Pittsburgh-bred rapper
Wiz Khalifa's 2011 album,
Rolling Papers, took the buzz that had been building around his early tracks and mixtapes and pushed him into the realm of stardom. The album included the breakthrough smash hit "Black & Yellow," but instead of simply packaging a summer banger with extraneous filler, the entire thing was strong and consistent, introducing the world to
Khalifa's stoned charisma and smoky sound that felt exciting and raw while maintaining a decidedly mainstream pop friendliness. The years that followed saw
Khalifa moving even higher up the ranks with his approachable productions and weed-obsessed flows, perhaps peaking in terms of visibility with "See You Again," a 2015 duet with
Charlie Puth from the
Furious 7 soundtrack. It doesn't get much more mainstream than a number one hit from a summer blockbuster, but while
Khalifa's soundtrack appearances were topping the charts, he was busy behind the scenes working on the long-labored
Rolling Papers 2, a follow-up to his 2011 breakthrough that turned out to be far darker and less commercial than his worldwide hits. When the album finally arrived in the summer of 2018, after over three years of studio construction, it boasted an epic list of collaborators and a 25-song track list over an almost 90-minute running time. Eerie singles like "Real Rich" featuring
Gucci Mane set the tone for
Rolling Papers 2, a lengthy and often murky slow-burner that found
Wiz drifting through midtempo trap beats, humid R&B-tinged songs, and the kind of too-high-to-die delivery that defined his style from the start. The mostly laid-back affair sometimes amps up, especially on the unyielding trap burner "Blue Hunnids" featuring guest spots from
Hardo and late Pittsburgh MC Jimmy Wopo. Other standouts from
Rolling Papers 2's long list of contributors include R&B duo
THEMXXNLIGHT, who add sultry vocal hooks to three songs including the
Drake-reminiscent "All of a Sudden," as well as guest rappers from
Snoop Dogg to
Ty Dolla $ign and even an appearance from old-school legends
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on "Reach for the Stars." ~ Fred Thomas