| Khalifa was born on September 8, 1987 in Minot, North Dakota to a mother and a father serving in the military.His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old. His parents' military service caused him to move on a regular basis.Khalifa lived in Germany, England, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School. His stage name is derived from khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was fifteen.Khalifa stated to spinner.com that the name also came from being called "young Wiz 'cause I was good at everything I did".He includes Camp Lo, The Notorious BIG and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony among his influences.In 2006, Khalifa stated in an interview that his uncle was Muslim. Khalifa released his first mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania, in 2005. The mixtape led to his first full length album entitled Show and Prove in 2006. Khalifa was declared an "artist to watch" that year in Rolling Stone magazine. In 2007, Khalifa signed to Warner Bros. Records and released two mixtapes through Rostrum Records: Grow Season, hosted by DJ Green Lantern and released on July 4, 2007, and Prince of the City 2, released on November 20, 2007. His debut Warner Bros. single "Say Yeah" reached number 25 on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 music chart and number 20 on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks. The song samples "Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay. Khalifa's vocals from "Say Yeah" appear ... |
