Khalifa (album)

Khalifa
Studio album by Wiz Khalifa
Released	February 5, 2016
Recorded	2013-2015
Genre	Hip hop
Length	51:28
Label	Rostrum Atlantic
Producer	I.D. Labs Crazy Mike DJ Spinz Finatik N Zac Jim Jonsin Juicy J Knucklehead Lex Luger Ricky P Ritz Reynolds SAP Sayez Shod Beatz Sledgren TM88
Wiz Khalifa chronology
Cabin Fever 3 (2015) Khalifa (2016) TGOD Mafia Presents: Rude Awakening (2016)
Singles from Khalifa
"Bake Sale" Released: January 21, 2016

Khalifa is the sixth studio album by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. It was released on February 5, 2016, by Atlantic Records and Rostrum Records.^[1] The album features guest appearances from Ty Dolla $ign, Rico Love and his son, named Sebastian. The album was supported by the release of his lead single: "Bake Sale" featuring Travi$ Scott.^[2][3] The album has also preceded the release by the accompanied music videos for the songs such as "Zoney", "Elevated" and "Most of Us".^[4]

Background

On January 10, 2016, Wiz Khalifa announced the title to his fourth major-label (and sixth overall), called Khalifa. He also announced that it would largely consist of songs recorded for his previous albums but left on the cutting room floor, and that it would feature the collaborations from Travi$ Scott and his label-mate Juicy J.^[5]

Singles

The album's lead single, "Bake Sale" featuring Travi$ Scott, was released for purchase and streaming on January 21, 2016.^[6] It was produced by TM88, Juicy J, Lex Luger, DJ Spinz and Crazy Mike. In December 2015, Wiz Khalifa previewed the track and then announced that it would be included on his album Khalifa.^[7] This familiar instrumental for the song was once appeared on the other song "Order More" by G-Eazy, which was included on his album When It's Dark Out (2015). Due to ownership issues, Juicy J re-created the beat on the song for Wiz Khalifa, along with these co-producers. On the chart dated on February 13, 2016, it debuted and peaked at number 56 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[8][9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	56/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Billboard	[12]
HipHopDX	6.6/10[13]
Pitchfork Media	5.1/10[14]
Rolling Stone	[15]
Spin	4/10[16]
XXL	3/5 (L)[17]

Upon its release, Khalifa was met with generally mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 56, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 7 reviews so far.^[10] Chris Gibbons of Exclaim! said, "Khalifa likely won't sway opinion of Wiz Khalifa, whether positive or negative. For better or worse, it's a portrait of the rapper we've seen for years. It does do things a little more consistently and adds a little more detail than what we're used to seeing."^[18] Kris Ex of Billboard said, "On Khalifa, he's characteristically mellow and melodic, mixing rhymes that are part equal parts braggadocio and motivational slogans in an almost singular pursuit of highs and riches. By design, none of the songs stand out, save for the Travis Scott featuring 'Bake Sale', which wins mostly by sounding like an aired-out version of Scott's own hit 'Antidote'."^[12] David Jeffries of AllMusic questioned the exclusion of "See You Again" and said, "These expansive cuts surely benefit the Wiz discography, and will do best when shuffled into his canon, but lump them together into one LP and take away the driving influence and Khalifa feels more like part of a continuum than a self-contained statement."^[11]

Commercial performance

Khalifa debuted at number 6 on the US Billboard 200, with 64,000 album-equivalent units; it sold 45,000 copies in its first week, and boasted over 19.8 million streams.^[19] Khalifa became Khalifa's fourth consecutive top-ten album on the Billboard 200.^[20]

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References