Famed raiser of the “Black and Yellow” will come to the college town known for its orange and brown this Sunday night at Anderson Arena.
Representing the Pittsburgh rap scene, rising rapper Wiz Khalifa has paid his dues to become the star he is today. According to a press release from his publicity team, Khalifa started rapping while in the third grade and began recording music at age 14. Now 19, he has seen his following grow from the playlists of Steeler town to much more of a national scale.
Now known most specifically for his song “Black and Yellow,” Khalifa released his first mixtape in 2005, according to the press release, titled “Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania.” It quickly gained popularity on the local scene and, looking to go larger, he got on board with indie label Rostrum Records. He put out his first commercial album, “Show and Prove,” which was “arguably one of the best albums of the year” according to Okayplayer.com the year it was released.
It wasn’t long before Khalifa began to receive mainstream attention, and in a Dec. 14, 2006 issue of Rolling Stone magazine he was generously named a “new artist to watch” by the magazine’s editors. Record deals from larger labels were coming to the hot young artist, but according to the Rolling Stone article, he was not ready to sign with just anyone, keeping loyalty to Rostrum and “trying to do [their] own indie thing.”
While he took his time getting onto a major label, the step was one he intended to make, and in 2010 he announced his joining with Atlantic Records, the press release said, taking Rostrum along with him to handle much of his promotion and publicity matters. He then toured briefly with such long-standing artists as Lauren Hill and Snoop Dogg, but rejected an offer from big-name artist Drake to join him on his then recent tour – Khalifa could not be reached for comment on his motives for declining the proposition.
Khalifa comes to Anderson Arena Sunday night as part of a BG Winterfest 2011 event put on in large by Cla-Zel Entertainment with promotion assistance from a company known as Livin’ Legends LLC out of Cleveland. Livin’ Legends is a small event promotion company handling shows in the Cleveland and Bowling Green area, with three University graduates among the owners, according to Cla-Zel Marketing Director Banan Alkilani.
Opening for the event, Alkilani said, will be Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly, a return visit following his sold-out event last Saturday at the Cla-Zel (see “Machine Gun Kelly’s ‘Lace Up’ tour pleases Cla-Zel fans” at bgviews.com).
Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the Anderson Arena box office, Clazel.net or on-site at the Cla-Zel after 7 p.m. through Sunday. Prices are $25 for bleacher and $35 for floor. Also opening for the event will be Bellefontaine, Ohio rapper Cameron Grey. Samples of all artists’ music can be heard by visiting their pages on Facebook or their respective websites.
