Wiz Khalifa and Yelawolf in Kush City [Photos/Review]

You are here: Home // Feature, International, Reviews, West Coast Canada // Wiz Khalifa and Yelawolf in Kush City [Photos/Review]

Posted Oct 16th, 2010 by @AmaliaJude | 3 Comments

Vancouver, B.C. – With 2 sold out shows at Fortune Sound Club, The Waken Baken Tour hit an easy target. Yelawolf and Taylor Gang idol Wiz Khalifa held it down with some new-school hip-hop: what with Yelawolf’s car themes and Khalifa’s flight school, it was like Planes, Trains and Automobiles up in this bitch. Between the bass vibrations, the sweaty, shirtless bodies and of course the tattoos, the whole thing was a bit of a turn-on.

Live Review: Wiz Khalifa brings his Waken Baken Tour to Kush City - Vancouver

Yelawolf – aka Catfish Billy – is on his second round of Vancity this year. This time, though, his association with Khalifa and his rapidly rising fame made him larger than life. He opened the show with the thunderous bass of “Trunk Muzik,” spitting machine-gun bullets and letting loose an uncontrolled stage energy. After a “Fuck You” interlude that carried a contagious bounce, he gave us a taste of a capella before delving into some of his collabs, sans the collaborators. He dropped his verses from “Good to Go” with Bun B, “Mixin up the Medicine” with Juelz Santana, and “Your DJ Ain’t no DJ” with Big Boi, all of which sounded pretty damn good even without the counterparts.

And even Yelawolf has a softer side… well, not all that soft but at least he included the ladies in “Box Chevy Pt. 3″ as he brought up a girl from the crowd to dance to “tilted off Jim Beam/My wheels are super clean/And I wanna see the back of your jeans/In my box Chevy.” This of course led into “Daddy’s Lambo” as Yela asked the girls if they had a) a lot of money and b)cocaine in their purses. Final highlights were the Raekwon-inspired “I Wish,” daring a motherfucker to tell him he’s not hip-hop, and the Gucci Mane collab “I Just Wanna Party.” Closing with the ever-popular dark tale “Pop The Trunk,” Yelawolf demonstrated beyond a doubt that he’s not only an amazing rapper but a true storyteller.

Wiz Khalifa kept the energy up but there was definitely a shift in depth: the Khalif basically raps about weed, money and planes. He does it well, and he (or his team) is a marketing genius with twitter, the Taylor Gang and the countless videos of him riding in cars and hanging out at parties. Wiz hit the stage blunt in hand, enjoying some of the Vancouver Kush we all know and love. He broke into “Cabin Fever,” a track from the exceedingly popular Kush and Orange Juice – in which he’s looking for the “bad bitch in here,” – and then broke into “Burn After Rolling,” another track about how great his life is and how much money he has. “Ink my Whole Body” was a pleasure to listen to with its addictive hook, “Ink my whole body/ I don’t give a motherfuck.”

“Mezmorized,” followed in the same suit, while “Still Blazin” dropped a great reggae vibe and the “Poker Face” remix offered a fresh take on a familiar beat. “This Plane” gave a taste of Khalifa’s great singing voice, a light and vibrant element of his multifaceted talent. “The Statement” is another in a long line of interesting and catchy beats, and “Black and Yellow” is an infectious anthem for his hometown Pittsburg’s football team.

Kahlifa’s music gives a feeling of being young, famous and invincible. There’s an invulnerability to his songs that talk about smoking weed, making money and fucking hoes forever, as though the rap game will never change, he’ll never get left behind. Optimistic, to be sure, but where there are potheads, there are potential Wiz Khalifa fans.

Written by Amalia Judith for HipHopCanada
Photography by Mista Hindz for HipHopCanada

Photography by Mista Hindz

Live Review: Wiz Khalifa brings his Waken Baken Tour to Kush City - Vancouver

[!] Report this post

Processing your request, Please wait....

Tags: Fortune Sound Club, Taylor Gang, Wiz Khalifa, Yelawolf

Visit HipHopCanada's new website called RNBCanada.com

Posted by @AmaliaJude

Amalia Judith was born in Winnipeg, MB and quickly whisked away to a childhood of travel throughout California, England, Germany and predominantly Pakistan. In 2006 she completed an honor's degree in English Literature, which left her quite jobless and alone in East Van. Amalia cut her teeth at abortmag.com, Canada's darkest counter-culture magazine, moving on to contribute words and flicks to HipHopCanada: she's currently the Western Canadian Editor and has had the privilege to interview hip-hop icons like Lil' Kim, Drake, Dead Prez, Big Boi, Pharrell Williams and half of Wu-Tang. Amalia also works as a Key Worker educator and advocate for families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, as well as heading up Team Heartbreak, a media production company that pairs community involvement and artistic movements. She'd love to write you the best bio you've ever had or develop your branding strategy - www.teamheartbreak.com for more info.