A POLITE OPUS: WIZ KHALIFA - KUSH & OJ

First and Foremost the fact he edited David Ruffin (The Temptations) face out to put his in his place on the cover makes this shit epic off general principle. You can see Ruffin's afro in the reflection of the mirror. Okay. Let's begin. 

2010 was a interesting year. It was the year I dropped out of college. The year I sold my soul to twitter. Well technically 2009 was the year for the twitter shit. A lot of dope concerts I went to. Wiz Khalifa at the Old Rock House in St.Louis was one of them. This was March 2010. Definitely one of the best shows I've been to. This was the Wiz Khalifa before "Black and Yellow" and "See You Again" fame. Before the dreads or blonde patch. This was 501 denim, Jordan 5's, snapback Wiz Khalifa I saw at that concert. He performed "Car Service" and "Chewy" that's how real that show was. I remember during the show he said "I have something new dropping real soon for yall." Little did we know it would come literally 2 weeks after that show and would be the soundtrack for the 2010 Spring/Summer. The ultimate stoner soundtrack. The cult classic. Wiz Khalifa's "Only Built For Cuban Linx" in his music catalog.  Wiz Khalifa's magnum opus. "Kush and OJ." I first heard Wiz when I seen a video on the net he made called "Shame." I remember hearing the song and thinking "He sounds like Max-B," so I fucked with it and then I heard "How Fly" and I definitely became a fan. I went and downloaded pretty much all his mixtapes. Even though I liked what I heard I never thought he had "Kush & OJ" in him. I really thought he would come and go like rappers usually do. I was wrong as fuck. 

I remember the day like it yesterday. I was on twitter talking shit. I was talking a looooooot of shit on twitter in 2010. I'd feel stupid as fuck if I read my tweets from 2010 today. Anyway. I don't follow celebs on twitter now but back then I did. Wiz dropped the link for the mixtape. I put it on my iphone 3GS. Hopped in my Monte Carlo to go to the Apple store in the Galleria because my speaker in my iphone was broken. The weather was fucking perfect. I had on a white tee, dreads blowing in the wind on some Fabio shit. Extra wavy. When I heard "Mezmorized" come on for the first time ever I literally lost my fucking mind. You knew I had to risk my life on highway 70 to get a tweet off about it. It was too fucking raw. I mashed the gas extra hard in my chevy. When you feeling a song you mash the gas. It's a habit of the real. I started driving around Brentwood just to listen to the album. I didn't finish it because I ended up having to cash out on a whole new iphone so I had no music on my brand new iphone. I rode back home in silence. All I could think about the first few tracks I heard. Put the album on my new iphone and continued to listen to one of the greatest mixtapes to ever exist in my lifetime. 

Wiz will always held to a high standard because of this mixtape. You will always give his music an ear just because of "Kush & OJ," it's like a reflex. No matter if you think he fell off or think he's the greatest you will listen to everything he drops in the future because of this tape. This tape was his debut album to me. I fucking hated "Rolling Papers." It was a debut album just swinging for Top 40 hits. You could tell. He scored a Number 1 hit with "Black & Yellow," and "No Sleep" was super popular but the album had no impact like "Kush and OJ." He should've put "Black & Yellow," "No Sleep," "On My Level," and "The Race" on "Kush and OJ" and I'll bet whatever that album would've went platinum with ease. It would've been 18 songs plus the skits but fuck it. It would've been a classic. They want Wiz to recreate this feeling but it seems impossible. This mixtape was his peak. He's had mixtapes after this one that were solid but they all get compared to his magnum opus and that's how the masses move. 

There are only 2 stoner albums I feel that are better than this tape. "How Fly" by Wiz and Curren$y and "The Dude" by Devin The Dude. Very GREAT company. Kush and OJ's vibe was so perfect that it's difficult to just play a song without letting the entire project ride. The production was in sync while having diverse sounds. From Johnny Juliano to Cardo to Big Jerm to Big Krit all different producers with different sounds but you could tell the production was tailor made for Wiz. Pun intended mothafucka. When I heard "In the Cut" that's when I knew this dude would have a long career because that song showcased his versatility. It's seriously a frat boy pop song but he swagged the fuck out of it with lyrics about smoking and chilling with honey's. I had to have played that song 200 times that day. I couldn't wait to hear it while drunk or high. There is no down spots on this album. It just keeps going higher and higher. The features were so well placed and chosen. The song order was perfect. The skits well placed. There is a song for every mood on this project. You want a actual weed song with an actual island feel? Play "Still Blazin." You wanna jump around? Play "Glass House." A song that has one of my all time favorite Spitta verses. You wanna fuck ya girl to some music? Play "Up." You wanna think about some shit? Play "Visions" or "Good Dank." You wanna cruise like a playa? Play "The Kid Frankie." This was seriously one of the most perfect vibe albums I've ever heard. 

This tape is 6 years old. A lot has happened in 6 years. Wiz is a father and basically a rockstar. Got married and divorced. Told Kanye he's not wavy. He's released 4 studio albums and countless mixtapes. Did a movie. Grammy nominated. Shit is crazy. All memories but the one the fans will always remember was the release of "Kush & OJ." A true cult classic.