Wiz Khalifa Covers COMPLEX MAG

Wiz covers this month’s Complex mag, grabbing the cover story in the article they discuss his love for Amber Rose, the foundation of his Taylor Gang movement, and how he has to please two audiences with his music. The indie group he attained before blowing up, and the pop radio group he has now.

 And then, in 2010, Wiz blossomed as an artist, unleashing his breakthrough, Kush & Orange Juice.

The mixtape’s impact was undeniable, becoming a trending topic on Twitter the day of its release. “That was when he completed the transition to the Wiz we all know and love,” says E. Dan. “That was the first project where he said, ‘I’m going to do exactly what I’m feeling, what I want to hear. I’m not going to try to specifically appeal to anyone. I’m going to do my style.’ It was like, ‘This is me, this is where I’m coming from, and this is the statement I want to make.’”

Rolling a joint filled with his own strain of weed—dubbed Khalifa Kush—Wiz explains the difference. “Kush & Orange Juice is a classic mixtape, but it’s still a mixtape,” he says. “That mixtape is raw. I did what I wanted to do. You can’t do that on an album because other people gotta eat off that album. There’s business that goes into an album. When you do an album, you can’t separate the music from the business because it’s music business.”

The album Wizzle has been eating off is his Atlantic Records major label debut, 2011’s Rolling Papers. It was a huge commercial success, topping the Rap chart and debuting at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100, spawning several Top 40 hits, and selling over 750,000 copies in the US. But Wiz’s longtime fans criticized the album for a lack of lyrical depth and the pop feel of Wiz’s work with Stargate and Benny Blanco.

Read the rest of the cover story HERE.