Wiz Khalifa
August 7, 2013
Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA
When I read a rumor online that Wiz spends $10,000 a month on weed, I though it couldn’t be true. How can someone even spend that much money on anything in a month? And no one loves smoking that much. What a ridiculous rumor. But mid-show he broke it down, sat on the corner of the stage and starting singing what appeared to be a love song, couples grabbed one another, and then the chorus hit: “everything’s better when you’re high”. His love songs are about smoking. This, of course, was followed by a song with two special guests: a lighter and rolled papers.
Having hit the big time only last year with “Black and Yellow”, Wiz has become one of the most well-known artists in the rap game. With seemingly non-stop collaborations with artists like Snoop Dogg, Kid Cudi, Akon and most recently Kelly Rowland, his influence is being spread across the map as rap music is beginning to take its turn in mainstream being spearheaded by artists like Wiz, Jay-Z and Daft Punk. And the youth of America is eating it up even more than I imagined.
With Khalifa being 25 years-old himself, I expected the bulk of the audience to be his age (and stoned out of their minds of course). As it turns out, the high-school/college-aged audience is who actually almost sold-out the massive Comcast Center. With tube tops and high heels, teenage girls flirted with teenage boys in the concession line and they didn’t know all the words but they definitely knew every swear that was to be sung.
There were a lot of swears and a lot of gangster related comments I couldn’t relate to but I threw my hands up and couldn’t help but nod my head to nearly every hit. He just kept on playing hits like “Word Hard Play Hard”, “Paperbond” and “On My Level”. The crowd felt and played off his energy as his set list was rare in that it was based on the flow of the music rather than making sure every radio single was played together in mass at the end like most musician try to do. It made for a continuous harmony of beats of that was only interrupted by the costume changes, which were unnecessary but entertaining none-the-less.
I left Wiz’s show feeling happy, a bit second-hand high, sexier and little more gangster: the perfect combination for a Wednesday night.
Article and Photos By: Teresa Reilly
