FLP is a three-character combination that may refer to:

• Farmer-Labor Party, a defunct political party in the United States
• Fast Link Pulse used in computer device networking
• Ferrovia Lugano-Ponte Tresa, a railway company in Switzerland
• Fischer, Lynch and Paterson result of the impossibility of distributed consensus under certain conditions
• Fixed line phone
• Foreign Languages Press
• Free Library of Philadelphia
• Restriction fragment length polymorphism
• FLP "FLiPpase", an enzyme used in a biological DNA manipulation technique
• Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs
• Fisher-Lynch-Paterson result

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Porter Robinson
Performing in January 2012.
Background information
Birth name	Porter Robinson
Born	(1992-07-15) July 15, 1992 (age 19)
Origin	Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
Genres	Complextro, Electro House, dubstep, Moombahton, trance, progressive house
Occupations	Producer, DJ, Musician
Years active	2010–present
Labels	OWSLA, Big Fish Recordings, Ministry Of Sound
Website	Porter Robinson Facebook Porter Robinson Twitter

Porter Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American electronic dance music producer and DJ from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He primarily produces in the electro house genre. He also named the genre complextro when he created the portmanteau to describe his own sound.^[1]

Biography[link]

Porter Robinson began producing at the age of 13 using Sony ACID Pro emulating sounds he heard from video games. He later began producing hands-up under the alias Ekowraith^[2] using FL Studio. It was at this time that Robinson became friends with a young Madeon, who was also producing hands-up under the name Deamon, and also using FL Studio.

Robinson primarily uses Lennard Digital Sylenth1, Native Instruments Massive, 3xOsc, Sytrus and several other commercial and free audio plugins.

He is currently 19 years old and recently graduated high school in his hometown of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.^[3][4]

Music career[link]

He has released a variety of original singles on Glamara Records and Big Fish Recordings. His first single, "Say My Name", was an enormous success, landing at #1 on Beatport's Electro House chart.^[5][6] In the summer of 2011 he signed with OWSLA, a new label operated by Skrillex, to release his first EP entitled Spitfire. Spitfire reached the number one spot on the iTunes Dance chart as well as the number one spot on Beatport's overall release chart.

Porter has been commissioned for official remixes by Lady Gaga (Interscope Records), Avicii (Ministry of Sound),^[7] Spencer & Hill (Bazooka Records)^[8] and Innerpartysystem (Red Bull Records).^[9]

Touring[link]

As a DJ, he has toured internationally^[10] and performed alongside artists including Deadmau5, Tiesto, David Guetta, Skrillex, Diplo, Madeon, Moby, Afrojack, Above & Beyond, Dada Life, A-Trak, Gareth Emery and many more.

He performed at many major music festivals during 2011 including Ultra Music Festival,^[11] Electric Daisy Carnival (3 cities),^[12] Electric Zoo,^[13] South by Southwest,^[14] Global Dance Festival, Virgin Mobile FreeFest, Beyond Wonderland,^[15] Electric Forest and Nocturnal Festival.^[16]

Throughout February 2011, he appeared on the Project Blue Book Tour with Skrillex and Tommy Lee & DJ Aero.^[17]

In June and July 2011, he performed as direct support to Skrillex on the OWSLA tour.^[18]

In August 2011 he toured throughout Australia and New Zealand.^{[citation needed]}

In September and October 2011, he performed as direct support to Tiesto on his College Invasion tour of the United States and Canada.^[19] Following this, Porter began a run of headline dates across clubs in North America as part of "The Spitfire Tour".^[20]

In 2012 he is announced to play festivals including Festival Imperial, Coachella, Future Music Festival, Ultra Music Festival, and Lollapalooza, and performed a live Essential Mix that was broadcasted from Hull City Hall, January 28 on BBC Radio 1 during his first trip to the UK. During the set, he played a new, unreleased track called "Language" which was later released on April 10.

Discography[link]

EPs[link]

• Spitfire (2011)

Singles[link]

• "Leaving" (2010)
• "Get Brain" (2010)
• "Say My Name" (2010)
• "I'm On Fire" (2010)
• "Hello" (with Lazy Rich and Sue Cho) (2010)
• "The Wildcat" (2010)
• "Language" (2012)

Remixes[link]

• Picco , "Venga" (2010)
• Heiko & Maiko, "Wer Ist Sie?" (2010)
• Spencer & Hill, "Less Go" (2010)
• Tim Berg, "Seek Bromance" (2010)
• Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup, "We No Speak Americano" (2010)
• Innerpartysystem, "American Trash" (2011)
• Lady Gaga, "The Edge of Glory" (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Porter Robinson Beatport
• Porter Robinson Soundcloud
• Porter Robinson Twitter
• Porter Robinson Facebook
• Porter Robinson OWSLA
• Interview with Porter Robinson Immediately following his first show ever
• Porter Robinson FL Studio Power User page

DJ Antoine
MC Roby Rob (left) and DJ Antoine (right).
Background information
Birth name	Antoine Konrad
Born	(1975-06-23) June 23, 1975 (age 37)
Origin	Switzerland
Genres	Electro House, House, Vocal House
Occupations	DJ, record producer
Years active	1998–present
Associated acts	Tom Dice, Mad Mark
Website	http://www.djantoine.com/

Antoine Konrad (born June 23, 1975), better known as DJ Antoine, is a Swiss-Lebanese house and electro DJ and producer, from Beirut, Lebanon. He has had a number of successful single and album releases in Western Europe, in particular Switzerland and France. DJ Antoine's first notable release was the 2000 album Houseworks 01, and he has since released many albums in the last years. One of his releases, Jealousy (released in 2007) was one of his best selling albums.Also, In 2010, he released the summer hits "Welcome To St. Tropez (Feat. Kalenna)" and "Sunlight (Feat. Tom Dice).^{[citation needed]}

With more than 1,5 million sold albums, 34 gold records, 5 platinum awards, 1 double-platin award and owning the record label „Houseworks“, DJ Antoine is the internationally most successful DJ of Switzerland.

His career officially took off in 1995, when he opened his club called House Café in the city of Basel. This club is the benchmark for the progress of the whole scene in Basel and the cult-parties are still in fond memories. After a short tip into the Swiss Hip Hop scene, DJ Antoine had quickly switched genre, getting hooked on the Pumping-House-Wave. In 1998, he released his first album “DJ Antoine – The Pumpin’ House Mix”. 1999 “Houseworks 1” won the first gold award. After that, things started to move very fast. Until this day, DJ Antoine has produced 51 CDs, strongly establishing his music and himself in the music and clubbing scene. Since 2003 he has been hosting his own weekly radio show, which is broadcasted by radio stations all over the world.

In 2006, DJ Antoine achieved his international breakthrough with the album “DJ Antoine – Live in Moscow” and the single “This Time”. Ever since, he has been a highly demanded act in popular and trendy clubs all over the world. Gigs in New York, Chicago, Miami, Montreal, Moscow, Dubai, Bangkok, Oslo, Vienna and Cairo have turned into a regular but exciting part of his everyday life. Acknowledging his international success, All Around The World Records, the electronic music label owned by Universal Music UK, Blanco y Negro Spain, Happy Music France, Emi Music South Africa, Ultra Records USA and Kontor Records Germany signed the single “This Time” in 2009.

The many awards he won in the recent years prove that DJ Antoine is one of the best in this industry. 2001 he won the Ericsson Dance Music Award for the best and most successful artist of the year 2000 in the category „House / UK Garage / Progressive House“. In 2008, DJ Antoine created a stir with his sociocritical album “DJ Antoine –Stop!”, on which he openly spoke out against juvenile violence, calling for more civil courage. In spring 2009, the record was priced with the Swiss Music Award for “Best National Dance Album”. The following year, he defended that title with his CD “DJ Antoine – 2009” and, on top of that, received the Swiss Prix Walo. In 2010 he achieved his biggest success in Switzerland so far: For his album “DJ Antoine – 2010” he was awarded with a platinum record. This platinum record was also nominated for this year Swiss Music Award in the category “Best Album Dance National”.

In the studio DJ Antoine works with his long-term business partner Fabio Antoniali also known as Mad Mark. Well-known musicians such as Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, Pitbull, Cindy Lauper, Robin S., Roberto Blanco and Ivana Trump have had their tracks exclusively remixed by the two artists. In 2010, DJ Antoine produced songs for Timati, Snoop Dogg, DJ Smash and Bob Sinclar. That same year, the charismatic House-legend Mr. Mike joined the team as a vocalist, also accompanying the DJ to selected performances.

Another highlight of his career is now the first collaboration with Timati and Kalenna Harper (Dirty Money) for the hit single "Welcome to St. Tropez", which was released in Germany and Austria by none other than the dance label Kontor Records.

DJ Antoine keeps setting new trends with his music, attracting worldwide attention to his brand. Labels like Maurice Lacroix, Perrier-Jouët „Belle Epoque“ champagne and the Swiss custom tailor SuitArt all trust in his image. For VIP-Events, DJ Antoine has had the chance to work with nameable partners such as Sony Ericsson, Campari, Moonlight, Edo Popken, Crysler, Dodge, Maybach, Cadillac, Moet Hennessy, J. Lindeberg, Paco Rabanne and the German TV station Pro7.

Alongside his work as a DJ, Antoine Konrad manages his own production and booking companies Global Productions GmbH and Global Bookings. For his VIP-Events, he regularly creates extensive and individual concepts, in tune with the clients and guests needs and wishes. His exclusive event concepts represent lifestyle and luxury and he inspires his customers with his ideas. His team currently consists of ten employees, all based in Switzerland. Antoine has sold over 1,000,000 CDs,^{[citation needed]} and runs his own labels, Houseworks and Egoïste. He has gained popularity all over Europe and also overseas in Canada and the United States.

Discography[link]

External links[link]

• Official site

9th Wonder
Background information
Birth name	Patrick Douthit
Also known as	9th Wonder, 9thmatic
Born	(1975-01-15) January 15, 1975 (age 37) Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Record producer, record executive
Instruments	Akai MPC 2500, Turntables, Pro Tools, FL Studio[1]
Years active	1997–present
Labels	It's A Wonderful World Music Group, Jamla Records
Associated acts	Little Brother, Murs, David Banner, Buckshot, Erykah Badu

Patrick Douthit (born January 15, 1975 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina),^[2] better known as 9th Wonder is a hip hop record producer, record executive, DJ, lecturer, and lyricist from Durham, North Carolina, U.S. He began his career as the main producer for the group Little Brother, and has also worked with Mary J. Blige, Jean Grae, Wale, Jay-Z, Murs, Drake, Buckshot, Chris Brown, Destiny's Child, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Erykah Badu, Ludacris, Mac Miller, and David Banner. As of 2010, 9th Wonder raps under the name of 9thmatic.^[3]

9th Wonder has a smooth and soulful production style that relies on samples from artists such as Al Green and Curtis Mayfield.^[4] He attributes the bass lines that he uses in production to DJ Premier, Pete Rock and J Dilla, while he claims to have learned "Aahs" from RZA.^{[4][clarification needed]}

Music career[link]

9th Wonder's first significant career breakthrough came in 2003 when, as an up-and-coming producer, he released an unofficial remix album of Nas' 2002 album God's Son entitled God's Stepson.^[5] Released through internet outlets, the album garnered significant attention and acclaim.^[5] The producer has said that he was not thinking in terms of using it to generate a buzz or promote his skills and that at that point: "I never thought any of this of me as a producer was going to happen."^[5] The album has since been credited as starting the now regular trend for unofficial 'home-made' remixes of whole albums.^[5]

9th Wonder began his career as the main producer for the group Little Brother. As part of Little Brother he gained recognition and critical acclaim for his production on their debut 2003 release, The Listening. [Jay-Z]]'s studio engineer Young Guru was impressed with his work, and contacted 9th Wonder, which led to 9th Wonder producing "Threat" for Jay-Z's 2003 The Black Album.^[5] The cut proved to be a mainstream breakthrough for 9th Wonder, most immediately in the major production role he secured on Destiny's Child's 2004 Destiny Fulfilled album that Jay-Z was instrumental in helping bring about.^[5] On the album, 9th Wonder produced the tracks "Girl" and "Is She the Reason," plus the bonus track "Game Over".

9th Wonder left Little Brother in 2007.^[6][7]

On October 29, 2007, 9th Wonder made a rare public appearance on BET's Rap City, alongside collaborator Talib Kweli. Madlib, Jean Grae and Erykah Badu appeared as well. In 2010, he appeared on BET's 106 & Park countdown with David Banner.

9th Wonder, E. Jones, and rapper J. Cole served as the lead producers of the soundtrack to the EA Sports video game NBA Elite 11. 9th Wonder and J. Cole also appear as "secret characters" in NBA Jam with a team name of Cole & Wonder.

9th Wonder debuted his rapping alter-ego 9thmatic in late 2009. 9thmatic appeared on songs with Khrysis and Sean Boog, Big Remo, Murs and Thee Tom Hardy.

9th Wonder worked with Mississippi rapper David Banner on a collaborative album entitled Death of a Pop Star which was released on December 21, 2010.

It's A Wonderful World Music Group, Jamla Records[link]

In January 2009, 9th Wonder announced plans to start two independent record labels, Jamla and The Academy, under his imprint It's A Wonderful World Music Group (IWWMG). Jamla originally consisted of Skyzoo, GQ, Rapsody, Tyler Woods and Big Remo, while The Academy consisted of Thee Tom Hardy, Actual Proof (Sundown & Enigma), TP, and The Away Team (Khrysis & Sean Boog). The Academy artists were later folded into the Jamla label. Halo and Heather Victoria were announced as the newest members of IWWMG in October 2010.

In July 2010, 9th Wonder officially debuted his production team for IWWMG. The Soul Council consists of Khrysis, E. Jones, Fatin "10" Horton, Ka$h Don't Make Beats, AMP, eric g., and 9th Wonder himself.

Recent and current projects[link]

In 2010, independent filmmaker Kenneth Price documented 9th Wonder's travels for an entire year. This included his times in the studio, classes he taught at Duke University, and performances with Murs at the 2010 Rock the Bells Festival, along with interviews with 9th Wonder about his life and career. All of this was compiled in a Lifted Research Group-sponsored documentary film titled The Wonder Year. The film features appearances by Drake, DJ Premier, DJ Green Lantern, J. Cole, Murs, Lucas Rivers, Sha Money XL, Young Guru, The Alchemist and others. Price went on to direct music videos for artists on 9th Wonder's Jamla Records label.

In August 2010, Drake exchanged tweets with 9th Wonder on Twitter, expressing his desire to work with him again (the first time being the production of "Think Good Thoughts" featuring Phonte and Elzhi for his 2007 mixtape Comeback Season). It was revealed in October 2010 that 9th Wonder would be producing for Drake on his sophomore album Take Care, which was released on November 15, 2011.^[8] However, a month prior to the release, 9th Wonder said in an interview that he would not appear on Take Care due to A&R issues.^[9]

Singer Chris Brown recorded a series of rap freestyles over 9th Wonder beats. The first was released on July 18, 2011 on YouTube under the title "Real Hip Hop #3." This was followed a day later by "Real Hip Hop #4" featuring Kevin McCall. These tracks were included in Brown's rap mixtape Boy In Detention, released on August 5, 2011.^[10]

Hip hop professor[link]

2007 saw a sideline move into music academia for 9th Wonder when, along with Christopher "Play" Martin from hip hop group Kid-n-Play, he was appointed Artist-In-Residence by the Chancellor of North Carolina Central University, and began instructing a hip hop history class in NCCU's Music Dept.^[11]

His role as a music professor has proven an ongoing one as in January 2010 it was announced that 9th Wonder would co-teach a class titled "Sampling Soul" with Dr. Mark Anthony Neal at Duke University.^[12] In an interview with HitQuarters, he explained the reason for the move into academia: "Educating the youth on where hip-hop comes from and the history of it, using the records we use, gives hip-hop a longer life. I decided to become an advocate of that."^[5]

9th has only continued his trek into the world of education, recently receiving acceptance from Harvard University to become a fellow in the Hip Hop Archive. 9th will spend three years working on a research project at Harvard’s W.E.B. Dubois Institute. For 9th's project titled "These Are The Breaks" he will be researching the original records that created his top 10 produced albums. He recently told XXL that he one day hopes to leave producing behind for good to focus on academics. A documentary will also be created by Kenneth Price, chronicling 9th's journey as a Harvard fellow. The blog www.theharvardfellow.com will help fans follow the progression.

P'Tones Records[link]

9th Wonder and Black Jeruz are the spokespeople for the Durham-P'Tones Records Studio which is partnered with North Carolina Central University. The new location for the P'Tones studio is currently being decided. 9th Wonder still resides in North Carolina. He has announced his dedication to the community in Durham, NC by joining P'Tones Records, whose Mission Statement statement is "to create constructive opportunities for inner city youth through no-cost neighborhood music programs." The organization's goal is to give students the opportunity to run a record label, creating music and merchandise while learning about the music industry. Former Professor Kawachi Clemons and founder (of P'Tones) Oren Rosenbaum opened the NCCU-P'Tones studio. The program is set to begin February 2010. Dr. Smith has replaced Dr. Clemons as the point man from NCCU. As of August 1, P'Tones is fundraising through the Pepsi Refresh Project.^[13]

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

• 2005: Dream Merchant Vol. 1
• 2007: Dream Merchant Vol. 2
• 2010: 9th's Opus: It's a Wonderful World Music Group Vol.1
• 2011: The Wonder Years
• 2012: Tutankhamen (Valley of the Kings)

Collaboration albums[link]

• 2003: The Listening (with Little Brother)
• 2003: Shake N Beats (Instrumental LP) (with Spectac)
• 2003: Legsclusives (with L.E.G.A.C.Y.)
• 2004: Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition (with Murs)
• 2005: The Minstrel Show (with Little Brother)
• 2005: Chemistry (with Buckshot)
• 2005: Spirit of '94: Version 9.0 (with Kaze)
• 2005: 9th Gate (with Access Immortal)
• 2006: Murray's Revenge^[14] (with Murs)
• 2006: Cloud 9: The Three Day High (with Skyzoo)
• 2007: Class is in Session (with Pete Rock)
• 2008: The Formula (with Buckshot)
• 2008: Jeanius (with Jean Grae)
• 2008: Sweet Lord (with Murs)
• 2008: The Corner of Spec & 9th (with Spectac)
• 2010: Fornever (with Murs)
• 2010: Death of a Pop Star (with David Banner)
• 2012: The Solution (with Buckshot)

Collaboration mixtapes[link]

• 2006: Battle of the Beats Round 1–2 (with The Alchemist & DJ E.Nyce)
• 2007: 9th Year Freshman (with CHOPS)
• 2007: The Graduate (with Kanye West, Mick Boogie & Terry Urban)
• 2008: The W.ide W.Orld of W.Rap (with E.Ness)
• 2008: Album Mixtape Volume One (with Cans)
• 2008: 9 Wonders (NYOIL verses 9th Wonder) (with NYOIL)
• 2009: The R&B Sensation Mixtape (with Tyler Woods)
• 2009: Back to the Feature (with Wale & LRG)
• 2009: The Hardy Boy Mystery Mixtape: Curse of Thee Green Faceded (with Thee Tom Hardy & Don Cannon)
• 2010: To Hanses Mall (with Akello Light)
• 2010: Album Mixtape Part 2 (with Cans)
• 2010: The (Free)EP (with Actual Proof)
• 2011: TP is my Hero (with TP)
• 2011: Spring Cleaning (with Mike Schpitz)^[15]

Compilation and remix albums[link]

• 2003: 9th invented the Remix
• 2003: God's Stepson – Nas (remix of Nas's album God's Son)
• 2004: Black Is Back! – Jay-Z (Remix of Jay-Z's The Black Album)
• 2005: The Remix EP (Remixed Songs of Smif-N-Wessun)
• 2009: Wonder Years – 9th Wonder Golden Years Remix LP
• 2010: 9th invented the Remix...Again
• 2010: Loose Joints
• 2010: Food for Thought
• 2012: Tutankhamen

References[link]

External links[link]

• 9thwonder.com

Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa in Brooklyn, New York in August 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Cameron Jibril Thomaz
Born	(1987-09-08) September 8, 1987 (age 24) Minot, North Dakota, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, singer, songwriter, actor
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Rostrum, Taylor Gang, Warner Bros., Atlantic
Associated acts	Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Curren$y, Big Sean, Chevy Woods, Mac Miller, Juicy J, Tinie Tempah, Yelawolf, Maroon 5, Big K.R.I.T.
Website	wizkhalifa.com

Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His Eurodance-influenced single, "Say Yeah", received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008.^[1] Khalifa parted with Warner Bros. and released his second album, Deal or No Deal, in November 2009. He released the mixtape Kush and Orange Juice as a free download in April 2010; he then signed with Atlantic Records.^[2] He is also well known for his debut single for Atlantic, "Black and Yellow", which peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album for the label, Rolling Papers, was released on March 29, 2011.^[3]

Early life[link]

Khalifa was born on September 8, 1987 to a mother and a father serving in the military.^[1][4] His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old. His parents' military service caused him to move regularly: Khalifa lived in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School.^[1][4]

His stage name is derived from khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was a young boy .^[5] Khalifa stated to spinner.com that the name also came from being called "young Wiz 'cause I was good at everything I did, and my granddad is Muslim, so he gave me that name; he felt like that's what I was doing with my music." He got his stage name tattooed on his 17th birthday.^[6][7] He includes Jimi Hendrix, Camp Lo, The Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony among his influences.^[8]

Career[link]

[edit] 2005–08: Early mixtapes and Show and Prove

Rostrum Records president Benjy Grinberg first heard about Wiz Khalifa in 2004 when the rapper's contribution to a mixtape of various new Pittsburgh artists attracted his interest.^[9] When Grinberg finally met the 16-year-old artist, he immediately decided he wanted to work with him, later telling HitQuarters: "Even though he wasn’t all the way developed you could just tell that he was a diamond in the rough, and that with some polishing, guidance and backing he could become something special."^[9] Khalifa signed to the label shortly after and began a seven year period of artist development.^[9]

Khalifa released his first mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania, in 2005. The mixtape paved the way for his first full length album entitled Show and Prove in 2006. Khalifa was declared an "artist to watch" that year in Rolling Stone magazine.^[10][11]

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 near the end of Pittsburgh mash up producer Girl Talk's 2008 album, Feed the Animals, over music from Underworld's "Born Slippy", Usher's "Love in This Club", and the Cure's "In Between Days".^[12] Khalifa appeared with The Game, David Banner and Play-n-Skillz at U92's Summer Jam at the USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah on August 2, 2008.^[13] Khalifa released the mixtapes Star Power in September 2008, and Flight School in April 2009 on Rostrum Records.

Khalifa parted ways with Warner Bros. Records in July 2009 after numerous delays in releasing his planned debut album for the label, First Flight. Khalifa stated to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that, "I learned a lot during my time there and matured as an artist during the process. I'm happy to be moving on with all of my material and having the chance to be in control of my next moves".^[14] Khalifa appeared with Girl Talk, Modey Lemon, Donora, Grand Buffet, and Don Caballero at the Amphitheatre at Station Square in Pittsburgh on July 31, 2009, where he announced that his relationship with Warner Bros. was over.^[15]

Wiz Khalifa performing at Columbia University in New York City in April 2010.

[edit] 2009–10: Deal or No Deal

Continuing his association with Rostrum Records, Khalifa released the single "Teach U to Fly", and the mixtape How Fly, a collaboration with New Orleans rapper Curren$y, on August 9, 2009.^[14] Khalifa introduced a more melodic style on the mixtape, alternating between singing and rapping. He opened for Wu-Tang Clan member U-God at the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City.^[16] Khalifa released the mixtape Burn After Rolling on November 2, 2009, where he raps over familiar beats from other artists, including the songs "If I Were A Boy" and "Diva" by Beyoncé, "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun, "Luchini AKA This Is It" by Camp Lo, and "Best I Ever Had" by Drake.^[17] Khalifa released his second album, Deal or No Deal, on November 24, 2009.^[18]

Khalifa performed at Emo's in Austin, Texas in March 2010 as part of the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival.^[19] He appeared on the cover of XXL magazine that same month, for the magazine's annual list of Top 10 Freshman, which included Donnis, J. Cole, Pill, Freddie Gibbs, and Fashawn. Wiz Khalifa was named 2010 "Rookie Of The Year" by "The Source", with alongside Rick Ross, "The Man Of The Year".^[20] He toured with rapper Yelawolf on a 20-date tour, the Deal Or No Deal Tour.^[21] Khalifa released the free mixtape Kush and Orange Juice for download on April 14, 2010. Due to Khalifa's devoted grassroots fan base, the mixtape became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter with the hash tag #kushandorangejuice, and "Kush and Orange Juice download” ranked No. 1 on Google’s hot search trends.^[22]

2010: Signing with Atlantic Records[link]

Citing music industry insiders, New York magazine wrote that Khalifa signed with Atlantic Records in April 2010, although the rapper did not confirm it.^[23] He stated to AllHipHop in June 2010 that he was working on a new album, but was weighing his options and had not yet decided on a label to distribute it.^[24] Khalifa confirmed to MTV on July 30 that he was signing an Atlantic Records deal.^[25]

Wiz Khalifa on stage in Boston in August 2010.

Khalifa was featured in a remix and video for the 2010 Rick Ross single "Super High", alongside Curren$y.^[26] He guested on the mixtape Grey Goose, Head Phones, and Thirsty Women by St. Louis rapper M.C,^[27] and was featured on the track "The Breeze (Cool)" on rapper Wale's August 2010 mixtape More About Nothing.^[28] Khalifa was named MTV's Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010, winning with nearly 70,000 votes, and beating out finalists Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, Travis Porter, and Diggy Simmons.^[29]

Khalifa appeared at the Soundset 2010 festival in May 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside Method Man & Redman, Del the Funky Homosapien and Hieroglyphics, Atmosphere, Murs, Cage, and others.^[30] He also performed at the 2010 Rock the Bells festival, along with hip hop veterans Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, KRS-One, Jedi Mind Tricks and Slick Rick.^[31] Khalifa declined an invitation to tour with rapper Drake and launched his own "Waken Baken" tour, a 50-city national tour with rapper Yelawolf. The tour, scheduled to last from September to November 2010, has, as of October, sold out every venue.^[8] On November 2010, during his "Waken Baken" tour at East Carolina University, Wiz Khalifa was arrested for possession and trafficking of marijuana. He was then released the next morning after a $300K bail, and resumed his tour. Khalifa performed in a cypher during the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards. He recited his verse from the song, "The Check Point", from his mixtape with Curren$y, How Fly.^[32]

[edit] 2010–11: Mainstream success and Rolling Papers

Wiz Khalifa at SXSW in 2010

Khalifa released "Black and Yellow", his first single for Rostrum/Atlantic, produced by Stargate, which has received radio airplay.^[8][33] The single was peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100; the title of the song refers to the colours of the City of Pittsburgh.^[34] Khalifa released his debut album with Atlantic Records in 2011.^[35] He appeared with Curren$y on the track "Scaling the Building" on producer Ski Beatz' 2010 album, 24 Hour Karate School.^[36] Khalifa's record label is Taylor Gang Records, named after his love of Chuck Taylor All-Stars^[8], and Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, PA, where he graduated from.

On March 29, 2011, Khalifa released his first studio album, Rolling Papers. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 197,000 copies in the United States.^[37] Shortly afterward on March 31, 2011 Wiz Khalifa performed at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia as part of the school's annual Dooley's Weekend.^[38] On June 26, 2011, Khalifa was nominated and won Best New Artist at the BET Awards of 2011.^[39] Khalifa collaborated with British rapper Tinie Tempah whom Tinie announced in an interview with Rolling Stone that his next single is to be called "Till I'm Gone" and would feature Wiz Khalifa and is to be produced by Stargate.^[40][41] The single and the video song were released at the end of June 2011.^[42]

Personal life[link]

Thomaz proposed to model Amber Rose on March 1, 2012 showing off the ring on Twitter.^[43] He is personal friends with Snoop Dogg, Juicy J, Yelawolf, and fellow Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller.^[44]

In March 2012, Thomaz purchased a 2.8 private wooded acres with a 3,891-square-foot residence in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, a small community southwest of Pittsburgh. The residence includes 5-bedroom, 4-bath eco-friendly, Brazilian Koa floors, stainless steel appliances, a separate guest house, and a lavish master suite with high ceilings.^[45] He currently resides there with his fiancée Amber Rose.

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• 2006: Show and Prove
• 2009: Deal or No Deal
• 2011: Rolling Papers
• 2012: O.N.I.F.C. ^[11][46][47]

Collaborative albums

• 2011: Mac & Devin Go to High School (with Snoop Dogg)
• 2012: TBA (with Taylor Gang)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wiz Khalifa

• Official website
• Wiz Khalifa on Facebook
• Wiz Khalifa on Myspace
• Wiz Khalifa on Twitter
• Wiz Khalifa at MTV
• Non-commercial Wiz Khalifa mixtapes