Live Review

Wiz Khalifa – O2 Academy, Manchester

• 25th May 2011

I have been listening to Wiz Khalifa for a while now so when I heard he was coming to do a show in the UK I instantly bought tickets. Taking my place at the back of the venue – so I had space to chill – Wiz took to the stage to a series of Mixtape hits from his acclaimed Mixtapes, ‘Kush & Orange Juice’ and ‘Cabin Fever’. He instantly rocked the crowd and I was surprised at the level of support he has gained in the UK. A rapper who oozes personality, has the most infectious laugh – it’s not hard to see why so many fans have flocked to be part of his Taylor Gang movement. The gig really took off was when he performed tracks from his debut album ‘Rolling Papers’.

‘When I’m Gone’ isn’t what some may perceive to be the typical Wiz Khalifa song; it’s pretty insightful and Wiz waxes lyrical about how there’s no point having money and not spending it. For it to be the album opener shows he is a serious rapper when needed, and judging on his live performance – he can be considered a contender for one of the most relevant rappers today. Wiz was also not shy to lavish praise on his competent hype man ‘Chevy Woods’ who performed with the same enthusiasm as the main man himself. Wiz showed a lot of respect to the crowd and the crowd responded with clouds of smoke released into the air; security were having a field day ejecting the young weed smokers.

One of my friends, Lanca Gomez (@LancaGomez) was lucky to spend some of the tour with Wiz and he also commented on how approachable and down to earth he was; it certainly came across that way.

I also enjoyed the excellent ‘On My Level’. Wiz and Chevy Woods went in hard on this track and the crowd were swaying throughout. Stopping to pay respect to the late great Nate Dogg, Wiz asked the crowd to join in with some of his most memorable tracks and this was a nice touch.

As the show was coming to an end Wiz performed the tracks released in the UK Charts ‘Roll Up’ which was introduced by a stunning intro mixing performance by the DJ and finally the hugely successful ‘Black and Yellow’. Painted as a possible one hit wonder Wiz demonstrated his wordplay, excellent handling of the crowd and most of all the potential to be a force in the years to come. Attention to detail with a structured show from beginning to end, I was happy I dragged myself out to experience one of Wiz’s debut UK shows.