Wiz Khalifa Had This to Say About Amber Rose

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Wiz Khalifa Had This to Say About Amber Rose"

Podcast: Dumb Blonde Productions
Host: Bunnie XO
Guest: Wiz Khalifa
Date: June 8, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this vibrant and candid episode, Bunnie XO sits down with iconic rapper Wiz Khalifa for an open, funny, and unexpectedly deep conversation. The pair dive into Wiz's upbringing as a military kid, his early hustle in rap, his journey to world stardom, and his personal growth as a father, co-parent, and martial artist. Wiz gets real about relationships, fame, hip-hop legends, parenting, healing, and even what he'd serve aliens in a strip club themed "Nippleopolis." Throughout, both Bunnie and Wiz balance humor with touching wisdom, giving listeners a fresh, inside perspective on the man behind the hits.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. First Impressions and Inspirations

• [03:08] Wiz's Vibe: Bunnie lauds Wiz for his always-cool, easygoing energy, likening it to her father's.
• [03:30] Influence of Snoop Dogg:
  • Wiz: "Huge inspiration for me growing up, especially in my teen years, like, just being like, a taller and skinny dude... I definitely model myself... after Snoop's rules."
  • Both reminisce about “Pimp Snoop” and early 2000s hip-hop culture.

2. Stoner Life, Food, and Fun

• [05:22] Favorite Stoner Foods:
  • Wiz: "Funyuns... I like to eat a lot of fruit... get a big ass bowl of fruit just mix it all together... Cereal any time of the day – Apple Jacks." – [05:25]
• [06:38] Reality TV & YouTube:
  • Wiz discusses his old series "Day to Days" on YouTube and interest in a reality show, “I want to do, like, a wiz summer camp type thing... play games... be creative...” – [07:21]

3. Upbringing and Being a Military Kid

• [10:16] Life Abroad & Culture:
  • Wiz details moving between North Dakota, Germany, Japan, and the UK due to his parents’ military careers.
  • “Moving around... shaped how I look at life... exposed me to a lot of different cultures and ways of life.” — Wiz, [11:46]
• [12:21] Childhood Friendships:
  • Maintaining friendships and the “anxiety” of always being the new kid.
  • “There's a lot of anxiety, like, from always being the new kid... But you have to make friends and then leave them.” — Wiz, [12:39]

4. Family Dynamics and Co-Parenting

• [18:53] Parents’ Divorce and Custody:
  • Wiz: “My dad remarried and... my mother... went back to Pittsburgh. So I would live with my mom for two years and then I would go live with my dad and stepmom for two years.”
• [19:49] Impact on His Co-Parenting Approach:
  • "Having kids, I could never be away from my son for no two years... if I gotta get along with his mom... I'm doing whatever I gotta do." — Wiz, [20:02]

5. Generational Healing & Self-Growth

• [21:11] "We're such a generation of kids that are healing what our parents wouldn't." – Bunnie
  • Wiz agrees, reflecting on generational trauma and the evolution of parenting perspectives.

6. Early Music Influences & Musical Journey

• [22:48] Music as Life’s Soundtrack:
  • Wiz credits his parents' diverse musical tastes and his own love for both hip-hop and other genres.
  • “Music was the soundtrack to your life.” – Bunnie, [24:27]
  • “My mom's a G, she listening to Too Short…” – Wiz, [25:04]
  • “I think my smoothness comes from my dad... He's just a smooth dude… never raises his voice.” – Wiz, [26:45]

7. Origin of the Name 'Wiz Khalifa'

• [28:00] Wiz got his name from his uncle and his Muslim grandfather:
  • “It was wisdom Khalifa at first, but my dad... took the ‘wisdom’ off and was just calling me ‘wiz.’” – [29:02]

8. Rise to Fame: From Mixtapes to Major Label

• [30:24] First Mixtape Hustle:
  • Selling burned CDs at school and local shops.
  • “Kids these days will never understand... burning those CDs.” – Bunnie, [30:37]
• [32:08] Record Deal Journey:
  • On leaving Warner: “They didn’t want anything to do with me... I did go back to Pittsburgh... when the Internet started to change.” – Wiz, [32:08]
  • Using early YouTube and Twitter to build a fanbase, leading to his independent breakout.

9. Breakthrough and Iconic Songs

• [33:30] Viral on Twitter, ‘Black and Yellow’:
  • “I was super confident, really cocky, very aware of myself.” – Wiz, [34:44]
  • “I never get tired of it... I love that song. It’s a vibe. It represents a great time in life.” – Wiz, [35:40]
• [35:57] Performances of “Black and Yellow” and recognition worldwide.

10. Personal Evolution and Maturity

• [36:37] Growth and Slowing Down:
  • "You're just starting to see... the more mature me... My actions and the way that I treat myself, it represents all of that, too." – Wiz, [36:37]
  • “Certain things that used to turn me on... really don't do it for me no more... I like that feeling because... I'm growing out of stuff and I'm a different person.” – Wiz, [37:56]

11. Reflections on Fame and Artistry

• [39:10] Looking Back at 'Rolling Papers':
  • “I love the hustle, the drive... Something I outgrown is the lack of sleep.” – Wiz, [39:10]
• [40:02] Artists as Healers:
  • “I don't feel like all artists are healers. No. Because some people are projecting their shit onto the world… the chaos gets celebrated more than the peace.”
• [41:06] Healing Through Music:
  • “I've been blessed... change people's lives... Some people have met their husband or wife at my concert.” – [41:16]
  • “See You Again... that's that song that people will play at a wedding, funeral, a bar mitzvah...” – Bunnie, [42:09]

12. Soul’s Assignment, Wellbeing, and Routine

• [43:13] “[My purpose is] to literally make everybody else feel better. Because I feel so good… I have to make somebody else smile.” – Wiz
• [44:27] Managing Frustration:
  • “Breathe... I do hot yoga, so that's like... three times a week.” – [44:27]

13. Career Sustainability & Growth

• [45:17] ‘Cushion Orange Juice 2’ and Album Fears:
  • “I worked on the album for a whole year... The reception's been really good... I haven't heard one bad reaction.” – Wiz, [45:56]
  • “It's scary, like, reinventing... you gotta be ready to lose some people to gain some people.” – [47:03]

14. Fatherhood, Co-Parenting, and Amber Rose

• [53:43] Teaching Bash (son):
  • “I teach him to respect himself and to respect others so that they can respect him.” – Wiz, [53:16]
• [54:01] Relationship with Amber Rose:
  • “Yeah, we're super good... She's a great chick. She's a great mom. She's a great friend. That's like, my partner for real…” – [54:03]
  • “Me and Amber’s relationship is lifelong. We ain't in a relationship, but we together, though.” – [54:44]
  • On Co-Parenting:
    • “We have difficult conversations. We navigate through that shit... We don't argue every time we disagree.” – Wiz, [55:16]
    • “Only time we have to come together is when we make decisions. So, like, let's make this work.” – [56:30]

15. Fitness, MMA, and Mental Health

• [58:45] Martial Arts Journey:
  • “I got into it… they were like, you need to lift weights... I just liked how my body felt and... what it did to me mentally as well." – Wiz, [58:53]
  • “Martial arts is... that forever project for me... good for my body and... mentally.” – [59:32]
• [60:37] Would Wiz Fight Professionally?
  • “Wrestling is entertainment... actually getting in the ring and doing that's not what I train for... It would have to be like 50 million and then you would get in the ring.” – [61:11]

16. Vulnerable and Playful Moments

• [63:28] Embarrassing Confession:
  • “I cry a lot.” – Wiz, [63:28]
  • “I was watching Encanto... was crying at that shit the other day.” – [63:49]
• [64:40] Aliens and Earthly Hospitality:
  • “I would definitely smoke weed with them... play them like Parliament Funkadelic...” – [64:40]
• [67:26] Dream Strip Club:
  • Name: “Nippleopolis”, theme: “80s baddies”, signature drink: “Napoleon Dynamite”, house rule: “Respect the ladies. Tip well and leave room for the Holy Spirit.” – [67:26]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Co-Parenting:
  • "If I gotta get along with his mom... I'm doing whatever I gotta do to make sure that we're all on the same page." – Wiz Khalifa, [20:02]
• On Music as Healing:
  • “I've been blessed... to change people's lives and just make the best memories for them.” – Wiz, [41:16]
• On Emotional Openness:
  • “I cry a lot... I was watching Encanto... cried at that shit the other day.” – Wiz, [63:28]
• On Relationship with Amber Rose:
  • “We ain't in a relationship, but we together, though.” – Wiz, [54:44]
• On Growth:
  • “Certain things that used to turn me on... really don’t do it for me no more. And I like that feeling because I’m growing out of stuff and I’m a different person.” – Wiz, [37:56]
• On Strip Club Rules:
  • “Tip well and leave room for the Holy Spirit.” – Wiz, [68:59]

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Additional Timestamps for Essential Segments

• [06:51] Wiz on desire for a reality show/summer camp
• [21:11] Healing generational trauma
• [25:12] Parental influences and weed
• [30:24] Selling mixtapes in high school
• [33:30] Blowing up from Twitter and "Black and Yellow"
• [45:17] “Cushion Orange Juice 2” release
• [53:43] Parenting philosophy with Bash
• [54:01] Amber Rose co-parenting dynamic
• [58:45] Fitness and martial arts passion
• [63:28] Emotional vulnerability: crying at Encanto
• [67:26] Dream strip club – “Nippleopolis”

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Tone and Language

The conversation is light-hearted, raw, and sprinkled with humor and authenticity. Both Bunnie and Wiz keep it real and relatable, jumping from laughs about snacks and strip clubs to deeply personal admissions about family, healing, and personal growth.

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Conclusion

This episode stands out for its genuine, unfiltered look at Wiz Khalifa’s life—past, present, and future. Listeners will come away with a deeper appreciation for Wiz as not just a musician, but as a father, friend, and positive force for healing, laughter, and living life to the fullest.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hey, what's up?

[A]

How you doing?

[B]

Chilling.

[A]

Dude, I'm so happy you're here.

[B]

Happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

[A]

You are just like the smoothest cat. Always and forever. Every time I see you, you have a smile on your face. You're just a chill vibe. You remind me so much of my dad because I used to always say my dad was like, the coolest cat. And then I found out that you were born September 8th. Yeah, my dad was September 4th.

[B]

Oh, yeah. That makes perfect sense.

[A]

Yeah. So you gu have just that, like, super chill, super cool vibe.

[B]

Yeah. Thank you.

[A]

Yeah. Of course. If I could compare you to anybody, I'm sure you get this a lot. It's. I swear you and Snoop Dogg are like the same human, just different font.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Literally. Was he an inspiration for you growing up?

[B]

Huge inspiration for me growing up, especially in my teen years, like, just being like, a taller and skinny dude, it was like, you know, I've had to find my swag. And then just looking at Snoop, that was like the tallest, coolest, skinniest dude ever. So it's like, you know what I mean? I definitely model myself. Just my whole, you know, approach after, you know, Snoop's rules.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Absolutely. I miss Pimp Snoop. Yeah. Can we bring him back?

[B]

There's a lot of people who don't even know he was a pimp.

[A]

Oh, I do. I listen. I grew up in that lifestyle in Vegas, so I loved Pimp Snoop. I'm like, bring him back. Remember when he used to hang out with Bishop Don Juan all the time and, like, that whole era that he went through?

[B]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. He raised us. He raised us right.

[A]

He did raise us right. If. So, you know how him and Martha Stewart have that TV show? If they were to replace Snoop with you, who would you bring on as your Martha?

[B]

Who would be my Martha? Yeah, I think, like, Chelsea Handler.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah. She's hilarious.

[B]

She's funny as hell. Yeah.

[A]

We love Chelsea in This house she actually gave is one of the first people who gave us, like, our first break as far as, like, reality tv.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

She believed in our family and like, shot. I know. She's a fudgeing. She's.

[B]

I didn't even know that. She just said G to me as well.

[A]

She is.

[B]

Yeah. So that would be like my Martha for sure.

[A]

Yeah. Dude, I think we need to. We need to do that.

[B]

We could.

[A]

We need to get Whiz and Chelsea Handler in a fucking TV show together. That would be so fire.

[B]

That would be awesome.

[A]

I know that you're stoned all the time and you're not smoking today on my podcast. Do you feel out of your element a little bit?

[B]

No, I'm good. I got high before I came in.

[A]

All right, good.

[B]

It's all good. I'm not tripping.

[A]

What are some of your favorite stoner foods?

[B]

Favorite stoner foods. I would have to go with Funyuns. As far as chips.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I like to eat a lot of fruit.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I like to eat like pineapple and grapes and straw. I just like get a big ass bowl of fruit. Just mix it all together.

[A]

I love it. Reminds me of that. Tick tock. I like a lot of fresh fruit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

From the Step Brothers. Is that from Step Brothers? I like a lot of fresh fruit

[B]

cereal any time of the day. That's.

[A]

What's your favorite cereal?

[B]

Apple Jacks.

[A]

Really? That's different. I knew. I normally hear like Lucky Charms or Captain Crunch.

[B]

Okay. For real. I usually hear Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

[A]

I do love a good Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Or Honey Grahams.

[B]

Yeah, Honey Grahams is good.

[A]

Don't around Honey Nut.

[B]

Cheerios.

[A]

Delish.

[B]

Yeah. Don't sleep sleep on them either.

[A]

Dude. I love me some Apple Jacks are

[B]

good because they're like flavored and they're sweet and the consistency, they don't get all soggy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Fast. I like Apple Jacks.

[A]

Have you ever thought about doing like, reality tv? I think you are literally made for it.

[B]

I did. Thank you so much. I used to watch so much reality TV when I was a kid. Like Real World and like all of that stuff.

[A]

I miss the OG Real World, yo.

[B]

Me too. And I used to, like, that was my thing. I wanted to be like a personality.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And. Yeah. So as I got older, I started to make my own Little series on YouTube. They're called Day to Day's, but they're like, you know, they're not TV ready because there's a lot of weed on there.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But yeah, if I ever Got the opportunity to do something like that where I could show, like, my family or my life or just my personality. I would love that. I think that would be hella fun.

[A]

I think you have enough star power now to make that happen.

[B]

Yeah, I'm a super fun dude, too. Like, I try anything, like, it don't matter what it is.

[A]

I think people would just want to see you, like, raise your kids. Like, I probably like the dynamic between you and yourself.

[B]

I love kids. Even. Even if I got to do, like, stuff with other people's kids as well, too. Like, you know what I'm saying?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I want to do, like, a wiz summer camp type thing.

[A]

Oh, that would be so sweet.

[B]

Like, play games and we boxing and we working out and we having fun and we being creative. Yeah, I'll be tight.

[A]

I love that. If anybody's listening, that can make that happen. You guys need to reach out to his team and make that happen.

[B]

Yeah. Wizard was a summer camp.

[A]

Have you ever seen that TV show Drunk History?

[B]

I have.

[A]

Okay, so say Netflix came to you and they gave you a show called High History. What would your first historical moment be that you would relive? That you'd get stoned and just relive.

[B]

I would want to get stoned and relive. That's all good. I mean, history is, like, pretty dark.

[A]

Yeah, it is.

[B]

You think about it.

[A]

It is, actually.

[B]

So I don't wanna. I don't want to go through that.

[A]

He's like, no dark.

[B]

Yeah, no dark. I probably want to get stoned and go to, like, a Muhammad Ali fight.

[A]

That'd be dope. That would be iconic.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, dude, that would be so cool.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

What a moment in time, huh?

[B]

For sure.

[A]

I wish boxing was, like. It was back in the day, like, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard. I was a huge. My d. A huge boxing fan growing up. So, like, I got to watch all that growing up, and I just feel like boxing's cool now, but it's not like it was back in the day.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The sport of it has changed, and just, like, how people enjoy it has changed. But back in the day, yeah, it was awesome. It was exciting.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You had, like, really, really good fighters and multiple really good fighters, too.

[A]

So many.

[B]

Yeah, a lot of them.

[A]

Mike Tyson used to hang out in the strip club that I worked at all the time, and he was the coolest dude. He used to give me money because I never bothered him. Yeah, he'd be like. I'd walk by and he would just hand me, like, like $1,000 and just, like, thank you for leaving me alone.

[B]

He just respected that.

[A]

Yeah, no, he was just so. Because everybody was always on him and always wanted his attention, and he noticed that I never, like, just, you know, he was already getting bombarded, but he was just the sweetest dude.

[B]

That's nice.

[A]

That's why it's crazy that I love Mike now, too.

[B]

He's so cool.

[A]

Like, he's amazing.

[B]

He's just super chill. He'd be smoking weed, and he just. In his own world, he's a good dude, man.

[A]

Anybody that can raise pigeons the way he does and love them, right? Because honestly, like, pigeons are, like, a forgotful. Like, a forgotten, like, bird. Because they used to do so much. Like, they used to fudge and send messages during the war, and, like, you know, like, they were very useful. And now they're, like, known as, like,

[B]

you know, dirty birds.

[A]

Dirty birds. And, you know, there's Mike over there, just raising pigeons.

[B]

That dirty bird.

[A]

Loving the shit out of a dirty bird. So I learned some cool facts about you and your childhood that I actually had never known about you. Can we go on this journey?

[B]

Yeah, let's do it.

[A]

So you were a military kid?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, take me on that journey. Because it says that you were, like. You lived in Germany, Japan, and the UK Growing up.

[B]

Yeah, I was born in North Dakota, so my parents were cold as hell when they had me.

[A]

Right. Yeah. North Dakota is, like. It's crazy out there how cold it is.

[B]

Brutal.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I went back for a few shows and shit, and I don't know, we might have been there in, like, June, but it still felt like it was, like, December, yo. Yeah, it never gets warm there.

[A]

Yeah, no, we've been there on a few shows, too. And I'm like, what the is there to do out here besides have kids, have babies? Literally. Yeah.

[B]

And be in the military, I guess.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But so my parents, they. My mom is from Pittsburgh, and my dad is from New York, so they met in basic training, which was away from both of those places. So when they had me and my older sibling. My older sibling was born on Guam, and I was born in North Dakota, which is, like, two totally different things. And then for the earlier part of my life, yeah, I moved around a lot. I did live in Europe for a while. I lived in Japan for a while, lived in a lot of Southern states, and my mom being from Pittsburgh, that's how I ended up going back there. And that's where a lot of my roots are at. My Real family. And that's why I spent the majority of my time going to school and stuff like that. But it was really cool, like, experience and living all over in different countries, in different states and things like that.

[A]

Absolutely. Like, how that had to have, like, shaped a little bit of. Well, actually, a lot of, like, how you look at life.

[B]

Absolutely. It definitely exposed me to a lot of different cultures and a lot of different ways of life.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I got to experience it young on a personal level, because I was meeting a lot of kids and just, you know, mingling with them. And now, as an adult and really being able to go back and dive into these cultures and experience them as, you know, a grown man, it just. It really, like, broadened my mind and just opened me up to a lot of different things that if I didn't have that, I wouldn't have been, you know, where I'm at.

[A]

I thought that was such a cool fact about you. Cause I didn't know that. And I was like, that's actually really cool that you guys are so cultured.

[B]

Yeah, it's super cool. And, like, all the bass kids around the world, they feel, like, a connection with me. Cause, like, they're like, oh, wiz is one of us.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because moving around a lot as a child has to be hard, you know, like, because you kind of don't have a sense of feeling, like, belonging anywhere permanently.

[B]

It's. Is that. And then there's, like, a lot of anxiety, like, from always being the new kid. Because when you're. When you're younger, the concept of making friends, you want to just have friends forever.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But you have to, like, make friends and then leave them. So that be. The hard part is like, oh, I've known you for, like, two, three years, and now I'm never going to see you for the rest of my life.

[A]

Oh, are there any friends that you have kept in contact with that you met?

[B]

I do. I do. I have a couple friends. My boy Tyrese from. From Oklahoma. My partner Zach, he came to see me a couple times. My partner Wesley, he live in North Carolina. I haven't seen him in years, but I still remember that fool. Yeah, there's a lot of. There's, like, girls that I used to date back in the day who be popping up, and.

[A]

Oh, I'm sure they do. They're like, hey, Wes.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. I'm like, yeah, you ain't getting. Them days is over.

[A]

No, I get that. I think it's a testament of who somebody is, though, to be Able to maintain relationships from childhood because I have friends from second grade still, you know, so it's like, it just shows that you care and that you are able to keep those relationships going.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. Even like my friends from Pittsburgh, a lot of them are from middle school and high school, but we just got together for Will's bachelor party, and we still kick it just on the same level, just talking shit, having a great time. And I really value, like you said, those relationships. It means a lot to me.

[A]

Is it because people, they know you from before all of this, you know, they keep you grounded.

[B]

Yeah. When you do it the right way, they seen you on your way up, they know that it didn't just happen overnight. Like, some people, they might look at you and it's like a magic trick. Like you said, they know you. Like, we were in class together, we rode the bus together, we went to school dances together. You know, those relationships are really valuable.

[A]

I love that. Yeah. Every time I go back to Vegas, my girls make sure to humble me every time I'm there, like you are. We knew you before you were Bunny. You know, like, calm down.

[B]

Yeah, you need that sometimes.

[A]

So I read also that your parents divorced at 3. Where did dad go? And were you raised majorly of the majority of time by your mom? Starting anything on your own is terrifying. I don't care if it's a podcast, a business, a clothing brand. There's always that moment right before you hit launch where your brain starts spiraling, like, what if nobody listens? What if nobody buys anything? What if I completely embarrass myself? I think every successful person has had that moment where they almost talk themselves out of even trying. But honestly, taking that leap ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made. And one thing I've learned is that having the right tools behind you makes such a difference, especially when you're already stressed and figuring everything out as you go. That's why Shopify is such a game changer. And y' all already know, I use Shopify for my own site, Bunny Xo. Com. So I'm on both sides of it. Shopping and running a business. They make it easier to actually run your business without feeling like you need a full marketing team or tech department behind you. Whether it's creating email campaigns, posting on social media, managing inventory, skipping orders, handling returns, Shopify really does all the hard back end stuff that people don't think about when they start a business. And if you've ever checked out online and seen the Purple shop pay button, that's a reason so many businesses use it. Shopify has one of the best converting checkouts on the planet, which means fewer abandoned carts and more actual sales. I also love that Shopify helps get people get discovered. Because let's be real, creating something is one thing, but getting people to actually find your brand is a whole different battle. Shopify helps make that part way less overwhelming. If you've been sitting on an idea and waiting for the perfect time to start something, this is your sign. Just start. Shopify makes it feel way less scary. It's time to turn those what ifs and into with Shopify today. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com bu n n I e go to shopify.com bunny that's shopify.com bunny a lot of people think investing is only for people who already have a ton of money and honestly that's what stopped me for the longest time. I thought I needed to know everything first or have some giant amount sitting around to even get started. And between work, life, kids, chaos, I definitely didn't feel like I had the time to sit there stressing over stocks all day. What I like about Acorns is it makes investing feel way less intimidating. You can start small and it kind of grows with you. Once I actually started putting money in consistently and letting it do its thing, it changed my whole perspective. Instead of feeling guilty about not starting sooner, I finally felt like I was at least giving my money a chance to grow instead of just sitting there. One feature I really love is the Acorns potential screen because it shows you how your money could grow over time with compound interest. Seeing those number laid out visually honestly makes you think differently about even small amounts of money. Like okay, maybe those little daily or weekly investments actually do add up. And I also love that it's all in one place. I don't need 15 different finance apps cluttering up my phone. With Acorns, you can invest, save and keep everything together in one app, which makes it feel way more manageable if you're busy and don't want to turn finances into a full time job. If you've been putting off investing because you feel like you don't know enough or don't have enough money to start same. That's literally why I love Acorns. It makes getting started feel realistic. Sign up now and Acorns will boost your new account with a $5 bonus investment. Join the over 14 million all time customers who have already saved and invested over $27 billion with Acorns. Head to acorns.com bu n n I E or download the Acorns app to get started. Paid Non client endorsement Compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns tier 2 compensation provided potential subject to various factors such as customers accounts, age and investment settings. Does not include acorns fees. Results do not predict or represent the performance of any ACORNS portfolio. Investment results will vary. Investing involves risk. Acorns Advisors, LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. View important [e-mail] Bunny it was a even split, okay?

[B]

So my dad remarried and he's still married to my stepmom to this day, so we're still a family. And then my mother, she went back to Pittsburgh. So my dad and stepmom were still in the military and my mother was in Pittsburgh. So I would live with my mom for two years and then I would go live with my dad and stepmom for two years.

[A]

Wow. That's a different agreement. Normally it's like every other weekend.

[B]

They hated each other.

[A]

Oh, okay, gotcha.

[B]

They didn't get along at all. And it was the 90s and there was really no concept of, like, how to, like, navigate through that. They didn't have as much talk about that back then as they do now.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So they handled it the best way that they seen fit and that was that.

[A]

Do you think that that plays into your role with how you co parent with your baby mamas now? Because now you have two, Right. You've got Vash and then you've got the. The little girl.

[B]

Yeah, my girl Katie's.

[A]

Yeah. So do you think that seeing how your parents didn't get along back then was kind of like you were like, I'm not gonna be like that. And that was a driving force.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Making sure you had good relationships with the mother of your children?

[B]

Yeah, I think it, like, subconsciously played a role because to me, that was normal when I was a kid, like spending two years with one parent and two years with another. But having kids, I could never be away from my son for no two years. Like, that's insane. So if I gotta get along with his mom, if I gotta freaking kiss her feet, I'm doing whatever I gotta do to make sure that we're all on the same page. So that's not the agreement. And like I said, my parents did the best that they could and I don't fault them for that at all. But I do know the difference between seeing your parents function and not seeing them function. And I would much Rather, you know, my kids see me and their parents function.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely. I'm an 80s baby myself and I just feel like parents of that era, they were not ready to cope with their trauma. They didn't. They were set in their ways. You were not going to tell them how they are going to raise their kids. And like, they were just like. It was just. I don't know. I feel like we're such a generation of kids that are healing what our parents wouldn't.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. I think even just as a. Yeah, I totally agree with that. And I think as adults, our parents went through a lot of. As well. They had trauma, you know, before, but they were going through a lot as adults. And I think we're blessed because late 20s, early 30s, late 30s looks way different now than it did back in the day.

[A]

Dude. Yeah. I'm 45 and I look at pictures of women that were 45 back in the day and they look like the freaking golden girls.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. Nobody would even know you were 45 if you didn't say it. So it's like. And even saying 45 isn't an older age, it just looks different now, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we're in an era where we're taking full advantage of that and where we understand what kind of gifts we have based off of what we went through and what we were raised with.

[A]

Yes, absolutely.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, if people are lucky enough to still have their parents around, a lot of the times your parents learn more as they get older too.

[A]

If you guys, they become way cooler, super cool. Like, why couldn't you have been like this 30 years ago?

[B]

Exactly. There'd be stuff like my son does. I'm like, so you're not gonna whoop his ass and kick him down the steps and run him over with the car? Because that's what you did to me.

[A]

That is hilarious. No, I totally get that. So I also read that you started writing lyrics and recording music at age 9 or 10. Like, were you just musical from the gate? Like, have you always had that. That sense of like just rhythm and soul?

[B]

I think, yeah. Also actually, like, my parents played a lot of music in the house, just like getting ready or cleaning up or driving. So it was always around me and it was something that made me feel good. But I got some of my best memories from music or where I was at or what I was doing. So that kind of translated into my love for music. And then my cousins, they were. They were rapping and doing shit just cause they were older than me. So that's when I figured out that I could actually make it. And I was like, oh, okay, this isn't that difficult. It's like when you get an instrument and you start playing. It was the same thing for me. I was just kind of fucking around, like, writing raps here and there. And then people just start telling me how good I was. So I just practiced and kept going and going and going. And my mind is like. I got a really big imagination. So I would see stuff that people didn't necessarily see as, like, doable. I would see it as like, okay, we could make an album. We could, you know, make merch. We could put on a show. We could. You know what I mean? So I just started, like, developing into this over time. But it was all based off of enjoying music and loving how it made me feel. Like, I remember watching music videos and just being blown away or, like, saving up all my money to go buy, you know, Bone Thugs and harmony tape or something. You know what I mean? It was so valuable to me. It wasn't like, just music. So, like, that's what started me creating and doing what I'm doing.

[A]

Music was the soundtrack to your life.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I feel like our parents, actually, that was one of the really cool things that they did for us, is I grew up in a very musical household too. And like, like, you know, I had so many influences. What were some of your influences growing up that inspired you to rap, but also just even that weren't in the rap genre?

[B]

Yeah, my dad listened to everything. He listened to Journey. He listened to Bob Marley. He would listen to Whitney Houston.

[A]

Love Whitney. Yep.

[B]

My dad had, like, a huge record collection, so we would just sit down and listen to funk records, everything. And my mom was more like the hip hop like she was. She's current.

[A]

Mom's the G. Oh, yeah, My mom's

[B]

the G. She listening to short.

[A]

Oh, I love it. I love it. Okay, so mom's with the shit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right.

[B]

My mom smoked weed and everything.

[A]

I love Mom.

[B]

That's who I got smoking weed from for sure. Yeah, My mom is a G. And so, yeah, it was like the combination, like, we. I had. I had everything. And then we grew up in a really good era of music too, where it was diverse. It was really good R B along with really good rap music.

[A]

Bring it back. 90s R B. Can we bring that back, please? That is like a moment in time that unless you lived it, you do not know what the fuck you miss. Not for real like it 90. I love. I play 90s R&B for my cows. Yeah, he loves Keith Sweat.

[B]

Yeah. Who doesn't love Keith Sweat? That shit makes you feel good in here. Like it's not just. Not just hearing it, but. Yeah. So all that influence, but especially like from. From rap music, Bone Thugs and Harmony was a huge influence to me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Growing up in Pittsburgh, we're in the Midwest, so we were close to Ohio, but just that sound and like, it just resonated with me. And then the look, they had the braids and the sunglasses and like, they were just hard to me. Like, I love Bone.

[A]

I was a Bone girl too.

[B]

Yeah, for sure.

[A]

When I first got with Jay, he's a three six mafia dude, so we literally had Bone Thug in three six mafia wars in the house. Of course he won because he's daddy, so.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.

[A]

But no, I'm a Bone Thugs girl through and through. Yeah. They're actually coming on the podcast. I'm really excited.

[B]

Hell yeah.

[A]

I'm gonna be like, that's probably gonna be a fan girl moment for me.

[B]

You got to. Yo, it's Bone.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. So where do you think that, like your smoothness came from? Do you think it came from your mom?

[B]

My smoothness come from my dad.

[A]

Really? Show do tell.

[B]

He's just a smooth dude. Yo. He's real mild tempered, mild mannered.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Just everybody loves him. Everybody's best friend. He don't raise his voice. He's, you know, he's just a cool dude. He's a really, really cool dude. And he just been a cool dude. Like, he taught me how to be cool. For sure.

[A]

I love. Is dad still around?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Good. I love that.

[B]

Yep. I spend a lot of time with my dad, especially like having my daughter. My dad comes out to the house a lot and just kicks it. And he doesn't really do too much. Like he used to party and turn up and do all that shit, but now he'd be like in my backyard taking pictures of birds and stuff.

[A]

Isn't it crazy how life just like calms you the down?

[B]

And I'm like, he's happy, you know, I don't try to really take him out of his element. I used to. I used to be like, daddy, come on, man, let's like go get some jet skis or something. But he's like, nah, I just want to, you know, connect. Yeah, I feel you.

[A]

I feel that too. I sit outside with my cows all the freaking time. So your name was Khalifa One came one part of it Came from an uncle. Another part of it came from a Muslim grandfather.

[B]

Yeah, well, the grandfather is his dad, so it was both of them.

[A]

Okay, gotcha.

[B]

Yeah, so I was kind of. It's my mom's little brother, but it's my mom's father as well. So while my mom would be out doing whatever she needed to do, whether it was work or just, you know, partying, whatever she was doing, I would hang out with my uncles and be at my granddad's house. And my granddad is like. Well, he was. He passed away, but he's straight Muslim. Like, pray five times a day, be in a mosque, you know, seven days a week, you know, helping the brothers out at jail. Like, everybody knew my granddad cause of what he did for the community. So, yeah, that was like a real powerful moment for me, just being a kid and wanting a name that was like, wasn't my name, but I would carry as my name.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely.

[B]

And, yeah, it came together. It was. It was wisdom Khalifa at first, but my dad, being cool as hell, he took the dumb off and was just calling me whiz.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He was like, I don't like the wisdom. I don't like that. He was like, just whiz.

[A]

That's so cool, though. And I love that you had a grandfather that introduced spirituality into your life.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Do you hold any lessons from him that he taught you?

[B]

The majority of it is just, like, the strength and like, family and in yourself, your daily routine. My granddad was a wild dude as well, back in the day, before he, you know, took on his religion. Wow. And he had been to jail a lot of times. He had been on drugs, and he completely changed his life around and, you know, helped kids and helped, you know, other people in the same situation that he was in get out of those situations or at least navigate through them. And that's what I learned from my granddad is just to really be a leader. And he was real stern, too. Like, he wasn't. He wasn't no punk.

[A]

He's gangster, too.

[B]

Yeah, he was super gangster. He was really upfront. Everybody respected him too. So, you know, just having that as like a backbone, you know, that. That was. That's good. Yeah, that's great for a young man.

[A]

Yeah. That's so cool to be able to, you know, look back on that with just fond eyes. So take me on this come up. Okay. You dropped your first mixtape at 16. Prince of the city. Welcome to Pistolvania. Take me on that entire journey of when you dropped that first mixtape Going all the way to getting signed with Warner in 2009.

[B]

Okay. So I dropped my first mixtape. I think I was like 16 years old in high school. So I'm selling a mixtape in school, like physically pressing them up and selling it. And I had a.

[A]

Kids these days will never understand.

[B]

Never. They don't even know. They don't know about burning those CDs. They. They won't have to burn a CD

[A]

for what they go on. TikTok.

[B]

There's no CDs to burn anyway.

[A]

I know, I know. They took albums away from us. Now they're taking CDs away from us.

[B]

It's crazy. It's just all in the air.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I'm selling my cd, I'm going to different stores, and I was a really a real hustler to the point where I would show up and drop off 10, 20, 50 CDs and go collect the money as well the next week. And people seen me around the city and they really respected what I was doing and the people who I was working with at the time as well. And it just kept building up, building up, building up till I was about 19. And then I got a record deal with Warner Brothers, but it was for a single, it wasn't for an album. And the single did pretty well. It was called say yeah. And while I was on Warner, I learned how to do radio and do drops and meet DJs and go to, you know, car shows and just really promote myself. So I. So from early stages, I got the street hustle, and then I learned the business hustle and the creative side of it as well. I'm always working on that. I lost my record deal at Warner Brothers. They didn't want to do my album because they just couldn't see the vision.

[A]

Did you lose it or did you walk away? Because I think I had read that you had walked away from it.

[B]

They had the option to do the album, and they didn't take the option.

[A]

Gotcha.

[B]

Okay. So we had the option to leave or stay. And there was no reason to stay because they weren't going to work on my project.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So we did leave, but they didn't want anything to do with me. They had already just chalked it up. This money that they spent, they were like, it's cool, it's whatever. You can go back to Pittsburgh. So I did go back to Pittsburgh, and that's when the Internet started to change. Like YouTube, Twitter, those were the main vehicles for me. Like.

[A]

Right.

[B]

YouTube was brand new because I graduated in 06. And YouTube was, like, kind of still, you know, like, turning around, but Twitter was brand new. And I was like, okay, cool. I could do something off of Twitter.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so I started just being on social media and just being consistent, making YouTube videos and making mixtapes that were directed towards, you know, the audience that I had and that I was building, that I knew that I had. And that just took me to a point where I was bigger and better on my own than any, you know, label or anything could market for me.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Yeah. So that's when I started to, like, really travel and tour, and then I got my deal with Atlantic through. Through that time.

[A]

So you left Warner in 2009, but then you blew up in 2010. Correct. With black and Yellow off of Twitter.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's crazy. Not many people can say they blew up off of Twitter.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Because that's a scary. First of all. It's scary as hell. I get scared going over there. Twitter's crazy.

[B]

It was different back in the day.

[A]

Right, right, right.

[B]

It wasn't how it is now.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. But it's so cool that that is part of your story that, you know, you used a platform that not some people. Most people get, like, famous off of, like, YouTube from back in the day or something like that. But you got to utilize Twitter the way that you did.

[B]

Yeah, for sure. Twitter was like a. Like a subculture back then, so you had the mainstream, but people were low key, more tapped into Twitter than anything else. They felt like that was more real life and it was cooler, and we had that edge where I could just keep supplying, you know, those same fans, and it became more popular than the mainstream stuff, and I didn't really see that happening, but that was the goal because we just felt like we were so cool. Like, we was cooler than everybody. So I was like, you might as well watch us. And that's what really took us to the top, for sure.

[A]

What did that feel like, though? Like, for. Cause this was before you even had, like, a number one on the radio, and you're just literally going viral on Twitter. What were you feeling? What was. Was Wiz in that moment feeling?

[B]

I was super confident, really cocky, very aware of myself.

[A]

We love a king who can own it.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Oh, I was owning it. Yeah, man. Like, I knew what I was dealing with. And like you said, I had trended on Twitter a couple times. Whether it was just me coming up with a topic and having everybody on Twitter talking about it or whatever it was, I knew That I could control the Internet the way that I did. And when I dropped certain tapes like Cushion Orange Juice, that shut sites completely down.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You couldn't even go on a site. I'm like, oh, yeah, I'm that dude.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, clearly, y'. All.

[A]

How can you not? Yeah, how can you not?

[B]

Y' all let me know.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. Do you ever get tired of singing Black and Yellow, Jay? And I literally said this at Stagecoach. Cause he was like, yeah, Wiz is coming out to sing Black and Yellow. And we both started laughing. We were like, poor Wiz. He's probably so fucking tired of singing this song.

[B]

Oh, I never get tired of it.

[A]

Oh, really?

[B]

I love that song.

[A]

That is so cool. I mean, it's a vibe.

[B]

It's a vibe. It represents a great time in life.

[A]

It's a happy song.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Anytime Black and Yellow comes on, if you're not smiling and dancing and having some sort of a. A moment with that song, you're just.

[B]

And I can perform that song all over the world. It doesn't matter what language they speak. Speak. You could say black and yellow.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I'm good with that. Yeah.

[A]

I could see them in, like, China and Japan singing black.

[B]

That's what I'm saying.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Getting it on. Getting it cracking out there.

[A]

I love it. And listen, they're like. They're crazy when it comes to, like, they're fanatical.

[B]

They are. I've been like. I was in Korea and they were singing Young, Wild and Free in the airport just, like, right in front of me. Oh, this is awesome.

[A]

That is amazing.

[B]

So sweet.

[A]

That's a moment in time. You've evolved from black and yellow to, like, boss, entrepreneur, martial artist. What version of you are we just starting to see now?

[B]

You're just starting to see. I think the more mature me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. I've always been ahead of my time, just as far as my thought process, but now my actions and the way that I treat myself, it represents all of that, too. Yeah. So there's a lot of things that people don't see me doing, but the result of it is just how I am now or how I'm able to operate and move, which I'm really, really proud of and grateful for. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for 15amonth plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail] Switch upfront payment

[A]

of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month. Required intro rate, first 3 months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees, extra fee, full [e-mail] I feel like with age, it slows us down. You know, like how your dad's watching birds and stuff like that. It just. There's something. How old are you now? You're.

[B]

I'm 37. I'll be 38 this year.

[A]

Yeah. So you're 37. 38. Do you feel like you're going to start slowing down a lot or do you still have that drive in you?

[B]

I feel like I've already slowed down a lot and I think I just changed things that are important to me or just certain things that used to turn me on. They really don't do it for me no more. And I like that feeling because I'm like, yeah, I'm growing out of stuff and I'm a different person. I'm not who I was. And I like that because some people get stuck and they're just that same person over and over. And then you just become like this novelty and it's like, I don't want to be, you know, a character. Like, I'm a real person. I might have a very large smile and a great, you know, personality that attracts people. But that's not. My goal in life is to just give that and give that and give that.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Like you can love me for that. I'm cool with that. Like, that's, that's straight. You see what everybody else sees. But is the things that are deeper are way more important to me now.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So 2011, you dropped rolling papers and became pretty much like a household name. When you look back at the 2011 rolling paper self, what's something you love about him and what's something you've completely outgrown?

[B]

I love the hustle, the drive, the motivation, the self awareness, the self branding. And something that I outgrown is the lack of sleep.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Yeah, I didn't sleep.

[A]

We need our sleep.

[B]

Yeah, I need my sleep. Yo, I'm going to bed. But I didn't care about sleep back then. I sleep on the couch, like, yeah, 45 minutes and get right back up and get to it.

[A]

I don't think I could do that anymore.

[B]

It hurts.

[A]

I saw, literally that is exactly what it is. I saw some girl on TikTok was talking about she was coming out of work at like 6am and I used to do that coming out of the strip club. I could never. I would literally probably have a panic attack if I saw the sunrise.

[B]

Oh yeah, it's painful.

[A]

Yeah. I can't do that at all. Do you feel like artists are healers?

[B]

I don't feel like all artists are healers. No. Because some people are projecting their onto the world.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah. And some artists are so much artists that they're not even freaking human.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And that's the thing about art. You know, some people like value that and live for their art more than actual life itself. But I think the people who focus on being great people are also, you know, great artists as well.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they're not. I don't think one is better. I think actually the chaos gets celebrated more than actually the peace.

[A]

Well, that's because that's what the earth is operating on right now.

[B]

Right. But I think peace is the goal.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

So regardless of what people are into, we should, we should try to reach that.

[A]

Yeah. We need to figure it out. We need to analyze ourselves as a whole right now and figure out how to get back to that. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Because there's a lot of dark ass art.

[A]

There is. There is. I consider you a healer though.

[B]

For sure. 100.

[A]

You're a good vibe and you're like a happy vibe, you know. What do you think that like your music does for people as far as healing?

[B]

I've. I've been blessed to be able and be. Have been told to just change people's lives and just make the best memories for them. Like some people have met their husband or wife at my concert or you know, I see people making out in the crowd and crying and a lot of people made life decisions based off of, you know, what they were doing at the time. And sometimes my, like you said, soundtrack to your life, the music got em through that and helped them understand or helped them pivot or helped them cope or whatever it was. And you know, I got a lot of weed smoking and riding and just party and feel good stuff. But. But I also have freaking See youe Again, which is like, you know, one of those songs that help people get through a lot of stuff.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's.

[A]

That's your Save Me pretty much.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Like my husband Save Me. Like that's that song that people will play at a wedding, funeral, a freaking bar mitzvah, like everywhere or graduations.

[B]

It's never gonna get old. Like. And as an artist, we're blessed to have those types of songs.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because we don't try. You don't think that it's gonna. Gonna go that far or do that. But then when it actually does on that scale, you're like, wow, okay, cool. This is what it's all about.

[A]

Everything else, I think it does show that people are leaning towards looking for peace, too, in music. Because songs like that, like see you again, you know, that brings people peace.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, for the whole time that that song's playing, it's making them feel a certain type of way.

[B]

Yeah. I think that's the goal with music in general, too, is to. To make people feel something. And the more you learn about how in control you are, the more sensitive you are with that message too.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely. You strike me as a really deep person for sure. Do you? What do you think that your soul's assignment was for coming to Earth?

[B]

My soul's assignment for coming to Earth is to literally make everybody else feel better. Because I feel so good.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I'm so blessed to just wake up and smile. Like I have to make somebody else smile.

[A]

Yeah. Are you always in a good mood or do you have some down days, too?

[B]

I never really have down days. I have moments that frustrate me. And that's what it's about, too, is like, not avoiding chaotic situations, but navigating through them.

[A]

Right. Facing them head on.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You gotta go through it to get to it.

[B]

You gotta go through it to get to it. So that's. That defines who you are as well. Like, you can't just go around the bullshit sometimes. You gotta go through the bullshit that shows how tough you are.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

And those are the times where I really just try to center myself and just try to think about what the real end goal is. And it's never to be pissed or never to be upset. So it's easy for me to let that go. Cause I know, like, in the end, I'm not even trying to be mad. So how do we get to where we all cool?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

When you are in those moments that you're, like, flustered or upset, what is something that you do that maybe somebody listening to this podcast could be like, oh, you know what? Wiz does that? I'm gonna try it.

[B]

Breathe.

[A]

Yeah. I'm telling you, take a deep breath. Have you ever done, like, meditation or, like, box breathing?

[B]

Yeah, I do hot yoga, so that's like, a lot of. I do that three times a week.

[A]

I love that. I could not picture your tall ass in a Yoga pose me tall as

[B]

hell for an hour and a half. Sweating in the front of the room with everybody else.

[A]

Are you limber as hell?

[B]

My hair up in a bun. Yeah.

[A]

I love that. Dude, we need a freaking reality show, please. We. This is gold. It's like, content gold.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You in a hot yoga class would be phenomenal to just watch. I would tune it.

[B]

I know a lot of ladies who love watching it too.

[A]

Yeah, I love it. I love it. So let's talk about the 15 year anniversary cushion OG2 that you just dropped. I mean, it was so good the first time. You were like, let's fucking circle back.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. It was a classic. Like a defining moment in my career. Definitely got my identity off of the first cushion Orange Juice. And a lot of people just had great memories of just smoking out, chilling with the homies, having a great summer, hooking up, whatever it is, getting fresh, traveling. That's what the first cushion Orange Juice was really about. And I wanted to return that feeling for people who were there and then people who need that now. And I worked on the album for a whole year, and it was just, like, coincidental that it looped all the way around to the exact same time that I dropped the first one.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we were ready to drop the second one. And yeah, the reception's been really good. All the fans love it. They're telling me that it's as good as, or maybe even better than the first one. I haven't heard one bad reaction from it at all. Everybody gets it. And is that.

[A]

Is that a fear that you have ever, like, whenever you drop an album, do you ever get that thought in your mind of, like, what if this doesn't resonate with the masses?

[B]

I've had that before. Yeah. There was a couple albums that I dropped where I wasn't completely comfortable. Confident. Yeah, for sure. Because I didn't know there was some experimental stuff. I was like, are people gonna really with this? Are they gonna accept it from me? Did I do what I was supposed to do? Like, should I have done something else? Like, I've had those thoughts before for albums.

[A]

I feel like as an artist, though, like, each album that you drop is a testament to where you're at in your life at that moment. You know? So I feel like if they all sounded the same, then that would show that you're not. Not showing any growth and people would probably get bored.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, because it's the same thing over and over again.

[B]

Absolutely. It's scary, like, reinventing.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And you know, and, like, you got to be ready to lose some people to gain some people as well. So it's like you said, it's just a lesson in all of that.

[A]

I feel like you've been able to maintain who you are, though.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Over the years, I don't feel like you've changed too much. You've just always been whiz.

[B]

Yeah, I've always been whiz. I never really changed. I got. I'm really multifaceted, and I think that's a strength. That's something that plays to my strong side, because I could do. I can mix genres.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And a lot of artists aren't really able to do that. They can just stay in one lane, or you expect one thing from them.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But you can expect a plethora of stuff from me, and it's still gonna be wiz. Yeah.

[A]

What do you feel like one of your most slept on tracks is? Like, if there was one track that could have got a lot more attention, what would it have been for you?

[B]

One of my most slept on tracks that should have got more attention. I have a lot of plaques, so I can't really say that. Everything that I put out, it usually goes, like, gold or platinum. Yeah.

[A]

You don't have to pick one if you don't want to.

[B]

And then the stuff like, I did. I did an album. It was called Multiverse. It was a really good album, but I didn't. I didn't go big with this album. It was. It was for a small, small audience, and I think later on down the line, people will appreciate that for what it. For what it was.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Yeah. I don't think it was slept on. I think it's just gonna take a while to get appreciated.

[A]

I mean, look at the Goo Goo Goo Dolls right now. Their song Iris literally has come back, and it was made. Made freaking 20 years ago.

[B]

Right.

[A]

That album could do the same thing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, that's what's cool about music, is it's timeless.

[B]

It's timeless. And we listen to records. Right. So there's artists who drop albums that you like. Hold on. I didn't even know this. Put that out.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But you're still gonna grab it, put it on, and listen to it, because you enjoy that artist. So it doesn't matter if it got really hyped up or not. It can still, like you said, enter your world.

[A]

Yeah. I feel like albums catch fire so much later on now, too, because things are, like, always coming back into style. So it's, like all it takes Is one video going viral now with it, and literally people are like, it's a whole new set of eyes.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. It creates a narrative that people just want to be a part of.

[A]

Absolutely. Have you ever done a feature with somebody or featured on something and then, like, regretted it later?

[B]

Nah, I'm always happy about my features.

[A]

Oh, good.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. I've. I've been blessed to be a part of some really cool ass songs. Payphone with Maroon 5. That was one that I've never even seen happening.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Like. Like that, like. Or the Miley Cyrus song 23.

[A]

I mean, doing a song with Miley in general is just. That's.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Top tier.

[B]

I just did a song with Good Charlotte too, before I. Before I came out here.

[A]

That's amazing. Is it rock?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I love Good Charlotte. I'm a west coast girl, so I

[B]

love Good Charlotte is the.

[A]

Yeah, they're amazing.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

All right, let's switch gears. Let's talk about being a dad because you have Bash and then you also have your daughter. Now, what would you say is the difference in between raising boys and girls? Have you noticed anything yet? Because I know she's. She's fresh, right? She's like, how old?

[B]

She's 10 months.

[A]

10 months. So, I mean, you've got a long ways to go, right, Being a girl dad.

[B]

But.

[A]

But just in this short time, do you notice a difference?

[B]

Not yet. Yeah, yeah, not yet. Because she's so fresh. And then my son is 12, so

[A]

it's so much a lifetime of difference.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think, you know, in the next few years, especially as her personality starts to come in. Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna start to see the real girl dadness start to happen.

[A]

Are you excited about it?

[B]

I'm super excited. I mean, I'll be, like, shopping for her and buying her outfits. I'll be picking out her outfit. Like, we do, like, three a day. So I'm like, let me get one.

[A]

At least she gets three outfits a day.

[B]

Yeah. Hell, yeah.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. I love that.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. She's like our little baby doll.

[A]

I bet she's fly as hell, though.

[B]

Super fly. She got chrome hearts and all that.

[A]

Oh, my. Dude, I. Hello. I've been trying to get chrome hearts forever. Look at her.

[B]

She got a little baby chrome.

[A]

I love that. That's so cool. What's something that Bash has said to you that's made you, like, question your whole personality

[B]

as far as, like, giving it to him?

[A]

Has. No, no. Has he ever like, checked you like, dad, that's not cool. Or, like, been like, you know, like, just made you question, like, what the.

[B]

You know, he's quick. Like, he. He's all day with it. So like, sometimes he'll just be like, your teeth look like you ate a piece of cheese or something. I'd be like, damn, bro. Like, he likes to. He likes to rip on. On people. So, like, he just goes all day,

[A]

like, that is hilarious. Has he. Does he have your musical inclination?

[B]

Yeah, he does. He does. He listens to a lot of different types of music. I test him out on new music. So I'll be like, I put on some that I know is brand new. I'll be like, you like this? He'll be like, ah, that's cool. Blah, blah. I'll be like, play me what you like. And he'll. He like, he likes old school rap, he likes newer rap. He likes rock and roll. He played me like some crazy shit the other day from some band that I never heard before. And then he's got MF Doom on his. On his. His phone. On his. His display for his phone. I'm like, all right, cool. So he's developing, like. Yeah, he's very eclectic already.

[A]

I love that. But that's just a testament to, you know, you and Amber obviously showing him pretty good music. What's something you're teaching him that no one ever taught you?

[B]

Hmm. My parents did a good job raising me, so I wouldn't say that's something that nobody ever taught me. But the biggest lesson right now is I teach him to respect himself and to respect others so that they can respect him.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Because they not going to respect you if you don't respect yourself. So I'll be like, the things that you do, they have to be a representation of what. Of who you are and what you want people to say about you. And we have those conversations over and over. I'm like, of course you're going to slip up and you're going to make mistakes, but the. The main thing is to be respectful to yourself and other people. And that's how you demand respect yourself.

[A]

Yeah. No, that's amazing. I feel like this generation is lacking respect too. Like, kids nowadays, they're just like. Like, they're wild.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And the respect factor is not there. So the fact that you're teaching Bash, that is amazing.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

How are you and Amber getting along these days? You guys still getting along?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, we're super good.

[A]

I love Amber because, you know, I'm sure you Hear this all the time. But, you know, I grew up in Vegas. I grew up in the whole scene of, like, dancing and working girls and stuff like that. So, you know, for her to be this outspoken role model. Outspoken role model for us, we. I've just always respected her.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

Always been who she. She is.

[B]

Yeah, she's a great chick. She's a great mom. She's a great friend. Yeah, that's. That's like, my partner for real. Like, you don't get too many partners in life. And Amy is, too. That's Cadence's mom. We're really great partners, and we've been together longer than me and Amber were together. But me and Amber's relationship is lifelong.

[A]

Right.

[B]

We ain't in a relationship, but we together, though.

[A]

Do you believe in soulmates? Because soulmates don't always have to be romantic either. Like, you guys, I don't know about

[B]

soul mates, because to me, like, a soulmate, you might not necessarily even have kids with that person or, you know, this. This person might help you build your empire or. But me and Amber, like, we're stronger than a lot of people because we have. Have difficult conversations. We navigate through that shit.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And that's what makes us so, so strong, is we don't argue every time we disagree.

[A]

Right.

[B]

We're allowed to disagree, but we're still gonna get through it together because she's not throwing low blows. I'm not being disrespectful. We don't have any underlining, freaking animosity towards each other. And that makes the situation way more positive than anything. It doesn't get negative. You know, we might get a little heated sometimes when we talk, because we're both passionate and we both have our own opinion. But the heatedness. I might be stressed out from. From my job, so she might be like, okay, what's wrong? For real? Like, don't. Just. Don't just be upset. Tell me what's going on, and then we'll talk about this. Or if she's in a situation, I'm like, you don't have to. To. I'm not checking you at all. You don't have to check in with me. You know what I'm saying? I respect your life. I want you to have all the space in the world. Please have space. Like, I respect your space. I validate your space and all that. I would never want to get in the way of that. Only time we have to come together is when we make decisions. So, like, let's make this work.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I always say, what is it? Communication is he. Comprehension is vital.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So if you. If you're talking to somebody all day long and they're not hearing you, it's not going to get anywhere. And I love that you guys have that communication. Do you also have that with Cadence's mom? I've met her before, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yes, I met her.

[B]

You met her. Stagecoach.

[A]

Okay. Yeah. She's beautiful.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Gorgeous.

[B]

She's a great girl as well. She's like. Like I said. And that's my partner too. We do everything. She makes sure I eat.

[A]

That means a lot to a man, especially these days, you know?

[B]

Yeah. Hell yeah. It's a lot. She holds it down, like, for sure in ways that other women would never even be capable of. And she does it, like, happily too, you know?

[A]

When you say that, can you give us an example of something that, like, most women wouldn't be able to deal with?

[B]

Just my schedule in general. I wake up at 5:30 and I'm up all day. I got the gym, I got meetings and zoom calls. I got merch samples coming to the house. I got, you know, fire pit being built. I got. Right. I got three dogs.

[A]

That's that Aries moon. You have an Aries moon?

[B]

Yeah, I do.

[A]

I checked it because I have an Aries moon. My husband has an Aries moon. And there's always some shit going on. Like, we've always got a project, always

[B]

a project on top of a project, Right. And we gonna have some fun too, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So you gotta be ready to party as well. You gotta do all that and party.

[A]

It's like we have to make sure we have fun time. I love that. That seems like you just want to always make sure that you have fun and whatever it is that you're doing. And I think that's a really sweet quality to have because a lot of people don't stop to enjoy life.

[B]

Right.

[A]

They get so carried away with just the grind.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

You're like, nope, we're gonna have fun.

[B]

We're gonna have some fun. We gonna make some memories. And that's where the inspiration comes from. Yeah, you gotta, like, you gotta actually do shit and live. And then if your life is just beautiful, it's poetic. So you. You just. You just grab those feelings and then you just put them into whatever your project is at the time.

[A]

Yes, sir. Can you take me on the journey of you doing MMA and fitness?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

When? How did you get into this? Because I think that's amazing that it's it's very taxing on the body to be doing stuff like that. So.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, I trained pretty hard too. I got into it. My big homies, they were doing jujitsu at the time, and they're like, hey, you need to come to the gym and we're gonna rough you up and all of this stuff. So as soon as I got to the gym, they instantly were like, you need to lift weights. Like, you're way too small. You gotta eat and you gotta lift weights. You could. You could actually do something if you, you know, I mean, took it seriously. So I got on like a regimen where I was, you know, doing certain amount of calories and making sure I started sleeping. And then I just liked how my body felt and like, what it did to me mentally as well. And the martial arts part of it just kind of turned into its own little thing because I was naturally a little bit gifted at it. But just being the type of person where I want to do something over and over and over and try to perfect it, that's the perfect sport for that. Cause you just get better every day. So each and every day you learn new techniques or just fine tuning or practicing or drilling or. There's always something to do. So it's like that forever project for me. Like, that's how I feel like martial arts is. It's just something that I could practice for the rest of my life. And it's good for my body and it's good for me mentally. It's a skill that I could use if I needed to.

[A]

Hopefully not, though.

[B]

Nah, I don't see. But being a dad, though, you gotta be ready for that shit too. Cause it's like, look, I'm not calling security. I'm a beat your dad up.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Right. Would you ever fight in the ring professionally? Would you ever, if they offered it to you? Because I think I had read also that you said you wanted to be a wrestler for a day.

[B]

I did.

[A]

Would you still do that?

[B]

I would more do some wrestling shit than fighting. Because wrestling is like entertainment is acting actually getting in the ring and doing that's not what I train for, Right. But I'm trained good enough to do some shit. I'm always ready, right. And anybody who's ever seen me do what I do, they. They know what level I perform on. So the whole getting in the ring is more for entertainment. Like, it makes everybody money. And it's like, I'm not really came

[A]

to you with like a bag, though.

[B]

What's the bag?

[A]

Though, I mean, you name your prize,

[B]

it would have to be like 50

[A]

million and then you would get in the ring.

[B]

Yeah, it would be like Floyd Mayweather prices.

[A]

I mean, you know, they might do it.

[B]

I need 50 M's for my first fight guaranteed. Cuz it's going to like, it's going to pull a big crowd.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I'm going to knock somebody out cold.

[A]

What's your move? What is your move? Like if you had a move in the ring?

[B]

Well, if I did boxing, it will probably be like a overhand right.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's, that's,

[B]

that's, that's pretty much night night. Or my, or my, or my lead left hook. Ooh, yeah. No, well, the lead left is, is orthodox, but it's just coming from the left. So I'm either hit you in the face or a nice little lead left body shot.

[A]

Gotcha.

[B]

But if we doing Muay Thai, there's nobody seeing me in Muay Thai. Like boxing is different because you only got hands.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But if I get to use my feet and my elbows and. Yeah, it's. Oh, there's nobody seeing me in this.

[A]

You're knocking somebody out.

[B]

Yeah. And I'm tall as hell too, so you're not even getting close to me. Yeah, just one, one round kick. The hardest kick is probably like the spinning back kick.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So like if we really.

[A]

You'd knock somebody's head off.

[B]

Yeah. Or like break some ribs or like puncture some lungs or something like that. Yeah. Nice spinning back kick.

[A]

I like it. Now we're talking. We gotta make this happen too.

[B]

Yeah, I like elbows too, because.

[A]

Let me just manage you. I'm just kidd.

[B]

Yeah. Cause with elbow like when you boxing you got like the gloves are protecting them.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But if we do MMA and I elbow you and your forehead and I split your forehead open and you're bleeding, it's gonna be hard for you to fight me for the rest of the fight.

[A]

Or break a nose or.

[B]

If I knee you and break your rib in the first round, you're not really gonna want to keep Wiz.

[A]

I feel like you're ready for this. I feel like you're.

[B]

I don't wanna hurt anybody. I don't like hurting people. I like to hurt.

[A]

I feel like you would rock the shit out of somebody though.

[B]

But they gotta pay me 50m's if you want to see some blood.

[A]

All right, well whoever's listening, let's make that happen because I'm, I'm tuning in. I want to see somebody get their ass. What? Is something embarrassing you do alone that no one knows about until now?

[B]

Something embarrassing that I do alone that no one knows about? I cry a lot.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You're emotional. That's sweet, though.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't think that's embarrassing.

[B]

It is to me. Cause I'll be. Why? I was watching, like, what's that encanto? Or what's that Disney movie?

[A]

I'm not sure.

[B]

It's the one with the. The Spanish girl and her family. What's that movie called, Man, I was crying at that shit the other day. You crying too? I'm crying just thinking about was so sweet.

[A]

I'm not watching it.

[B]

It was the sweetest freaking movie ever. It's so sweet.

[A]

It's sweet. It's not sad.

[B]

No, it's just.

[A]

Is sweet.

[B]

It's like the sweetest thing. I mean, of course it's like, sad. It hit you, but it's like. Yeah, it's so sweet. It was like. I was like, oh, man, Here, here we go.

[A]

I don't think that's a weakness, though. I think that a man that can, you know, show emotion, that's awesome. That just means that you're in tune with it.

[B]

Yeah, for sure. I. I think I'm very in tune with it.

[A]

He said I'm very in tune with it. So let's say some aliens came down to Earth and you're the spokesman for Earth Earth. What would you. What's the first thing that you would show aliens and prove to them, like, that we're actually, like, cool people down here?

[B]

I would definitely smoke weed with them.

[A]

Yeah. You don't think they're not already smoking weed?

[B]

I think they're, like, past smoking weed. We might. This might be, like, really prehistoric to them. They're like, we've gotta. We got. We gotta bring them back to the origin.

[A]

Right, Right.

[B]

So I would. Because they're aliens. Like, everything is fast enough. Like, let's slow it down a little bit.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I would smoke some weed with them, and I would probably play them, like Parliament Funkadelic record.

[A]

Oh, there we go.

[B]

Yeah. I would put on some. Some earth music.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Would you only smoke weed with them or would you drop acid with them?

[B]

I don't really do too much acid.

[A]

I can't either.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. So I would rather just smoke the weed.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah. Smoke weed, listen to records, watch a movie, go for a ride, get burgers.

[A]

Oh, any particular burger?

[B]

Where. Where are the aliens landing? Are they landing here?

[A]

They'll not here The Nashville sucks. Let's take them to la. At least there's probably more.

[B]

So we go to, like, Astro Burger or something.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

In Hollywood, because we get to. We get to cruise through Hollywood in the Low Rider and smoke weed and go get burgers.

[A]

Have you ever dropped acid before? Have you ever had psychedelics?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You don't like them?

[B]

I think I did too much. Yeah, I did. I did acid with Diplo.

[A]

Oh, I would never do acid with Diplo.

[B]

It sounds like a good idea, right?

[A]

No, no. Doesn't sound good to me.

[B]

I'm like, it's Diplo. Like, this is gonna be awesome.

[A]

I feel like he's on a permanent acid trip.

[B]

He is. He's walking acid.

[A]

Yeah. So how did that go?

[B]

It was. It was. It was interesting. It was. It was. It was intense. That's what it was. It was super duper intense. And it wasn't like a bad trip or anything.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But I could definitely feel it. And I would, like, go places and be like, hold on, I need a little second to myself. And then I would just be randomly somewhere else. It was like a movie. It was like I would blink and then I would wake up in another room.

[A]

Oh, no.

[B]

And I would blink and I would

[A]

wake up in another room, oh, no. I would have anxiety.

[B]

It was crazy. And I thought I was Aladdin on a magic carpet for a minute.

[A]

I thought I was Michael Jackson when I did mushrooms.

[B]

Okay, cool.

[A]

Yeah, I get it. I feel that.

[B]

Yeah. I definitely, for sure thought I was, like, sailing over the city on a magic carpet. Yeah.

[A]

So that was your first and only time doing.

[B]

Only time.

[A]

Okay. He's like, yeah, that's enough.

[B]

Yeah, I turned into Aladdin. I'm cool.

[A]

All right, final question. Build your dream strip club name theme, signature drink and house rules.

[B]

Name. Nippleopolis. What was the other one?

[A]

The other one was. Hold on. I'm so hung up on Nippleopolis. And how fast you thought of that. You thought of this before was the late. Oops, hold on. Sorry. It was. Build your dream strip club name. What's the theme, what's your signature drink? And what's the house rules?

[B]

Okay, the. The theme is 80s baddies.

[A]

Yes. Video vixen.

[B]

Yeah. Those are my favorite chicks.

[A]

Oh, me too.

[B]

So good. Like, nice bodies, like, perfect boobs, cute little butt.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Little bush, you know?

[A]

Are you into bush?

[B]

I like the little 80s bush.

[A]

We like the bush.

[B]

Well, we might have a bush floor. Yeah. It'd be a floor for bush.

[A]

And then downstairs floor, shit's hairy upstairs.

[B]

And then downstairs, Nippleopolis is regular. The signature drink will be the Napoleon Dynamite.

[A]

I'm crying.

[B]

What's the last one?

[A]

I'm sorry. I'm still just hung up on what you're saying here. I'm so. I can't get over the bush floor. Signature drink. And what are the house rules?

[B]

House rules? We gotta respect the ladies. That's the number one rule.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Tip well and leave room for the Holy Spirit. Leave room for the Holy Spirit.

[A]

It. I like that.

[B]

All right, cool.

[A]

I like it.

[B]

I love that. Welcome to Nippleopolis,

[A]

Whiz. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast, babe.

[B]

I'm happy to be here. Thank you.

[A]

I appreciate you so much. Come back anytime.

[B]

I will.

[A]

All right. And thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of Dumb Blonde. I will see you guys next week. Bye.