genre hiphop

Wiz Khalifa delivered.

15 years after he dropped his classic Blog Era mixtape Kush & Orange Juice, the multi-platinum rapper decided to go back to his roots on its sequel tape and tap back into the sound that made him one of stoner rap’s most important rappers. He also brought the gang back together as Cardo, Sledgren and his stoner-in-crime Curren$y all contributed like they did during that first cypher back in April of 2010.

Kush & Orange Juice 2 also features the likes of Gunna, Mike WiLL Made-It, Ty Dolla $ign, Don Toliver, Larry June, Conductor Williams, and legends in Juicy J, DJ Quik, and Max B, among others. And while those acts are diverse in terms of their own individual sounds, Wiz was able to have them fit the story he wanted to tell and he did a pretty good job. It’s rare if not damn near impossible for a sequel to be as good as a classic, but Wiz did a pretty good job. Clocking in at 23 tracks and 77 minutes long, the Kush & OJ sequel is the perfect soundtrack for that cousin walk on Easter Sunday — as you and your family celebrate not only the resurrection, but 4/20 as well.

And as he rolled out the much anticipated project, Khalifa went on an already-memorable run of freestyles that started last November with “First YN Freestyle.” Hopefully more rappers will hop on that wave, and give fans more music that feels fun and low-stakes.

Billboard talked with Wiz about why he decided to take that approach, and about a bunch of other things. Check out our chat below and be sure to go run up that Kush + Orange Juice 2 this weekend.

You’ve been on a crazy run lately with these freestyles. Can you talk about why you decided to go that route?

Really just by seeing the reaction of my fans and the people who support me when I started to get into the mode of promoting Kush & Orange Juice 2, and really visualizing what that was going to feel like for everybody else. I wanted to make it an experience, and not something that just dropped overnight and then went away. So, me doing the freestyles was kind of a way to write that narrative and to get everybody on board so they understand what to expect and it got a great reaction. So, naturally, I just kept going. And it’s something that I like to do just for fun.

Did the freestyles help spark something creatively in you?

I was already pretty much done with the album by the time I did the freestyles. But I think anytime I’m able to just play around and see what people enjoy, it gives me a sense of what to do next or what to continue doing. So, it definitely served its purpose when it comes to that.

You and other Blog Era peers like J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and Drake have crossed over into the mainstream. So, now that you’ve achieved a certain level of success, does that mean that you plan on still playing the major-label game, or are you gonna go back to just making what you feel like making?

I think it all just kind of comes together, and it’s really about the fans and what they want and what people are are tuning into, and just me knowing that people digest my music for the way that I do it. It allows me to be free, but it also opens up a lot of different opportunities for me to put that in other places. So, it’s a beginning of a wave that could, you know, go on for however long.

Why do you think rappers have moved away from doing freestyles and stuff like that?

I think because clearances and a lot of people want their their stuff on the biggest platform. It’s hard to monetize a freestyle and if you put a lot of energy into it, a lot of people want it to go far, so that value has been missing. It takes certain artists to push it and to show that the value of it isn’t gone. It’s not really where you’re aiming to put these at. The people and the listeners, and their ears are there, and they’re going to discover it. I think people have to re-understand that and reimagine that.

So much has changed since you came in the game. If you were an up and coming rapper today, how would you approach your career?

I would approach it the same way. A lot of the younger artists or personalities, they know who their fan base is. They know who they’re talking to, and they reach out to them, and that’s what dictates what they do or what their next moves are. And a lot of artists are afraid of that, but there’s a lot of power and a lot of value in knowing who your consumers are and the people who want the best from you and aiming what you do towards them. And that would be my advice, or that would be what I would do. That’s what I’m doing now, is just focusing on the people who I know support and are expecting this, and really just making the experience for them.

One person that’s carving out a unique lane for themselves is streamer and producer PlaqueBoyMax. You were on his stream recently. How was that experience?

Yeah, it was cool working with Max, and that was the first time I had made a song live on somebody else’s stream. And even just with that platform of him being, you know, with FaZe and them having the reach that they do. That’s a whole different fanbase than the people who are used to me, and it was good to be able to win those people over, show them what my talent actually is, and work with somebody for the first time and create something in front of everybody that’s just super fun and super cool to me.

You floated the idea of doing a full tape with him towards the end. Do you think that can happen down the line?

I wanted to do it, but I feel like he’s already doing it, and he’s doing it in his way, where he’ll benefit off of it, which is cool with me. I’m always down anytime. If he needs me, then he’ll hit me.

What can fans expect from Kush & Orange Juice 2?

They can expect good smokin’ music, good chillin’ music, good motivational music, and good ridin’ around with the homies music. It’s definitely for the people who understand it. And it’s not just about the music, it’s about the experiences that you have with it. So, the more you listen to it and live with it, or even if it’s your first time, when you listen to it and live with it, it’s gonna change a lot. I’m really happy with that. I’m really confident in that, and I’m just really excited for everybody to experience that.

Are you performing anywhere on 4/20?

Yeah, I’m gonna be performing at Red Rocks in Colorado.

I interviewed Curren$y a couple months ago, and I had asked him if he has any 420 rituals and he said he doesn’t really have any because he’s always working. I’m assuming that’s the same for you.

Yeah, pretty much, especially at this point. A lot of people come out and visit us on those days, even if it’s family from the East Coast or an artist or whatever. They usually want to come kick it with us, so that’s usually fun. I get to see a lot of people who I just really enjoy smoking with, like Berner. It is work, but for me personally, I try to roll at least an abnormally big joint or two, and I usually smoke more dabs that day than I normally do as well.

I wanted to ask you what your favorite strains were, but on Club Shay Shay, you said you’ve been smoking your own strain exclusively for about 10 years now.

Oh yeah, it’s definitely Khalifa Kush always for like almost 12 now.

What is that like, though — having your own strain and not really having to pay for it anymore?

It’s a blessing. I don’t know if I necessarily knew that it was going to be this way. We always hoped and wished that it would be this way — and knew that it was, you know, beneficial for everybody — but to actually live in an era where we can do this… It’s awesome. I’m grateful and I’m taking full advantage.

You also mentioned the Smoke Olympics. What would be some of the events if you were to put that together?

There would be a rolling competition. I’m bringing the origami, I’m bringing the samurai skills. What else? You have to hit, like, a bong. You’ll have to make a bong out of something. You could choose what you have to make a bong out of. You have to last a certain amount of rounds, too — so as we keep smoking, there’s no tapping out. Yeah, we’ll start there.

I ran into Conductor Williams recently and he was beaming about the way you approached “Billionaires” with Ty Dolla $ign. What was it about that particular beat that caught your attention out of the pack of beats that he sent?

I appreciate it. I feel like I always gravitated towards his production because of how soulful it is and just how musically inclined he is. You could tell he knows a lot about music in general. My approach is very specific to what I know my people are gonna f—k with. And I think when I got into that pocket, it was nostalgic, but it was also something that people never expected, or ever knew that they would enjoy.

I think that combination right there kind of makes discovering some new music worth it — and that’s what people need now, and to be able to do that with people who I’m cool with, and got in my phone and I can hit at whatever time, and be like, “Yo, send me some beats,” and we could just come up with something legendary off the bat. That’s real fun for me.

You’ve gotten into martial arts like over the years like Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu. How important has that been for you?

It’s part of my everyday life as much as music is and I’m passionate about it the same way I am about my music, and I’ve been doing it for seven years now, and I feel like I’m still learning a lot of new things, and it’s still fun and it’s interesting. It’s not a chore or a job or I don’t even have a real end goal when it comes to it, so it’s fun to be on a journey and have something that I that I enjoy and that challenges me and also makes me better.

Has it helped your lungs be stronger too?

Yeah, 100 percent. My cardio is crazy, and it helped me learn how to control my breathing better and just being in good shape in general. Being able to function and and move athletically as I get older, because I’m 37 now, so I’m moving into my 40s. The older that we get the less athletic some of us get. But for me, it’s a lifetime thing of I’m always going to have this type of movement.