we put the smoking charge on now for you? Because you can't. What do you do? You can't avoid, man.
Wiz Khalifa
They're putting air purifiers in the hallway. Like, oh, they're help.
Thomas
They're accommodating you. I gotta get taller, dude. I swear, man. People don't. They don't do that for me.
Wiz Khalifa
They just go, 500 big ass air purifiers. You gotta stop giving a leading up to the room. That's how you even know where I'm at. You just heard he's here. Being smoke. Being sucked out.
Thomas
That's incredible.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Oh, man, that's not the answer. I thought it would be like, yeah, they charge. They put it on the room. They let them know it's gonna be me. No, they're just over there. Help. Y' all cheating Sean at this point.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Oh, definitely help me smoke. They. They. They're with it.
Thomas
But when did that change? Because I know it wasn't. It wasn't always like that.
Wiz Khalifa
No, it wasn't. You know, you have to notice.
Thomas
Exactly. You have to notice that change. Like, oh, this place was nice. And then it becomes every place was nice and it goes to. This place sucked, man.
Wiz Khalifa
I paid my dues, man.
Thomas
It takes a while. I've been kicked out of a few hotels.
Wiz Khalifa
Keep putting in that work, dog.
Thomas
The towel under the door does it. I mean, it helps. It doesn't do it all guys.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
I promise you.
Marty O'Neal
This is your next video.
Wiz Khalifa
Do you do the right how to.
Thomas
Smoke in the hotel?
Wiz Khalifa
You do the. The bag over the smoke detector?
Thomas
Of course.
Wiz Khalifa
Okay, cool.
Thomas
Yeah, the. The shower cap. Yeah, of course I do the shower cap. I do every. Every seal. I'll get a sweater if I need to. Wet towel. I don't really. And I try to stay by the bathroom. Yeah, it's the most you could do, man. Or just take a big rig.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
A dab set up at this point. Okay. So, yeah, they might. I thought they're gonna be like, yeah, we charge them. It's Wiz Khalifa. Of course, you know, it's get high in our rooms.
Wiz Khalifa
They wouldn't even let me stay there if they didn't know how much weed I was about to smoke. They're fully aware.
Thomas
I think that's an accomplishment. That's like a. The stat could smoke anywhere. Like, the Mario coins.
Marty O'Neal
Him and Snoop. I mean, who else?
Wiz Khalifa
I think they owe it to themselves is. You know, just be relaxed on that, you know? Yeah. Yeah. That helps everybody.
Thomas
Okay, so that was one question I had. Also another question I had good. I would say let's go worst. Do you have any, like, the bad psychedelic episodes? I only have one or two bad ones. No.
Wiz Khalifa
No. What happened with yours?
Thomas
The last one. I've only had two.
Wiz Khalifa
Okay.
Thomas
The last one was sitting right there during an episode. And one of these comedians, we, Josh Wolves. A comedian. That's why I asked the stage question, because he'll be here by take 4 grams. Like, I got a Comedy Store show.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, we did an interview with him.
Thomas
Yes. You had him. Exactly, Josh. Exactly. Josh and Jake.
Wiz Khalifa
Trippy.
Thomas
Thank you. So the last time he came, he's like, hey, take these pills. I'm like, all right.
Marty O'Neal
No, they're butterscotch.
Thomas
Oh, they were the butterscotch. The ones before then I took the pill, too. Anyway, I did the old. You know what I mean? Like, it's not gonna hit. And then I remember I was sitting in my own brain over there. I was like, what's the last time I talk? Did I say something stupid? And in my head, I look over, I'm like, how long has it been?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
And I started to feel the sink in my own body.
Wiz Khalifa
This happened mid episode.
Thomas
And then I just said out loud, how long have I not talked?
Wiz Khalifa
Not that bad, though.
Thomas
No, no. Oh, no. That was, like, the start. When I got home is when it got. I got home, I had my wife drive. When I got home, I was staring at, you know, the light. Lights always look incredible when I'm tripping. Like, I feel like you could stare at them. And they just start to change.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, for sure.
Thomas
Everything just starts to change.
Wiz Khalifa
Orange.
Thomas
It's just the fun. But this one, I just had some, like, faces come out, and they kept talking to me. I don't know how long I was by myself. My wife says, you go in the bathroom, it felt like she's gone for ever. I'm sitting there and these faces are coming out. They're like, hey, just do it. I'm like, what?
Wiz Khalifa
What?
Thomas
And they're like, come on, you're almost there.
Wiz Khalifa
What?
Thomas
What? I'm talking, but I'm not speaking. Like, what the. And I just see all these famous ass comedian fools floating by me. I'm like, what's going on? And I'll just do it. They all did it. I'm like, what are you saying? And like, come on, just come over to Just. Just do it. I'm like, what? And I was like, they're not saying it. I'm like, this is evil. This is evil. And I went like, what do you want me to do? And I'm. I was like, out of my body, looking over and like, this. Thinks I'm going for this. I'm. No, I was. I'd rather be broke. And then saw your soul.
Wiz Khalifa
You said that over here.
Thomas
When I'm watching, looking at my own body. And under. I had the blanket over my head and I'm just tripping. I can see through the lights, you know, the white blankets with. When you're tripping under a blanket, it's like a fortress.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Oh, dude, that shit's. It's like a whole another world, dude. Looking at your feelings.
Wiz Khalifa
Your wife was in the bathroom.
Thomas
I could have swore she was gone for ever unless I was talking to this thing for 10 seconds. But it felt like I'm like an eternity. And it's like, come on, just like, just be part of us.
Wiz Khalifa
Whoa.
Thomas
I saw all these faces floating by me like a dream. And I remember my body was. I was over here looking at myself going, this is dumb.
Wiz Khalifa
Damn.
Thomas
And I went, suck my dick. Get out of here. And my wife came in, scared the out of me, but everything was, like.
Marty O'Neal
Snapped out of it.
Wiz Khalifa
She heard her say that?
Thomas
No. She's like, what are you saying? Because, you know, I was tripping.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
So you good? Yeah, I'm good. Thank you.
Wiz Khalifa
That's crazy.
Thomas
But I remember that I just saw all the faces of, like, all the biggest fucking.
Wiz Khalifa
That's wild. I smoke salvia. You remember that shit?
Thomas
Yeah, I don't smoke it no more. Did you have a bad one on that?
Wiz Khalifa
It wasn't bad. It was awesome. But it was really vivid. Like that. The salvia was more vivid than anything.
Thomas
Smokable mushroom, basically.
Wiz Khalifa
That's what I'm saying. But, like, when I do shrooms, I feel, like, a little bit sick. A little bit. Like, if I'm tripping, I feel a little nauseous.
Thomas
Yes.
Wiz Khalifa
You might spit up a little bit. I watched interstellar off of shrooms and it was a crazy experience. And I hate Matt Damon in real Life. Like, me and him, we gotta talk. Like, because I need him to not be who he was in that movie. Yeah.
Thomas
So you're not him.
Wiz Khalifa
I usually. I don't have a problem, like, disconnecting real people from their characters, but because of how high I was, I really think that that's how he is in real life.
Thomas
Like, he just watched this all sad.
Wiz Khalifa
I was like, I hate that dude. I really, really don't like him. So that's what mushrooms did. But when I smoked salvia, I actually. I heard music backwards, and. Oh, yeah. And it wasn't just me hearing it backwards. That was actually backwards.
Thomas
What does it feel like? Because I know what music feels like. What does it feel like backwards? It must have felt. You must have noticed it.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, I did. I was. I was. I was with the homie. I'm like, bro, please. Like, please tell me you hear that. He's like, what? I'm like, music's playing backwards. I know I'm on salvia, dog, but this can't. Like. And then. And then I. I kid you not, just started laughing for, like, 10, 15 minutes straight.
Thomas
Tackle the.
Marty O'Neal
Huh?
Wiz Khalifa
Like, belly laugh, yo. Like, couldn't stop. It was the best laugh ever. And then that was that. So is it the only time? Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Thomas
Oh, okay.
Wiz Khalifa
Okay, that was enough. Okay, that was enough.
Thomas
Oh, yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Yes.
Thomas
I used to smoke that often with my home.
Wiz Khalifa
Just recreationally.
Thomas
The 99x1.
Wiz Khalifa
Damn. What the.
Thomas
Maybe my homies did the gas mask ball with it. Remember? I told you, right?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Every time I hit it with the salvia. I don't remember gas.
Thomas
I thought homie was my Buffett's. Homie just started freaking out on all of us because he was on salvage. I started screaming, and we're like. We're looking at each other, like, how do we stop him? It's like the Hulk had a anxiety attack and you're the way. Killing you is how you stop me. What do we do, dude? Homie's an all star wrestler. Buffest Mexican in the world. Like, I'm gonna just die then. But, yeah, dude, the last time I did salvia n, I had, like, a full. I was fully gone in, like, cartoon land. The lady was cartoon. I. She told me I was rich as hell. And I came to. I was so sad. I was like, oh, I'm still selling packs.
Wiz Khalifa
I'm not digitized.
Thomas
I wasn't. It was the Travelocity look.
Wiz Khalifa
Damn.
Thomas
Remember those old Travelocity commercials where it's, like, orange and, like, bouncy and the person would come. Ah. Anyway.
Wiz Khalifa
That's wild. Salvia is dope, bro.
Thomas
You like it? All right. Well, you've only had a good experiences.
Wiz Khalifa
That was awesome. I wouldn't do it again.
Thomas
No, it's over.
Wiz Khalifa
It was amazing. Yeah.
Thomas
If you had a. It's like a. It's like you didn't strike out. You hit a home run.
Wiz Khalifa
Just leave while you're on leave, bro. Walk off. Yeah.
Thomas
Have you ever done acid?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, I'm too scared.
Thomas
I've never done. I do hella mushrooms, but I think.
Wiz Khalifa
I did too much acid at once.
Thomas
It's. I heard it's controllable. Like mushrooms are like. You just happen to have your ride. You're on a ride.
Wiz Khalifa
I think it's controllable when you dose it correctly. And from what people tell me, I took entirely too much. So it did. My experience wasn't the best. I took acid with a dj and we were at. We were at the. We were at a Golden Globes event. So many people around. Like, I had just seen Adam Sandler.
Thomas
Oh, hell yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
So it was like, it was a really good night. I turned, I see the dj, he's with some other trippy fools. I'm like, it. It's the perfect time to do it. Like, we're at the Golden Globes party. You know what I mean? There's some really Hollywood, like, la, let's do acid. Like, let's get it. And I did that and like, literally everybody started looking the same in the room. I'm like, who? Like talking to people and then they start talking about going to Jay Z's party. I'm like, I don't even know if I can get in Jay Z's party. So I ended up leaving them and I realized that I had gotten Golden Globes high. And then I just went and was being around regular people. So I wasn't still in that atmosphere, but I was still high. Like, I was in that atmosphere. And I just remember blacking out like two, three times. Not really blacking out, but like, you know, like in a movie, the clothes.
Thomas
And you're now somewhere else.
Wiz Khalifa
Eyes and you open. You're somewhere. Yeah, that happened like three or four times.
Thomas
Scary.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. And then one time I thought I was. I was sitting on my bed, like looking out at the. The view. Because I had a nice ass view at this crib that I lived in. And I was chilling, just sitting there talking to a chick. And I was like, man, I feel like Aladdin right now, like just floating over the city, bro. Like, I couldn't even feel my house underneath me. I thought he was on a magic carpet, and it sounded cool, but I didn't want to be Aladdin, nor do I want to be Aladdin again. So I'm. I'm good off of acid.
Thomas
I'm trying to be a poo, and that fool has. She's just out there taking rubies.
Wiz Khalifa
It turns you into Aladdin, dog.
Thomas
I thought you was like, I try to jump off my algorithm like, Aladdin.
Wiz Khalifa
No, no, no, no.
Thomas
I thought you're gonna say, like, I did some crazy.
Wiz Khalifa
Nah, I was the rich Aladdin flying on a carpet. Just, you know, that sounds. I don't even know what the girl was talking to me about either, in person.
Thomas
She was there.
Wiz Khalifa
She's okay. Yeah, she's definitely there. And we're, like, chopping it up.
Thomas
I thought you meant, like, I was on the phone or something.
Wiz Khalifa
No, no, we're kicking it. I'm just like, yo, I feel like Aladdin right now.
Marty O'Neal
Like.
Wiz Khalifa
So. Yeah, no more acid for me, buddy. All right.
Thomas
Yeah, I'm still nervous.
Marty O'Neal
The most positive, like, drug time, right?
Thomas
Oh, there's a comedian Ralph. He's like, yeah, I ran naked down the hallway and screaming, and I almost got arrested.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, see, I just turned to Aladdin, heard the music backwards, and laughed for 15 minutes. That's about it.
Thomas
That's why you got the nicest fans ever. I don't even have bad trips, dude. For real. I've never met anybody that didn't have a bad trip. That's incredible. I love it. There's hope, man. Dose it right. What's up, guys? Taking a moment from this epic Whiz Khalifa episode to talk about one of our sponsors. And this is Dr. Dabber the Switch 2. This is the only E rig I've tried that has a quartz insert. It's just like dabbing off of a nail. It is bigger than most E rigs, but that's not a problem to me. This has water, has a quartz insert, and it rips Dr. Dabber Switch 2. If you want to check this out, go to Dr.dabber.com they have a variety of products, but this right here is the one. This is switched to 100 pure quartz app enabled IR sensor, so it has the most accurate temp monitoring, omnidirectional heating, so the entire surface gets hot. There's no cold spots. You don't waste your oil. And the Dr. Dabber drop, which is basically like the Dabber, the one that heats up and it drops in. So you're not sitting there. Scraping has two modes in case you want to cut your oil and not burn it. Go. The low temp has the directional flow cap. The Switch 2 app 480 for 30 seconds. And this is descent. It gets hot and then switch slows. At the end it gets lower. If you wanted to ascend it, it gets hotter as it goes, so make sure you kill all the oil. It's very technologically advanced. It really keeps the taste of the rosin or whatever you're smoking thing chugs. This is the Dr. Dabber Switch 2. Check them out@drdabber.com thank you for sponsoring this episode. Episode. We really appreciate you guys. This is an incredible ass piece. There's not much more you can ask for, so thank you guys so much for being here. Back to the episode.
Marty O'Neal
Have any idea what the tattoo count is at this point?
Wiz Khalifa
Nah, man, I, I can't count. First one, it's like one big tattoo at this point. My first one is up here on my arm. Is the. It's the first rap group that I was in and I'm still working on them actually. I got some pretty good ideas for some. For some decent tattoos. I was just thinking about that the other day. I let like a lot of time accumulate, so now I got like some stories to tell through art. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Is there one that's most significant?
Wiz Khalifa
Any ones that are my family members I love the most? The majority of it is like stuff that I thought that I was. That was cool coming up. And a lot of them aged really well. So the goal is to like, just keep adding to the collection. Yeah, tattoos aren't as like fashionable as they were back in the day. I think like the way that people get tattoos a little bit different and like being fully blasted like me is like super duper rare now. Like, people don't even really go out like that no more. So like, you know, I'm just keep carrying on a tradition. I still love getting tats, but it's more about the. The expression of like what I'm actually getting than, than just the look now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Story behind us.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Cause I'll be seeing some crazy ass tattoos sometimes and I'm like, all right, you know, you just wanted to fill up space with that. I mean, there's no wrong making a mistake, but like some fools just want to want to look tatted. Or you got the dudes who are like getting put to sleep getting the anesthesia. Seen that?
Thomas
So they can do the whole body, the whole Back at once, get anesthesia, straight to sleep, and I have hella tattoos at once.
Wiz Khalifa
Working, wake up, blasted.
Thomas
The next day.
Wiz Khalifa
I feel like that would hurt hella the next day to have a sunburn. It's like a big, big burn, bro. Big brush burn. Yikes. Yeah. Yeah.
Thomas
I'm afraid of needles. I don't got one tattoo, man. Yeah, that's why I don't do it.
Wiz Khalifa
Keep it clean, dog. That hurts.
Thomas
Hell yeah. I look at him like, how do you do it? Oh, I'm good, dude. Everyone in my family's blessed. My mom, my sister, everybody real. So I'm the only person in my whole family. Don't got nothing.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. My mom took me to get my first tattoo at 16, so I was that dude. I had high. I had tattoos in high school, and.
Thomas
I was going to say you were that one.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, yeah.
Thomas
Did you have a cross with anything wrapped around it?
Wiz Khalifa
Nah.
Thomas
Okay. I was like, in high school, every dude that gets was like.
Wiz Khalifa
I did get. I did get a loyalty tat, though. Everybody got a loyalty tag.
Thomas
What is that?
Wiz Khalifa
I mean, the word loyalty.
Thomas
Okay, okay. But your mom took you. Your mom lets you get high. Yeah. You were just born to do whatever you wanted, man.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, my mom's a G, bro.
Thomas
I had the opposite. My mom now just takes mushrooms and gets high and just chills. But she used to be real scary, dude.
Wiz Khalifa
There's nothing wrong with that.
Thomas
No, she kept me in line, man.
Wiz Khalifa
Hey, we choose our path anyway.
Thomas
Yeah, try. I tried. She definitely. She definitely had a hand in it. Like two, two, two big ass rights.
Marty O'Neal
Does he know about all your Pittsburgh ties and all the Mac and all that?
Thomas
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Justin Boyd. He always tells me, like, let him know you got a 300 three times now. You know Justin boy. Well, right?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Do you know what happened to Justin recently? This fool. I mean, I'm just gonna tell everybody. This fool, he's recovering now. Woke up, went to the bathroom, said, I don't know why, I got dizzy. And when I woke up, he fell down the stairs. He broke his back and his neck.
Wiz Khalifa
Damn.
Thomas
That tall ass fool.
Wiz Khalifa
Terrible, terrible.
Thomas
That's one's like, you're lying and just. He's just in a cast in the. In the hospital, like, no way.
Wiz Khalifa
Damn.
Thomas
I'm like, you just pulled three hundreds, dude.
Wiz Khalifa
I know, right?
Thomas
You can't be bowling no more for a while. That's like the biggest bummer.
Wiz Khalifa
Like, ain't bowling.
Thomas
He ain't bowling nothing.
Wiz Khalifa
That's crazy.
Thomas
Isn't that crazy?
Marty O'Neal
Hope he's feeling better.
Thomas
I hope he's feeling better too. You called me the old. Didn't answer.
Wiz Khalifa
Just.
Thomas
I mean, I called him back.
Wiz Khalifa
Just back pain alone.
Thomas
I got a shitty back. That's why when you say hot yoga, Mike, I know it will help. Yeah, do they do like hot yoga, like by yours? You guys don't understand, both of you being a fat guy. Hot yoga class, like, everyone's like, man, that guy's gonna sweat his ass. I'm like, yeah, I know. Can I be in the back? Can I be toward the back?
Wiz Khalifa
Everybody's sweating an equal amount in there, bro.
Thomas
But you know what I mean, like just. I'm gonna go sweat around a bunch of strangers the hottest have ever been. Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
That's how I feel.
Wiz Khalifa
Dude, you gotta do it. Yeah, I know.
Thomas
Like you said you and what was it? Brian Ortega. I gotta start doing things that you don't want to do tomorrow that you.
Wiz Khalifa
Don'T want to do. Yeah. All that you've never seen yourself doing, dog.
Thomas
Like, I just want to do backflip, man. That's my goal.
Wiz Khalifa
Get on the trampoline, bro. Start hitting Sky Zone.
Marty O'Neal
Do you listen to books or is there anything. Listen to, like I'm saying, I get what you're doing.
Thomas
It was such a crazy transition.
Wiz Khalifa
I read, I do read a lot. Yeah, I. I just be reading like that finds me a lot of the time times like it could be some. I just read a book on Herbie Hancock. He's a jazz player. Yeah, he's like legendary. He won like every Grammy. But what the. Yeah, I mean, like who.
Thomas
He won everything possible. I don't know.
Wiz Khalifa
And he's still alive too. But yeah, I read a lot of. I read a lot of stuff. I'd rather read a book and listen to it. I think listening to it is the next step. But I like to physically like have that. Like, that's like, that's validating for me. Yeah. Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Has there been anybody in the industry that like has given you like amazing advice or like really like did some influential like advice along the way?
Wiz Khalifa
Mainly like Snoop. That's my biggest influence and like my biggest like teacher Currency showed me a lot of just like lifestyle wise. Rick Ross gave me some really good game when he met me early on in my career, like right at the point when I was going up. Who else? Too Short.
Marty O'Neal
Warren G. Your song with Too Short is probably my favorite song.
Wiz Khalifa
Thank you, man. Juicy J. Juicy J gives me a lot of good advice. Me and Juicy talk all the time. Be real Most of the OGs, man.
Thomas
Like he's named every legendary ass for.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I really pick up game from these dudes and I don't just be around them. I'm my own person because of, you know, my identity and who. My self awareness. But there's things that you can learn from people who have experienced things that, you know, you may or may not go through, but they just gonna give you the game so you can have the easy button and. And a lot of the times, you know, those dudes, they just really put me on to some that. That ends up changing my whole perspective on things. And I'm able to, you know, move in a certain way where I wouldn't had I not that gotten that game.
Marty O'Neal
So many artists have come and gone since you started, I mean.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure, man. Yeah. Longevity isn't really like. I don't. I wouldn't say it's a thing, but it's easy to get lost in the sauce because people consume shit so fast. And as fast as you go up can be as fast as you go down. If you don't really have like a real foundation, a lot of people don't know what that looks or feels like because they end up going up so quickly that they skip the part of, you know, building that foundation. So when it comes down, they have to actually do that again. And it's possible, but it looks crazy.
Marty O'Neal
Especially in rap because it's built around the big record deal. Like. Yes, it used to be.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, it's built around the record deal, and it's also built around how trendy you are. You could be really, you know, talented, but if you're. You're not in style, then people are gonna move on to the next, you know, cool thing.
Thomas
But also, I was. I was thinking like you said earlier, like, I don't care. I'm gonna do my own shit. I know who my fans are. I think people that start off being real trendy because trends are the word trend for a reason. Because they go away till the next trend.
Wiz Khalifa
Right.
Thomas
And I think people that do train, like, yo, you went up so fast off this trend. And when you came back down, like, now you got to start as an artist again.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
So people like, damn, he's huge. He's selling out 100 seeds.
Wiz Khalifa
How.
Thomas
Oh. And I think that people's confidence up like, damn, dude, I'm. I gotta restart. I don't really have a fan base as much as I like the SoundCloud era. Like a lot of them didn't last because of that, you know, so like you, like you said earlier, like, well, I know who my fans. I'm just gonna do my own thing. Yeah, you had your own genre because you start, you have that because you, you did it.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. And nothing beats the hard work. Like I was saying before, you have to outwork yourself. And you know, that's more than just going to the studio and recording and dropping the records. You got to do drops, you got to meet with DJs, you gotta take meetings, you have to promote yourself. Yeah, exactly. Through social media, you got to promote yourself. So a lot of people, they don't really know, like when you take this independence, what you're signing up for, you're signing up to do everything yourself. Yeah. So you can't get to a certain level and be like, oh, y' all handle it. Because they don't even know how to handle it. You're the one who put yourself where you're at. So gets it overwhelming to a lot of people. And I understand why, because it's a lot on your plate at that point. It's a lot of expectations. And if you just want to be an artist, then it's not really for you to be an independent entity because you're going to have to be way more than an artist. You're going to have to manage other people because this is your team. You have to tell your cameraman what you want, you have to design your merch, you're going to have to come up with a name for your tour, all of that stuff. And that's why artists don't last, because they're not built to, you know, cover all of those bases. Yeah, they just, they just want to rap or they, they want to party, they want to get up and they want to catch a vibe. But while you're catching a vibe, somebody else is getting paid.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah, yeah, it's super true. We, we always talk about that type of stuff. Like, I mean, we're a two man operation. You know, they're completely independent, like just straight up, like everything you're talking about, cut from that same class.
Wiz Khalifa
Yep. That's how it is with me and Will. I have my time at Atlantic, which is really good and really fun, but to be able to do all of that on a major scale and then come off of that, get paid hella money, be able to do consistent shows and then restart my catalog with all of the knowledge that I have. A lot of artists don't get that opportunity. So I'm in a really good Place, and I'm just enjoying it. And when you speak about longevity, that's what every artist should, you know, hope to be at at some point. Because the music that you're making now, if you're signed to a label, you don't own it. You might be in love with it and people might sing it, but it's not your music. Whether you like it or not.
Marty O'Neal
People do not understand that.
Wiz Khalifa
They don't.
Marty O'Neal
You're the singer. You didn't write it, you didn't produce it. You didn't get it put out. You just sang it.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Yeah.
Thomas
Oh, that's what that means.
Marty O'Neal
There's the writer, there's the singer, there's the producers.
Thomas
Well, not everybody writes everything they do, but I get that.
Wiz Khalifa
But, yeah, a lot of. A lot of the bigger songs that go like, that could have been somebody else's song. They just. They gave it to you. Yeah. They hand it to you.
Marty O'Neal
They had a whole special.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, there's special cases. Like, for me, you know, black and Yellow was my song, but Weed and Boys wasn't my song. What? Young, Wild and Free wasn't my song.
Thomas
Oh. Someone said, hey, I have this idea for a song, and I think you'd be the best to do it.
Wiz Khalifa
They send that around to everybody, and they just pick which verse, which version that they like the best.
Marty O'Neal
Oh, yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Hell yeah.
Thomas
Wait, hold on. So, like, yo, all three of us got this in the mail.
Wiz Khalifa
Absolutely.
Thomas
Right.
Wiz Khalifa
Boom.
Thomas
Here's my verse. Like, damn, that was the hardest. That's who we're going with.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, absolutely.
Marty O'Neal
And then that became, like, one of your biggest songs of all time.
Wiz Khalifa
See you again. Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Of a verse you just sent back.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. And there's, like, 20 other dudes trying to get on that song. And it's like an audition. Yeah, yeah. The biggest. Biggest songs in the world. That's how they work.
Marty O'Neal
Damn.
Wiz Khalifa
For sure.
Thomas
Because they already have the formula and they already have everything they want.
Wiz Khalifa
It's locked and loaded.
Thomas
It just happens to be like, who's blowing up?
Wiz Khalifa
Who gets it? Who's ball? Who's ball?
Thomas
Here's another. Here's your layup, man. Oh, this leads great.
Marty O'Neal
To one of my questions. If you could have, like, intercepted any beat in hip hop history before it made it to the artist as your own. You know what I mean? Like, any. Any beat.
Wiz Khalifa
What comes to mind. I'm good. I gotta see you again.
Thomas
Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Can't beat that. I'm good. People wish they had that one. I'm good. I'm straight.
Marty O'Neal
Good answer.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah. Hell yeah.
Thomas
So it's like watching like, yo, Tom Hanks is great in Forrest Gump, but it also could have been like, right. Dennis Hopper, Right? What the.
Wiz Khalifa
Right, right, right. 100.
Thomas
No way. I didn't know that. That's how it works with what you say, with. With just the biggest song. So.
Wiz Khalifa
Right.
Thomas
Like, it's not like everybody's doing with every song that's their own.
Wiz Khalifa
Right, Right.
Thomas
Oh, I didn't know that was. That's insane.
Marty O'Neal
What was going on when you wrote that verse? Like, what was happening?
Thomas
Biggest song in the world.
Marty O'Neal
You knew it.
Wiz Khalifa
I'm going to get checks forever.
Thomas
Residuals on the biggest song on earth. I be levitating all day. I be doing kickboxing. I be. I get it. Like, I'm just going to get my stats up.
Wiz Khalifa
Cuz it was. It was. It had just happened where Paul Walker passed away, like, during the filming of the movie.
Thomas
Oh, I didn't realize it was during the.
Wiz Khalifa
It was during the filming of the movie. He passed away.
Thomas
Oh, that's right. They use his brother for a show.
Wiz Khalifa
And they used cgi, CGI and. And all that stuff. So they were like, this is the ending scene of the movie and he's actually gone. And they were like, this is the song that's gonna do all of that. So I was like. And they're like, we just need you to write a verse, but this is what it's for. So they explained that. Yeah, they explained. And they were like, you know, you're gonna wrap the movie up, so we need you to talk. And they're gonna. They're gonna drive off like this. But it's him leaving the gang, but it's also leaving this earth. So they're like, we need you to wrap it up. Like, finish everything. Bring. Put the bow on there.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
And they're like, you know, do whatever you do. Tap into. Whatever you tap into. Try to, you know, keep it in this pocket right here. This is the pocket where we want you to, you know, perform and have fun with it. And I wrote the verse and like, maybe if a month or two went by and they try to, you know, match up other artists and things like that. And they were like, we really like your verse. And we like this part right here. The. How can we not talk about family? So can you write eight more bars and then use that again as the pre hook? We like that as pre. I'm like, wait, so y' all giving me this whole song? They're like, yeah, we want you to do the whole song, we want you to add another verse to it. We're gonna keep Charlie on the hook and we're gonna show you what it looks like when. At the end of the movie when that song plays.
Thomas
Oh, dude.
Wiz Khalifa
So I'm. I'm watching that end part and I'm rapping the verse, like writing the verses based off of, like seeing that. And then boom, we. We got it done, we shot the video, we released it on the radio, and the rest is history. Yeah. Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
God damn. That's how.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, it went straight up there. And it ended up being a dedication for Paul Walker, but something that helps everybody who's in that same situation, who's lost somebody, who has somebody that they think about or moving on from a situation, they're able to use that song forever to. To really describe that. And I think it just became bigger than all of us. Yeah. Hell yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Is that one of the things, like when people come up to you, is that like one of the top things that they say for that song?
Wiz Khalifa
For sure. I think just seeing people like cry everywhere that I do that, it's like confirmation that that one's. That one's. That's one of those ones.
Thomas
And we're like the same area. It's like the Vitamin C graduation song. Remember that? That's your. You're this era of Vitamin C. I think I'm gonna cry, dude.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, that.
Thomas
Damn.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm super happy to have that one. So being one of the most streamed video songs, one of the most played videos, something that is going to last forever. You know, every artist, they wish for one of those. So I'm good having that for sure.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah.
Thomas
And usually like you said, oh, I'm have this whole song. Usually it's like a. Like a collaboration with other artists on stuff like that.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Because it was for a soundtrack. So it was like. That wasn't. You know, they weren't planning on.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
It was just honoring Paul Walker, which we did. And it connected.
Marty O'Neal
And the last soundtrack I can think of that was like. That was like Celine Dion type Titanic.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. And it's crazy because, like, you got a coolio. Dangerous Minds. That was. That was for a soundtrack too. But that was a huge song that hit people like that too. Where it was like. Of that era. And then my. One of my favorite songs is Crossroads from Both Thugs and Harmony.
Thomas
That was for album.
Wiz Khalifa
No, no, I mean forever.
Marty O'Neal
I got the same vibe.
Wiz Khalifa
It's the same vibe where it's not your typical song. That's on the radio, but it just impacts people in a huge way. Yeah.
Thomas
That was a better comparison of vitamin C. Thanks. But you know what I'm talking about. Every graduation, growing up. Damn. Crossroads is way better fucking.
Marty O'Neal
What's, like, what's left to accomplish in music? What. What are you still striving for?
Wiz Khalifa
For me, just make. I want to make. Continue to make music that reflects where I'm at in my life, what I'm and. And what I'm interested in. An experience that I want to bring to people. And that has a lot to do with just how I present myself or how I present my craft with it. To me, I don't see it as being like everything else that's out, and I don't want to change it to fit or to match anything that's. That that's happening.
Marty O'Neal
You've kept your same tone this whole time.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, Yeah. I love and I appreciate everything that happens. I digest what I can, but I'm fully aware of the climate that we're in, and I also know where I exist in that climate. So my goal is to just create and to be authentic while I'm doing it. In all of this, what you've been.
Thomas
Doing the whole time?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Yeah, that's it. I love music. I love art. I love being spontaneous. I love doing new things. I love being a businessman. I love performing. So these are all things that I can grow and, you know, keep maintaining as well as, like, building on the legacy that I already have. I could perform these hits forever, and nobody's gonna get tired of me, you know, overseas or at a weed festival or just when the time is right, like, nostalgia kicks in and people just want that. Sometimes I'd be right there, like, you know what I mean? So I'm there for all of that, man.
Thomas
All right. Yeah, I like that. I like that explanation. I'll just do this forever.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. For real.
Thomas
For real, though, man. Like you said, I get love everywhere. Like, yeah. And you've been sounding like you had a great time growing up, and you're doing music, and then now you just. Like we said earlier, you can just say the first name, your first, and that's it.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
You don't even have to say the last name. Like, yo, there's only one.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Internationally known, like, yes, sir.
Wiz Khalifa
Share.
Thomas
Madonna. You can say, wait, and you don't have to say the rest.
Marty O'Neal
What point did that happen, do you think?
Thomas
I would say, like, 2012? For me, I would say around there was like, yeah, it just whiz. It doesn't don't like. You don't say Snoop Dogg. You say Snoop. Most people like, oh, Snoop. Like, oh, yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Who else are you going to talk about exactly?
Thomas
Like, it's. It's at this point where it's just too big.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah.
Thomas
International, like I said. I just went to overseas for my. That's my first time traveling, man. I've never traveled. And to see the weed culture in other places. Like, I can go overseas. They're not tired of me. People appreciate and music over there still. I went to a metal concert to was hella people. Yeah, like, people really show up for music out there. They loved it because it's. They're not ungrateful. They're like, yo, they're in town. I'm dropping what I'm doing. When are they going to be here again?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, they're super grateful. They appreciate it, they love it, so they support it. And to them where their idea of, you know, America or cool or whatever for. For me is weed. And weed is universal. And just my spirit, you know, it's the same spirit of like Bob Marley or something like that. So you can't really hate on that. And that brings people together and I just been blessed to not have to try. I'm just being me. Like people with me for genuinely who I am. And I love that. That's such a privilege to just be able to walk this earth and just be 100 me, I have to worry. Oh, man, you know, that's better than all that conscious no matter where you are. Because the people, they just love me. Like, they. They don't expect anything crazy from me. They know I could rap. They know I'm gonna do some good music. They know I'm a chill, you know, I'm a smoke a fat ass.
Marty O'Neal
You know what you're getting.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah. And on top of that, I'm smart and I know how to explain myself. Well, I have a good point of view, but you get. Put all of that in layers if you want it, but just on top, top layer. Cool as.
Thomas
I love the way you put that. You know, you're the only person. I think there's a few people on earth that could say that and be like, that guy's cocky. But no, he was just stating a fact.
Wiz Khalifa
I love it, dude.
Thomas
No, like you said, it's a privilege to walk around and do, oh, this is just me. It's all fun. It's fine. This is how I am at all.
Marty O'Neal
Times, doing what I love.
Thomas
On or off camera.
Wiz Khalifa
Exactly.
Thomas
It's so much. You don't have to. We talk about it. Like, could you imagine having to put on a front and then remember what that front is all the time?
Marty O'Neal
So many rappers got to go through that.
Thomas
You're allowed to smile. That's why I say those rappers. You're allowed to smile in pictures. No one's gonna think you're not hard for smiling. You're allowed to, like, it's fine.
Wiz Khalifa
I don't even know, bro.
Thomas
I see this was. No, you're laughing smiles like gif on Instagram. So, like, that's what I'm saying. It's all right to be like, yeah, I can laugh at. Even the gang members in the movies, they're always laughing at. Yeah, the hardest fool is always the funniest fool.
Wiz Khalifa
No, it's not good.
Marty O'Neal
Fellas, can you tell us about the Khalifa Kush?
Wiz Khalifa
Khalifa Kush comes straight from Burner.
Thomas
Does it?
Wiz Khalifa
The original strain. This one right here.
Thomas
Stop. That's the original cut.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, the original cut comes from Burner.
Thomas
No.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, he brought me this.
Thomas
I. I did not know that.
Wiz Khalifa
2012, it's long. I think we think we started manufacturing this thing, and now we got different flavors. We got Khalifa mints, a baby turtle, and the new one is Point Breeze. These are all different flavors that aren't necessarily, you know, my.
Thomas
Hey, you go to og?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, this is what I would do.
Thomas
All day, every day. Right.
Wiz Khalifa
But this is, you know, for people who smoke differently. And that's what I. I learned about the game, is when you expand, it doesn't necessarily have to be based off of, like, what you exactly are going to do, but it's what, you know, your customers enjoy. So we have a lot of stuff going on for the customers. Oh, Violet sky as well. Point Breeze and violet sky. So 1, 2, 3, 4 different flavors.
Marty O'Neal
In the OG I see some concentrate over there.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Yep, there's some concentrate. There's some salt pans, too. Yeah, we got the pins. It's the Khalifa Kush family. It. We're growing. We're in a bunch of different states all over, you know, the U.S. but we're also in Thailand and Germany. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So being over there.
Thomas
Oh, I did see. I did see the. It might have been, like, they might have been black marketing some. Maybe. I don't know. Or they're just trying to get people in. But it did say a Khalifa Kush on a window. And when I was in Germany.
Wiz Khalifa
Germany, yeah.
Thomas
Okay. I was like, yo, for real? Is it real? That's why.
Wiz Khalifa
Okay, if it Looked like this.
Thomas
It was just. It was the logo on the window.
Wiz Khalifa
Okay.
Thomas
Of a spot, but like a weed spot.
Wiz Khalifa
Yep.
Thomas
All right.
Wiz Khalifa
That was. That was more likely real.
Thomas
My bad. I thought. I thought maybe it was me.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, man. We in Germany, like, a month.
Thomas
Damn, dude, that's awesome. International weed company. Yeah, like you said, like, being a businessman, you're very humble about things, but you have an international weed company. Is a cool thing to say out loud.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Yeah.
Thomas
So like, he said, what's next for music? But after that, now you're doing. Now you have this. That's gonna last forever. Because weed is. Is. Is a. Is international. Weed is. Like you said, it goes. If you don't speak a language, but you want to hit this.
Wiz Khalifa
Absolutely.
Thomas
Everyone's what I'm talking about, you're saying, but. Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
All over the world.
Thomas
Everywhere.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
And then I see something called Mr. Cap.
Wiz Khalifa
Mm. Doing mushrooms now, too.
Thomas
What? Like, how is. How. What do you mean? Like, in certain spots? Or is it the mushroom that you're allowed to.
Wiz Khalifa
So in Amsterdam is real. Like, it's all. It's the. It's psychedelics, but everywhere else, it's not yet, because the laws are changing and loosening up. So the more we get into psychedelics, the more the menu will change. Yeah, but we already getting started. We getting our feet planet in that space because we already know how that stuff goes. It's like five to 10 years, and then it's booming. So we starting now, legally. Yeah.
Thomas
Do you have to do a bunch of sampling for that or what? It. Because that kind of. I mean, I love sample weed. I do, but I don't want to sample a bunch of mushrooms. That's days and days and days of commitment, bro.
Wiz Khalifa
If I sampled a bunch of mushrooms, y' all wouldn't get an album for at least two, three years. So I think we sample a couple of them and then we take breaks, but that's about it. We can't be consistent on the. On the sampling of the mushrooms. Not too heavy on that Sounds terrible.
Thomas
Sounds like a nightmare. Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Not. Not for the sake of the business. We. We'll get somebody else to do all that.
Thomas
Yo, could you imagine?
Wiz Khalifa
What do you do for a living?
Thomas
I test mushrooms for Wood Clef's company All. All day. Oh, is that why you're touching the ground on the floor? But yeah, dog. Nice to meet you.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Pretty sure there's somebody waiting to do that.
Thomas
There's a community wait. I promise you, you get free R.
Wiz Khalifa
D forever for show.
Thomas
Hell yeah.
Marty O'Neal
You know, he. Like, working with him for the past few years, he's been like, face censorship as a content creator every step of the way. Literally swimming upstream against the grain because of the weed. Even though this is a motivational comedy platform, you know, some of the biggest names in the world come through, like the podcast, Everything against the grain, constantly because of the weed. Have. Do you feel like you've been up against censorship this whole time with the music or. Not so much.
Wiz Khalifa
I think the censorship for me is more on the low, like, underhanded or behind my back than it is, like, to my face. I think the people who do stuff with me, they know exactly what they're getting into. And whether it's for the numbers that I bring or it's because of them actually knowing what my product is and them wanting that effect for them, too. A lot of that shit just goes out of the window. But sometimes they do put people who don't. Who aren't as loud about pot. They'll put them in front of me if it's beneficial to them. But being that I built myself up so much based off of who I actually am, it kind of makes it hard for people to fake it. Or, like, you know, like, there's. There's sometimes where they think that they're gonna change me or how I'm gonna promote something or how I do something, but then when they see that exactly how I would do it normally is the only way that it would work anyway, they usually just either, you know, they usually end up, like, changing their. Their train of thought when it comes to that. But, like, Instagram, YouTube, those are, like, really big platforms for me when it comes to, like, engagement and things like that. So I've run experiments where I'm like, you not. You know, I know you guys be like, I see how much engagement that gets, and then I do some weird shit, and I see how much engagement that gets, and I'm like, it's clear what the people want. So I can't even, you know. Yeah, I just got to. I just got to keep pushing, like, regardless of, you know, what people may think or. We know what's best, we know what works for us. So, you know, it's just part of the game. You got to pay the cost to be the boss. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thomas
I'm on the count 30, too.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah.
Marty O'Neal
They just like, a. Instagram is like.
Thomas
Oh, you like weed?
Wiz Khalifa
There's, like, no way for you to not have weed doing what you do, though.
Thomas
I don't show weed on Instagram no more. I just get high on there. I just don't show the actual product. I can't tag products.
Wiz Khalifa
I can't do nothing for real now. They took businesses like whole business pages of ours down like.
Thomas
Oh, so you deal with the tube.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh yeah.
Thomas
Oh, damn.
Wiz Khalifa
Just now getting back.
Thomas
It's not just us.
Marty O'Neal
Oh no.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Hell yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Damn.
Thomas
Oh, I'm not happy that happened. I'm happy to know that it's not.
Marty O'Neal
We feel so ostracized.
Wiz Khalifa
I don't mind. No, yeah. It is what it is. You're the biggest.
Thomas
Wait, what the. Oh, they really just don't with the weed then if they're doing it to you like you said, most people are the hotel people. Like we're just going to put up air things, accommodate with them.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. N. I mean it is what it is. We know what we're up against, but that doesn't mean stop doing what we doing. Nope, not at all.
Marty O'Neal
And you got your vlogs dropping though.
Thomas
Yeah, yeah, I saw one you dropped last month.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, hell yeah. I do different forms. I do like long form and short form. So. Yeah. Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
You've had the day to day going for like 17 years right now.
Wiz Khalifa
That's how long it is.
Marty O'Neal
My kid just turned 17 yesterday.
Wiz Khalifa
Okay.
Marty O'Neal
And when I went back on the channel earlier today, I was like, damn, these were coming out when she was born.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, we still, we still do them reg regularly. That's just something I, I, I always enjoy was that's part of the creative process to me. And as a fan, I think, you know, everybody, you know, they, they really want to dive into that. And I've seen so many artists not do that and then get to a point where they're like, man, I need to start doing this. And I don't think, I don't think even think it's because of what they see. I think they just really want to express themselves like that and not just the music. Yeah. And they want people to see that type of. And they want, they want that their point of view to be, you know, more than just what people see or they, they don't want people to be able to narrate their lives for them. They want, they want to like you.
Thomas
Said earlier, that's why you do it and that's why the irl.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
That's why you see so many big Kevin Hart's on, on streams and streams. Damn. Yeah, you got streaming's the new. I mean, like you said, you have to adapt or, you know, keep doing what you're doing, but you can keep doing what you're doing and like, play ball a little bit. Like you said, like, you know me, right? A pop hit for sure. Write some.
Wiz Khalifa
You gotta, you gotta play ball, man. You gotta really, you gotta know how to move out here and still make it work for you. And there's a lot of stuff that I don't like about it, but, you know, it is what it is. Not about streaming, but just how free the Internet is to take your personal content and, you know, twist it for whatever they want it to be. I. I still be feeling some type of way about that because I'm so like, just dedicated to my fans. So I only want that message to. To be for them. I don't want it to get twisted for other people to, to mean, like.
Marty O'Neal
News outlets and shit. Or like other pages.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, other pages. Or just even how they.
Thomas
How they.
Wiz Khalifa
How they clip Farm or how they like put, you know, titles for. For stuff that's like clickbait. Oh, it won't even be like exactly what you're talking about, but they can just spin it and make it into some headline just to get people to interact.
Thomas
Oh yeah, we've all done it.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, we've seen it. And the engagement, like, to me is like, that's the wrong kind of engagement. Like it's supposed to be about something completely different, but then that's just me being from a different era where we could control that. We can't even control that now. So we just, you know, we're just creating in that space where you can put stuff to your fans, but it can be twisted and turned, however. So you just have to be aware of that as well. Like, you know, you can't really just drop anything that you want. You gotta re edit that. You gotta edit it four times. I'm like, look, my finger is sideways right there. I don't want people thinking that my hand is shaped like that. Cut that scene out like, because people will take any little thing, bro, and, and turn it and that'll be the headline instead of what your whole video was about. That's annoying as like, it really, like, will make you like, okay, now I gotta change that.
Marty O'Neal
Now you're thinking about that.
Thomas
And none of us have ever had to think about this before. But it's just about.
Wiz Khalifa
It just makes you be on your game even more though. Because that's what I like it because I'm a creator. So when it comes to knowing, I'm like, okay, now I know what to look for.
Thomas
Yeah, like the billboards, Remember? I don't allow any pictures of me with my mouth wide open.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, hell none.
Thomas
I go, hey, any pictures of my mouth is wide open.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Don't.
Marty O'Neal
That was your one note.
Thomas
That was my one note. We started working.
Wiz Khalifa
No.
Thomas
Because motherfuckers will draw a dick anywhere and I have to laugh at it. Cuz it's funny. But I'm like, but it's also my billboard.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, but you don't want to have to learn from getting dicks.
Thomas
Yes.
Wiz Khalifa
You just want to already know that it'll happen.
Thomas
Already know. Exactly. That's why I went. Nope. No. That's funny. One note I gave when we first started was like, open out pictures ever.
Wiz Khalifa
About being on top of your game, bro. You good, man.
Thomas
That's some silly ass.
Wiz Khalifa
Get them before they get you. You.
Thomas
Exactly. That's preemptive. All right, all right, my la. My last question.
Marty O'Neal
We light up this cross joint real quick.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh yeah, yeah, I got a cross joint.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah.
Thomas
What am I doing?
Wiz Khalifa
I forgot about that. Here.
Marty O'Neal
Turn of the day, Savers.
Thomas
This is, this is. This is a. This is sick. Let's just light this up. It's. It's not a huge one, but I.
Wiz Khalifa
Don'T even think people have seen one of those in real life, bro.
Thomas
It's. It's a pre. You could prepack stuff. It's a cone.
Wiz Khalifa
A real.
Thomas
Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Damn.
Thomas
It's sick.
Wiz Khalifa
They did that? Yeah.
Thomas
If not, it would take forever. All right, my question is. Well, I have. It's a two part. But who, who, who got you into smoking weed? Besides, I don't think. Was it a cousin? I always say it's someone's cousin. That's always who it is. Every person who did this, it was.
Wiz Khalifa
It was my cousin. See. No, that was the first person I smoke with my. It was my cousin.
Thomas
I don't.
Wiz Khalifa
Definitely my cousin. Cousin.
Thomas
It's always a cousin for sure. But it's always a year older cousin.
Wiz Khalifa
I didn't get into smoking weed like all the time until I. I started hanging out in the studio and.
Thomas
Oh, really?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. And I was around some fools, they were way older than me. They was doing some. That I was not into, but you know, they were good at it and they used that money to rap. So they weren't really artists all like that. Well, a couple of them were, but they mainly just had money and they were like, you know, building their. Their artistry.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
And they smoked hella weed, bro. Like just ounces. Just big ass bags.
Marty O'Neal
So you didn't even have a nickel bag era. You went right into, like people having Halloween.
Thomas
You've had the on life on easy mode. It's incredible. That's what I just smoke joints and hang out.
Wiz Khalifa
But dog, these dudes, big ass bags of weed, like, and they're just fire tossing them to each other. This was when Purple Haze was in, so.
Thomas
Oh, big butt.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, big ass buzz. And it smelled totally different than anything else too. So it's like they're just throwing ounces of weed to each other and just rolling up back to back to back to back. Smoking one, rolling one, smoking one. Wrong. And I'm in there like, damn, my throat is hurting. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I didn't even smoke at the time, but I'll be writing my rhymes and. And then one day, one of them came up to me and was like, bro, I know you don't smoke and your music is really good, but as soon as you start smoking, you're going to get so much better.
Thomas
But you smoked before, though.
Wiz Khalifa
I smoked before, but I didn't smoke and rap constantly. Yeah, and he told me that. He was like, man, man, you're gonna go crazy. He's like, I can already hear you. Like, you're good without smoking. He's like, but as soon as you start smoking this, you're gonna go crazy. Like. And that's literally what happened.
Thomas
A salesman.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Yeah, I promise. Superstar.
Wiz Khalifa
He was like, dog, it's the last thing you're missing right here. When you smoke this, you really gonna become Wiz Khalifa. And I heard music totally fucking different when I smoked weed.
Thomas
That's what he says.
Wiz Khalifa
I swear to God, like, even before I smoked weed, I. I always seen music as colors. So I would see colors when That's a condition. Yeah.
Thomas
Wait, that's what he said when he was tripping.
Wiz Khalifa
No, for real, it's. It's. I don't know what it is that sounds.
Marty O'Neal
There's a name for it. That's a thing.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, I think Prince had the same thing too. But what is it?
Marty O'Neal
Synesthesia. Synesthesia.
Wiz Khalifa
Synesthesia. Yeah. It's like the moods. I can. I can feel and see each mood, like from. From music. And when I smoke and I'm not musically trained at all, but when I smoked, my ear became crazy. I started hearing chords and progressions and different instruments and just different. Totally different. I was like, what the.
Marty O'Neal
Was here the whole time?
Thomas
The whole time?
Wiz Khalifa
Like, this is what music is. I was like, it's like, it's everything. It's like A whole pot full of stuff. And I could just hear every ingredient when I started smoking. And that's what really opened me up. And I would just listen to music non stop. And just the feeling of hearing a song progress and learning a song and learning the beginning, the intro, the middle. And I started breaking down bars. I started learning all of that just from being high and listening to music. Yo, that's true.
Thomas
You're nerding out. That's what you do. Nerding out.
Wiz Khalifa
On course. I love that. I listen to songs over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. And that's how I fell in love with weed.
Marty O'Neal
I do that too. Like the kid off hardball, always kid off marble.
Wiz Khalifa
I'm telling you, bro, like, music is. Is. Is crazy and kind of sound tangible. Yeah, it's real. And older music is so much better because everybody was a professional. Yeah, everybody. All of them were professional musicians. They were making their best music that they could at that time. And music got more, you know, digital and stuff like that. And it's still good. I love it where it's at and I love the progression of it. But when you have everybody who is musically trained on time knows, you know what they're doing you. They created something that'll never. Like if you. If an alien came to the Earth and you just dropped the record on Isley Brothers, like, they gonna feel that.
Thomas
No matter where they're from.
Wiz Khalifa
Exactly. Like, it don't matter, yo. Like, you don't have to explain nothing, bro. Like, so that's my connection with. With pot and music, for sure.
Thomas
I love that you go together alien thing I've used that many times. If the aliens came, is that our best?
Wiz Khalifa
They have to understand it.
Thomas
You have to know.
Wiz Khalifa
So, yeah.
Thomas
All right. Boom. Aliens come down. They see you, they're like, hey, what's up, fool?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
To save the planet, we gotta love these three movies. And like, what's your favorite three movies? As they're shaking, they're like, welcome to Earth. But they got you. You know, you're not. You're the alien to the Will Smith. They got you.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
One of your favorite three movies.
Wiz Khalifa
I'm gonna show him Grandma's Boys. We already locked in, and I'm gonna show up. So we. We laughing. We good. Show them Scarface. Show them how to get money. And then Shakespeare play. And then what's the last movie that I would show them? Oh, pressure's on. Aliens are. Aliens are. They're pulling the guns out now.
Thomas
Mars attacks. Guns are now up. Little just. You just hear it now like, damn.
Wiz Khalifa
There'S double up Blicky on me.
Thomas
Got.
Wiz Khalifa
Man. I don't know what the last movie Alien straps. I don't know what the third movie would be. I'm drawing a blank.
Thomas
What's your favorite one?
Wiz Khalifa
Well, my favorite is Grandma's Boy.
Thomas
Oh, for real?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, that's my favorite movie.
Thomas
Right. You watch it many times then, right?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah.
Thomas
Okay. So that used to be my fall asleep movie for a couple years. Did you notice when he puts all the food into the oven, there's a banana in a peeling.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah.
Thomas
You have to watch that a lot to go. Like there's a banana in the oven.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, he put a banana in there. You put spaghetti all types of in there.
Thomas
What she. I got some spaghetti and chocolate milk and macaron or whatever.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Oh, dude, I love that movie so damn much.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, Grandma's Boy is a good one. Oh, pineapple express there. There we go. Okay, nice. Boom. I looked at the cross joint. I'm like, it's got to be popularized.
Thomas
The out of the cross joint. Actually, as soon as I watch it seem like we're doing that.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, that's what I did. Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
What about three albums in the same way? Three albums most listened to maybe in life.
Wiz Khalifa
I would do cushion orange juice.
Thomas
I would do all the aliens just chilling. Holy.
Wiz Khalifa
I would do H and IC from Prodigy. Yeah, yeah. And I would do.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah, I remember doing that Travel alchemist.
Wiz Khalifa
Keep it thorough, huh? Yeah. Yep, that was my bro. I. I used to ride the bus just listening to that non stop. I got hella memories to HPC and. Damn. I'm trying to think of like, everybody's favorite album. Oh, DMX's first album.
Thomas
Yeah, yeah, you just did everything. Marty loves DMX's first album.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, I'm playing that for them for sure. Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Did you ever meet him?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. X is cool as bro. That was the homie. Man, he was super cool. He smoked a lot of weed. I remember I was at the BET Awards with him and I gave him one joint and then every time he see me, he'd be like, yo, my man, my man. And I just had to keep giving him weed.
Thomas
Oh, forever.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, he just kept open the door. Yeah, exactly. He's like, yo, yo, yo. Every time he see him, he's like getting more weed and.
Thomas
Yeah, yeah, you know, that's. That's. That's a guy that I don't mind giving a joint to.
Wiz Khalifa
Every time, bro. Ask me, bro. Ask me I got you, dog.
Thomas
Every single time.
Marty O'Neal
You were in the Rough Rider shirt in your video, right?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, Yeah. I love DMAs. Swiss beats. That's my partner, too, man. Come on. Them is the homies.
Marty O'Neal
He's like, most talented producer for my.
Wiz Khalifa
He's a genius, man. He really is. He's a good dude. He's smart. He's a businessman. He's like. He's one of those dudes who is cool to look up to. Swiss Beats.
Marty O'Neal
He just. He went to Harvard. Like, on his own time.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, it's cool.
Thomas
On his own time. That's when you know you made it.
Wiz Khalifa
It's cool to look up to him.
Marty O'Neal
Married to Alicia Keys, he brought DMX into hip hop. Like, what the.
Wiz Khalifa
Friends with all his kids. He still makes beats. He's a good dj. Him and Timberland started verses out of nowhere. Yeah, yeah.
Thomas
You started cush ups during the pandemic.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
You had everybody on their phone waiting for you to go live. Like, yeah, I could do it too. Yep. Oh, man. I watched him. We're all in co. I watched every time we, like. I mean, I am in the house. I want to watch people get high, dude.
Wiz Khalifa
I'm just sitting there smoking with everybody.
Thomas
Yo, that was a terrible time in the world. Fun time to get high on the Internet with your friends.
Wiz Khalifa
Crazy.
Thomas
I did sessions with my friends. I couldn't see for forever.
Wiz Khalifa
I'm so glad that is over, dog. Oh, I never want to go back.
Thomas
It's like a night. It's like a. Like a bad dream. Like that.
Wiz Khalifa
That really happened, you know, I forgot the world shut. Yeah, they did that to us, man.
Thomas
Everybody got on timeout and the outside was lava and you weren't about to go nowhere.
Marty O'Neal
It's right as we were starting the show.
Thomas
Yeah. Exactly at the month and a half before.
Wiz Khalifa
I like to get dressed and go out and that put it into all that.
Thomas
You get dressed and just mob around the house, bro.
Wiz Khalifa
I was just wearing Nike shorts and. Oh, cut off tees.
Thomas
I'll be on a segue dressed up to the tea around my house. That be sick. I was in an apartment, though, back then. That was tight, though.
Marty O'Neal
Have you been a weed snob the whole time? Like, you real snobby about the strains in particular and.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah.
Thomas
Since you're a kid, too.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very snobby.
Thomas
Well, he said they're throwing away, throwing around ounces of purple haze and back when that.
Marty O'Neal
But he's from Pittsburgh. That, like, in my mind, I'm from Buffalo, so it's like, there's not just hell. I mean, at least for me, hella different options floating around a.
Wiz Khalifa
It was getting gooey, right? Yeah, we were getting good weed. It wasn't the best of the best. I didn't find that until I came out to California. That's when I started smoking really bomb weed. But we were. We were getting good weed and we just valued smoking. So it was like the more we started to learn about that, it was like, man, I ain't smoking that because I already know I'm gonna do better in life. Like, I'm not gonna play myself.
Thomas
As a pr. As a principal. You smoke fire. I never heard nobody put it like that before.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah.
Thomas
I'm gonna better my life.
Wiz Khalifa
We got better.
Thomas
That's why I said the other day, no more Ubers that aren't uber black. Yeah, like, oh, it's half the price. I got a tweaker Uber driver the other day. And that's why I said, no, I gotta step it up.
Wiz Khalifa
You gotta start living like the person you want to be, man. Yeah.
Thomas
All right. Next time you see him, like, oh, you got buff. Like, maybe.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Now I gotta get up early.
Marty O'Neal
The hotels are gonna be giving you packs and exactly sign in.
Thomas
Hey, don't worry about it.
Wiz Khalifa
But you good, bro. We know. Here's the air thing and we want to buy some T shirts.
Thomas
Oh, that'd be hard. Collab with hotels. Oh, you guys, you guys never see me again. Yeah, I'll be a billionaire.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah, the double push tree.
Thomas
Like the double. You are a wordsmith.
Wiz Khalifa
I love that with it.
Thomas
All right, so as. As we all do, we go off on tangents and we all get high and forget what the we're gonna say. And like, 45 minutes ago, I had a question and I just remembered it.
Wiz Khalifa
Okay.
Thomas
You're an action star. It's four years from now. Who is your Mel Gibson to Lethal Weapon? Like, you're an action star. You're high kicking fools. Who's your, like your co star? Who and what is your movie?
Wiz Khalifa
Damn, dog.
Thomas
Oh, but action. Not Pineapple. You know what? Pineapple Express is an action movie, but there just happens to be funny stuff in it.
Wiz Khalifa
It's got to be somebody who's like, equally buff. Yeah, but like, think about, like, they gotta get if. If that Timothy kid got buff.
Thomas
Timothy who?
Wiz Khalifa
Oh.
Thomas
Yeah, we know who we're all talking about.
Wiz Khalifa
Get him buff. And then we, we, you know, we be Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
Thomas
Yo, I see it now, though. Could you imagine five years that fool's.
Wiz Khalifa
All ripped and yeah, we'll be stylish. You know, the pro. The promo run would have some really good fits and. Yeah, that would be cool. I want to do like a Marvel movie or something like that. That I want to be.
Thomas
What's your power?
Wiz Khalifa
Damn, bro, that's hard.
Thomas
Ex. You've been asked that since you were a child. What's your superpower? Like flying?
Marty O'Neal
I do whatever the I want.
Thomas
I mean, I do whatever I want.
Wiz Khalifa
Exactly.
Thomas
So you're Superman, Cuz. No one's telling Superman a thing.
Wiz Khalifa
Do exactly what the I want.
Thomas
Yo, he just has Superman powers. He only uses him to like go.
Wiz Khalifa
To the store real quick, come back just normal.
Thomas
Yeah, normal as. I don't need it.
Marty O'Neal
I'm just chilling. I'm super cool.
Wiz Khalifa
Use my powers to raise my kids.
Thomas
Rock em to sleep.
Wiz Khalifa
There you go.
Thomas
In midair.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Oh, dude, I'd be doing a bunch of dumb. I'd sleep up. I got it. This hotel sucks. Just floating above your bed. That'd be sick. I can help me light this. Damn it. Like Pineapple Express. I can't even like this thing by myself.
Marty O'Neal
Can you tell us about your two tours you're embarking on?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, so we're going on the Good Vibes only tour. The first leg is with Dababy and Sean Paul.
Thomas
Oh, nice.
Wiz Khalifa
We're doing the Sick Smokers edition where we got Currency Earl sweatshirt, Absol and Dom Kennedy.
Thomas
Oh, a bunch of lyricists.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Yeah, that was like. Yeah, that was a big, big passion project of mine that I'm glad that we made come alive because like I said, people are really with the nostalgia of the whole 2009 and the whole blog era and things like that. So to be able to use my platform and have Live Nation, you know what I mean, behind us, make this a big experience and not just like a. A little stoner fest. Yeah, I think it's. I think it's just a good opportunity for all of us and a great opportunity for the fans to see the music that they enjoy performed on that scale.
Marty O'Neal
It's a huge W for the like whole entire weed community when you do like that.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah. I love it because it elevates it and it lets people know how musical we are, how essential we are to, you know, keeping these crowds and filling up these festivals or whatever it is. Like, I love seeing the younger artists be able to, you know, sell out or, you know, bring crowds, but I also love to see the people who pave the way still get that same amount of love and be able to perform, you know, 45 or hour long sets to people who really enjoy and appreciate that though. Yep.
Marty O'Neal
It's awesome. That was like the last stretcher of like, we. We had a different connection to music because we didn't have, like, unlimited music at our disposal. We had what we had. It was special. It was like something you could have in your hand.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
And like you were saying, like, all the rappers had a little bit more mystery. We didn't see him every day.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
So it's like we had a different relationship with our rappers than people do today. They just see him like all day long.
Wiz Khalifa
They're not. I think as fans too, we had to go more out of our way to discover it too.
Thomas
So you really liked an artist if you had a shirt back then?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. It meant a lot to you when you found that and everybody didn't even already know about it. You're like putting people on to it or you're like, yeah, it's like coming to town. Oh, I've been listening to this all summer. Like, I never thought I was gonna see this person. So it's a really good feeling to have that personal, that real connection rather than just showing up because it's the thing to do. I think a lot of our fans, like, they really want to be there.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Oh, hell yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah.
Thomas
Especially when you go somewhere like, I'm gonna be high as at this concert all day.
Wiz Khalifa
That's cool.
Thomas
I can't go to work after you. It's a. It's a. It's an event more than it's a show at that point.
Wiz Khalifa
Hell yeah. You're rolling up doobies. Yeah.
Thomas
You remember what it's like to go into a show and sneak weed in? When's the last time you had to do that?
Marty O'Neal
Never.
Thomas
I mean, you had to go to.
Wiz Khalifa
A show before, like, sneak weed in places just to feel like I'm like.
Thomas
You'Re a normal guy.
Marty O'Neal
Like, you don't want to check me. You want to look at my back? No. Good.
Wiz Khalifa
Come on, man. I'm not supposed to be doing this. Remember?
Thomas
Remember? Yeah. Thanks for the air purifier. Yeah. One of the few times when I was still hiding, like, hiding, I walked into a hotel, checked in, turned around my friend, turned around, his QP jar fell out. Bust in the lobby and we're looking out and. Yeah, we got that smoking charge instantly. Yeah, they got us quick.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Yeah. It's. It's like if you're not on the Mount Rushmore of weed.
Marty O'Neal
Yeah.
Thomas
It's a little hard to get a. To get by.
Marty O'Neal
Big distinction if you're on the Mount Rushmore. Or they just hate you.
Thomas
See my name? This kid still get the random searches at the airport, Man. I got one on the way back.
Marty O'Neal
On the way back from Europe. Oh, bastards.
Wiz Khalifa
You on the list?
Thomas
Might be.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, they got a list.
Thomas
I definitely on it.
Wiz Khalifa
You on there, buddy.
Thomas
That's why I didn't bring nothing. All right? I was going back home when I'm going to bring back some. I got. I got.
Marty O'Neal
Show them your stash and dash. Like, guys, I clearly left.
Thomas
Clearly stashed it behind a. A drain pipe. In pairs. I did. Who's on your Mount Rushmore? Weed. You're allowed to say yourself.
Wiz Khalifa
Me, Snoop.
Thomas
Two.
Wiz Khalifa
How many people's on Mount Four.
Thomas
But all you know. How. How about this? Five.
Wiz Khalifa
Me, Snoop Burner.
Thomas
That's a good ad.
Wiz Khalifa
Be real.
Thomas
Has to be currency.
Wiz Khalifa
Let's go. Yeah. Yeah.
Thomas
You have a good list.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
Red, Mad, Method Man. Honorable mention.
Wiz Khalifa
Bob Marley.
Thomas
Yeah. See, it's too hard to go for.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, man.
Thomas
Even with five, you're like, I'm kind of. I don't feel like an.
Wiz Khalifa
I mean, you know.
Thomas
No, you have to.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
All right, so give me your six there. There we go.
Wiz Khalifa
All right, cool.
Thomas
All right. I think it's almost every single person's list, too, but honorable mention, I like that. Yo, when. When. How High came out? I remember that whole era of my life.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Everything.
Thomas
Like Harvard, huh?
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. I wasn't even smoking when that movie came out. That's crazy.
Thomas
No, it's so wild to hear that, man.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
You never had to go through the struggle. That's the best thing about it. Like, no, I had zips throwing me. I was making music. Yeah. Like, yeah, dude, Michael Jackson out here. This was just like, yeah, I've been famous forever. You.
Wiz Khalifa
Will you say it like that?
Marty O'Neal
He was in the movie. He, like, remade it basically.
Thomas
Right.
Marty O'Neal
A movie with Wes or without Snoop?
Wiz Khalifa
With Snoop. Well, that's.
Thomas
Mac and Devin go to high school. Yeah. I have a weed movie with Snoop Doggs. I'm pretty much. That's it. All right, man. That's cool. We don't have a lot of people on here that are like, yeah, you can smoke. Because, like, let me ask you. We just basically, like, just drinking water at this point. Like, I'm smoking. I'm not getting high, but I'm not. Not high.
Wiz Khalifa
Right. I get stoned.
Thomas
Yeah, you get high.
Wiz Khalifa
Especially when you smoke. Back to back to back to back to back.
Thomas
That's when you get it.
Wiz Khalifa
You'll be like.
Thomas
You ever find yourself Sometimes, like, I wish. Is this gonna do? I'm not 12 anymore. Like, that's just not gonna happen. Like, you know what I mean? Like, holding it. Don't do nothing like that.
Wiz Khalifa
I just constantly puff.
Thomas
Right.
Wiz Khalifa
Just keep rolling.
Thomas
Do you ever find yourself going, I think I'm pretty high right now. It's rare occasions, though, right?
Wiz Khalifa
Usually when I'm with the homies and we just smoking, laughing, and I like to smoke until everything is funny. Like, just keep smoking. Yeah, I like to get that high.
Thomas
I like it. Dude, if it was watching espn, laughing at it, I like it.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
All right, so I haven't heard that response yet. I laugh until everything's funny. I just. I find myself going, that damn got me up. I. I'm high. I don't feel, you know, like when Happy Gilmore gets hurt hitting the. You're a human after all. When he's all limping and that's how I feel. Like, oh, I am. I do. I do get high.
Wiz Khalifa
I'm stoned.
Thomas
It's a rare occasion.
Wiz Khalifa
I walk away.
Thomas
I like it, though.
Wiz Khalifa
Smacked.
Thomas
I go, this is what people feel. Yeah. This is sick.
Wiz Khalifa
Oh, yeah.
Thomas
I felt it a while, but with that being said, like, I don't even get high anymore.
Wiz Khalifa
Damn it.
Thomas
My bad. We're not leaving it off on that. So the tours you have coming up, albums out now.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Thomas
Everybody can follow you on every platform and you can just type in the first three letters like we said.
Wiz Khalifa
And.
Thomas
Yeah, it's not gonna be nobody else.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, I'm gonna be consistent on YouTube. I'm still dropping videos off of the album. I'm gonna go shoot some videos for this week, so there'll be more videos coming out from Cushion Orange Juice 2 this summer. I'm gonna be on tour with Dababy, and so I'm more than likely be recording some music with them and putting that out during the summer too. Definitely get some. Some freestyles and some fun stuff just to keep everybody engaged.
Thomas
And like Tiny Desk, you're doing what everybody wants from you too.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, yeah.
Thomas
Like, yo, just go and do the dope. And that's what Tiny Desk was.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Yeah.
Thomas
That's like the new Sick platform. If I feel for.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Hell yeah. It's all about an experience, man. And I've this done before, so I know what it feels like to fully engage and make memories for people. Not just hype, but something that's going to last forever and something that's going to stick with people forever. So that's what I'm on a mission to do.
Thomas
Yeah.
Wiz Khalifa
Yep.
Thomas
Man. Thank you for being here.
Wiz Khalifa
Appreciate you for having me.
Marty O'Neal
Appreciate you coming through.
Thomas
Yeah. I have a bong that's as big as you if you want to hit it.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Let's do it. Oh.
Thomas
Let's go. Yes.
Wiz Khalifa
All right. Come on.
Thomas
You said that.
Wiz Khalifa
All right.
Thomas
Yeah. Here we go.
Marty O'Neal
Quick question. I'm homies with Benny the Butcher.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah.
Marty O'Neal
He mentioned you guys might be doing a show in Buffalo.
Wiz Khalifa
In Buffalo on the fifth.
Marty O'Neal
We got a lot of fans there.
Wiz Khalifa
You know, that's when we start. Yeah. That's where you from. So the first show is going to be there. I love upstate New York, man.
Marty O'Neal
Let's go.
Wiz Khalifa
It's super slept on as far as, like, the support and the in the just all around vibe, bro. Y. Y' all show hella love.
Marty O'Neal
Similar to Pittsburgh, I would imagine.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah, the same. It's just way colder, cuz. Y' all right by Canada, and so it's super cold up tundra. Yeah.
Thomas
You've been in every single country performing, too.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. Yep. All over. We doing this bong.
Thomas
Yeah. This f. Didn't even have to tilt it. Look.
Wiz Khalifa
Yeah. I'm short as. For real. Damn.
Thomas
Can you jump a fence for like. Like. It's nothing. Jesus Christ.
Wiz Khalifa
That was nice.
Thomas
That was nothing.
Wiz Khalifa
I haven't done that in a minute.
Thomas
Oh. Next story is folks buying a bomb.
Wiz Khalifa
That was awesome. Too bad I get to ride home with that. That was good footage. Come on. Ready?
Marty O'Neal
Easy.
Thomas
Perfect. Perfect.
DOPE AS USUAL Podcast: The Wiz Khalifa Episode – Detailed Summary
Release Date: July 1, 2025
Hosts: Marty O'Neill & Thomas Araujo
Guest: Wiz Khalifa
The episode kicks off with Thomas and Marty warmly welcoming Wiz Khalifa to the "DOPE AS USUAL" podcast. The hosts set a relaxed and casual tone, immediately delving into a conversation intertwined with smoking sessions, reflecting the podcast's signature informal and engaging style.
Timestamp [01:43]:
Wiz Khalifa discusses his recent projects, highlighting the release of his album "Cushion Orange Juice" which dropped just over two months prior. He expresses immense pride in the album, noting, “I worked with all the producers that I wanted to... curating a sound that I was really proud of” (01:58).
Timestamp [01:47]:
He elaborates on his ongoing tours, emphasizing the importance of connecting with both long-time fans and new audiences. Wiz shares, “Being able to perform these records and do some of the classics... it's a really crazy, crazy experience” (03:06).
Timestamp [03:16]:
Thomas highlights Wiz's impressive streaming numbers, noting that three of his top 20 biggest songs on Spotify have amassed nearly 6 billion streams. Wiz responds by acknowledging the universal appeal of his music across platforms like YouTube, stating, “A lot of people think that... it's all about the connection and the experience” (03:17).
Timestamp [04:13]:
Marty underscores Wiz’s deep connection with his fans, remarking, “The only thing that compares to having a die-hard fan base is getting the opportunity to make new ones every day.” Wiz agrees, emphasizing mutual growth and appreciation, “We're growing together, we're understanding things together” (04:13).
Timestamp [04:26]:
The conversation shifts to Wiz's pioneering use of social media and vlogging, with Marty noting, “He was doing this for years before Black and Yellow... the first YouTube rapper.” Wiz attributes his early success to platforms like MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter, which allowed him to directly engage with fans and build his brand organically.
Timestamp [06:01]:
Wiz reflects on the evolution of content creation, stating, “It allowed me to paint the narrative for real instead of somebody else telling my story” (06:08). He contrasts the past's limited exposure with today’s pervasive social media presence, highlighting the shift towards transparency and fan-driven content.
Timestamp [13:02]:
The hosts segue into personal topics, discussing the responsibilities that come with parenthood. Wiz shares insights on balancing fame with family life, “I got 12 year olds... I have family restart” (13:25). Marty and Thomas relate, reflecting on their own journeys toward fatherhood and the discipline it instills.
Timestamp [14:09]:
Marty praises Wiz's discipline, noting his commitment to fitness and continuous self-improvement. Wiz echoes this sentiment, discussing how fatherhood has reinforced his sense of responsibility and long-term vision beyond his music career.
Timestamp [17:39]:
A significant portion of the conversation revolves around Wiz’s foray into fitness, particularly Muay Thai and kickboxing. He explains the mental and physical benefits, “It became more mental than it was physical... It gave me a purpose” (18:18). The hosts discuss their own fitness routines, with Wiz encouraging them to adopt healthier lifestyles.
Timestamp [35:03]:
One of the highlights is Wiz recounting the creation of his breakout hit "Black and Yellow." He describes the spontaneous nature of writing the song, “I knew exactly what I was doing... 'Black and Yellow was always the tagline’” (35:50). The song's regional roots and eventual mainstream success, bolstered by the Pittsburgh Steelers' performance, showcase Wiz’s ability to blend personal passion with broader appeal.
Timestamp [38:56]:
Marty inquires about the song's rise, prompting Wiz to explain its gradual buildup through radio play and significant timing with the Steelers' achievements. He emphasizes the organic growth stemming from dedicated fan support, “It was perfect timing... all of the work had come to a head at the right point” (39:18).
Timestamp [88:03]:
The discussion transitions to Wiz’s entrepreneurial side with his cannabis brand, Khalifa Kush. He details the brand’s evolution from the original strain sourced from Burner to an expanded range with flavors like Khalifa Mints and Point Breeze. Wiz highlights the brand’s international presence, including operations in Thailand and Germany, reinforcing its global footprint.
Timestamp [89:05]:
Wiz elaborates on the strategic growth of Khalifa Kush, emphasizing quality and customer satisfaction. “We’re growing... being a businessman, you're very humble... keep adding to the collection” (89:36).
Timestamp [27:30]:
Wiz shares his experiences with psychedelics, recounting both positive and challenging moments. He describes a vivid and enjoyable experience with shrooms, enhancing his appreciation for music’s depth, but expresses reservations about substances like acid due to overwhelming effects, “I was like, I feel like Aladdin right now... I don't want to be Aladdin again” (55:54).
Timestamp [92:31]:
The hosts delve into the challenges of content censorship, especially regarding cannabis promotion on platforms like Instagram and YouTube. Wiz discusses the impact of algorithm changes and platform policies on his business, emphasizing resilience and adaptation. He remarks, “You got to keep pushing, regardless of... what people may think” (93:00).
Timestamp [82:35]:
Wiz outlines his aspirations to continue evolving as an artist and entrepreneur. He aims to maintain authenticity in his music while expanding his business ventures, ensuring his legacy remains intact. “I want to just create and to be authentic while I'm doing it... build on the legacy that I already have” (83:18).
Timestamp [117:52]:
Looking ahead, Wiz discusses upcoming tours and collaborations, including the "Good Vibes Only Tour" with DaBaby and Sean Paul. He emphasizes creating memorable experiences for fans, blending music with his cannabis brand’s culture to elevate both.
The episode concludes with lighthearted banter, reflecting the hosts' and Wiz’s camaraderie. They share anecdotes, joke about smoking techniques, and discuss mutual respect within the weed community. The conversation wraps up with excitement for future projects and tours, leaving listeners with a sense of anticipation and appreciation for Wiz Khalifa's multifaceted career.
Wiz Khalifa [01:58]:
“I worked with all the producers that I wanted to... curating a sound that I was really proud of.”
Wiz Khalifa [03:06]:
“Being able to perform these records and do some of the classics... it's a really crazy, crazy experience.”
Marty O'Neal [04:13]:
“The only thing that compares to having a die-hard fan base is getting the opportunity to make new ones every day.”
Wiz Khalifa [06:08]:
“It allowed me to paint the narrative for real instead of somebody else telling my story.”
Wiz Khalifa [18:18]:
“It became more mental than it was physical... It gave me a purpose.”
Wiz Khalifa [35:50]:
“Black and yellow was always the tagline.”
Wiz Khalifa [55:54]:
“I don't want to be Aladdin again.”
Wiz Khalifa [83:18]:
“I want to just create and to be authentic while I'm doing it... build on the legacy that I already have.”
This episode of "DOPE AS USUAL" offers an in-depth look into Wiz Khalifa's journey, from his early days leveraging social media to build an unparalleled fan base, to his current endeavors in music and business. Through candid conversations, Wiz shares his philosophies on authenticity, connection, and the balance between personal growth and professional success. Listeners gain valuable insights into the strategies behind his longevity in the entertainment industry, his passion for music and cannabis culture, and his unwavering commitment to his fans.