Upon its release, the album received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who complimented its hooks, but criticized its subject matter.įollowing the release of his independent second album, Deal Or No Deal, Khalifa released his mixtape Kush & Orange Juice, which immediately became widely praised as one of the best hip hop mixtapes of 2010. The album has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for combined sales and album-equivalent units of two million units. Rolling Papers debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 197,000 copies in the United States. The album has been noted by music writers for having a pop rap style. Rolling Papers was supported by five singles: " Black and Yellow", " Roll Up", " On My Level", " No Sleep" and " The Race". The album features guest appearances from Too $hort, Curren$y and Chevy Woods. It is his first album under a major label after his independent releases, Show and Prove and Deal or No Deal. It was released on March 29, 2011, by Atlantic Records and Rostrum Records. “Know some who say life’s a bitch,” he raps on “The Race.” “Well, I’ma keep flirting.Rolling Papers is the third studio album by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. But the sheer catchiness of the music-its sing-along choruses (“Black and Yellow”), its synthesizer sparkle (the benny blanco-produced “No Sleep”)-turn even his modest goals into the kind of anthems that elevate partying to a spiritual pursuit. Lyrically, he’s a charm offensive: He’ll be there when you call (“Roll Up”), he loves his camo shorts (“Taylor Gang”), and he wields his endless supply of joints like magic wands that, with a wave, can make the stress of daily life disappear (pretty much every song). “They say all I rap about is bitches and champagne,” he shrugs on the album-opening “When I’m Gone.” “You would too if every night you seen the same thing.” The difference with Wiz is that you can tell he’s enjoying it. And at a time when the luxurious melancholy of Drake was starting to cast its long, warm shadow over the culture, Wiz-like Snoop Dogg before him-presented himself as nothing more than a laidback dude looking for a good time. It’s a party-rap album that happily parlays party-rap traditions into modern pop songwriting and production, in ways that helped crack open the conversation for what pop and hip-hop hybrids could be. Wiz Khalifa’s breakthrough wafted so casually to the top of hip-hop’s 2011 heap it’s easy to miss how accomplished it actually was.
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