Wiz Khalifa biography, net worth, age, height, wife, son 2025

Wiz Khalifa biography

Wiz Khalifa is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He shot to fame with hits like "Say Yeah" and "Black and Yellow." His "See You Again" music video became one of YouTube's most-watched videos ever, racking up over 4 billion views. Net worth: $60 million.

Childhood

Wiz Khalifa (real name: Cameron Jibril Thomaz) was born on September 8, 1987, in Minot, North Dakota. Both parents served in the military - his mother Peachie Wimbush Polk and father Lawrence Thomaz. The future rapper and his older brother Dorien Tomaz (nicknamed "Lala") spent their childhood moving between military bases around the world, not just in the United States. The family lived in England, Germany, and Japan.

Wiz Khalifa (Cameron Jibril Thomas) as a child

In 1990, the parents of three-year-old Cameron divorced. According to the musician, they taught him valuable lessons about not trusting anyone and always telling the truth.

In 1996, Peachie moved to Pittsburgh with Wiz and his elder brother. After settling in Pittsburgh, Khalifa - who'd shown an early interest in music - began writing lyrics, hoping to record them someday. In 2002, the 15-year-old struck a deal with the owners of local ID Labs studio. At the same time, he attended Taylor Allderdice High School.

The musician has said that 1990s Pittsburgh was a rough city. Gang violence was constant, with gunshots heard in the air daily. Sometimes Cameron would see blood on the pavement at bus stops on his way to school. Some of his friends were killed. While gangs left him alone, police harassment was constant due to his race. Police once stopped his car, held a gun to his head, and told him to leave the city.

The musician got his stage name from his uncle, who was also a rapper and practiced Islam. He called the boy "Wisdom," then added the Arabic word "khalipha," meaning "success." In 2002, the young man dropped the "dom" from "Wisdom," creating the stage name Wiz Khalifa we know today. In 2004, he got a tattoo of this name.

Music career

Early on, Wiz Khalifa worked on mixtapes for other rappers while also helping newcomers. ID Labs' owners were so impressed by his work ethic and song quality that they gave him unlimited free studio time.

Soon, Rostrum Records took notice of Wiz. The rapper signed a 7-year deal with company president Benjy Greenberg. In 2005, Wiz Khalifa released the first mixtape «Prince Of The City: Welcome To Pistolvania».

On September 5, 2006, Khalifa's debut album «Show And Prove», recorded with the producer of The Resource, was released. "Pittsburgh Sound" served as the lead single. The album sold 10,000 copies. Rolling Stone took notice of the young artist, dubbing him a "musical seer."

Wiz Khalifa's debut album «Show And Prove» was released in 2006

In 2007, Wiz Khalifa landed a major label deal with Warner Bros. In January 2008, he released the single Say Yeah, which took 25th place on the Billboard chart. This result disappointed a major label like Warner. They quickly lost interest in Khalifa and pulled their investment.

Frustrated with delays on his second album, Wiz Khalifa terminated his Warner contract in July 2009 and returned to Rostrum Records. A few days later he released the «Grow Season» mixtape and in November 2009, the «Prince Of The City 2» mixtape.

According to Zoomboola.com, on November 24, 2009, Wiz Khalifa released his second studio album «Deal or No Deal». The album's title reflected his Warner situation. Such producers as Johnny Giuliano and Monsta Bitu took part in the creation of the album. The album was promoted with the single "This Plane." In the first week, 5,900 copies were sold. The album sold a total of 167,000 copies.

On March 28, 2011, the third album called «Rolling Papers» was released. The title was another dig at Warner Records. As Wiz Khalifa himself explained in an interview:

At the beginning of my career, I didn't have money for cigarettes, so I constantly smoked cigarettes I made from newspapers. And when I left Warner Bros, I kind of got 'rolled papers.' I literally rolled up the contract and lit it.

The new CD was released by the Atlantic Records label. Critics labeled the rapper's new work as pop-rap. The main singles of the album were Roll Up and Black And Yellow. The latter topped the American charts. Khalifa dedicated the song to his Dodge Challenger Hemi car, painted in black and yellow. These were Pennsylvania's state colors, making the track an anthem for his home state. The song received two Grammy nominations. According to Wiz, he wrote the track "in two seconds."

Wise Khalifa - Black And Yellow

Rolling Papers took second place on the chart. In the first week, 197,000 copies were sold; the total number of copies exceeded 2 million.

Wiz Khalifa - Fr Fr

On September 18, 2018, the track Fr Fr from the Rolling Papers 2 album was released. In the video, Khalifa and rapper Lil Skies cause chaos in a supermarket, smoking weed, fighting employees and trashing merchandise.

Wiz Khalifa personal life

The rapper's most high-profile relationship was with actress and model Amber Rose. They began dating in the spring of 2011. Wiz Khalifa was a fan of Rose and posted about her on social media.

He once confessed in an interview that of all the women in the world, he only wanted to be with Amber Rose. Rose noticed the musician and wrote on Twitter: "It was really nice." They started messaging each other, and this was the beginning of their romance.

On March 2, 2012, the rapper proposed to Amber Rose. They married on July 8, 2013, after the birth of the son, Sebastian Taylor Thomaz, born on February 22, 2013. Few people knew this was the couple's second pregnancy. They lost their first child in 2012 when Amber suffered a miscarriage.

Wiz Khalifa with his pregnant wife, Amber Rose

In an interview, Khalifa said family came first: "I know how to have fun, but I don't cheat on my wife – it's wrong." He also said he spent mornings with his son and organized everything else to balance his career and family life.

Wiz Khalifa Takes a Lie Detector Test | Vanity Fair

Unfortunately, these statements were not true. On September 22, 2014, Khalifa and Rose divorced. Rose told reporters that the rapper was constantly cheating on her. He, in turn, claimed that she had an affair with Mariah Carey's ex-husband, Nick Cannon.

In the same year, the rapper went to jail. During the inspection at the Texas airport, drugs were found in his luggage. Wiz Khalifa didn't seem too worried about it and casually posted selfies from his jail cell.

Wiz Khalifa had problems with the law due to drugs

Khalifa got involved with drugs in his school years. According to him, after becoming a celebrity, he spent several thousand dollars a month on cannabis.

In July 2015, Khalifa filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife to take away her custody right over their son. According to Khalifa, Rose was a bad mother who partied too much and constantly fought with her own mother at home, which upset their son.

In 2016, he began an affair with model Isabella Guedes. Their relationship lasted two years.

In January 2016, Khalifa got into a feud with rapper Kanye West. West named his album «Waves». Wiz accused him of stealing the name from rapper Max B, who was in prison at the time. In response, Kanye West claimed that Amber Rose had cheated on Khalifa and that Sebastian was actually his child. "You let her pull the wool over your eyes," he said. In response, Wiz Khalifa stated that Kanye West is gay and his marriage to Kim Kardashian is fiction.

Wiz Khalifa got into rap music after being influenced by artists like Camp Lo and The Notorious B.I.G.

The rapper always spent a lot of time on the Internet. Initially, he hung out on various forums where, by his own admission, he «cursed and left bad comments». Then Khalifa discovered Twitter. He dramatically changed his behavior there. His daily message to followers was simply «a smile a day». Khalifa said he wanted to spread positivity to people.

In May 2017, he began studying the Brazilian martial art of Jiu-Jitsu with instructor Rigan Machado.

His net worth is estimated at $45 million. The rapper made $32 million from concerts, $2.6 million from album sales, $11 million from endorsement deals, and $15 million on YouTube.

Wiz Khalifa - See You Again

Wiz Khalifa Now

On April 21, 2019, the musician released a video for the song Taylor from the mixtape Fly Times, Vol. 1: The Good Fly Young. The release was timed for 4/20, the unofficial marijuana holiday. In the video, the rapper smoked, swam in the pool with women and lounged on a giant flamingo float.

Wiz Khalifa - Taylor

On July 22, 2019, Wiz became a strategic partner of the Pittsburgh Knights esports organization. Khalifa shared with them his experience in the field of creativity, marketing, live performances, and merchandising. Company representatives called Khalifa «a true visionary with great business instincts».

Wiz Khalifa will play in the series «Dickinson»

The rapper appeared in the series «Dickinson», whose creators wanted to tell Emily Dickinson's story to the world. Wiz's role is ambiguous: he plays as the personification of Death. While set in the 19th century, the show has a very contemporary feel. In the series, the lead role is performed by Hailee Steinfeld. In early 2020, Wiz presented the mixtape "The Saga of Wiz Khalifa", as well as several separate soundtracks: "Wait For Me", "Speed Me Up" and "Bammer".

That year, the rapper was also working on a new album, "#FUCC2020". The title says it all: the musician wanted to reference all the hardships humanity endured that year, from civil unrest in the United States to the coronavirus pandemic. The release premiered in early 2021.

Wiz Khalifa — «#FUCC2020»

Doris Brewer

I would go to the concert of this cool handsome man! I think he has unreal energy on stage

2021-05-11 12:25:13
Jerry Smith

It is commendable that the guy loved his uncle so much that he even took the pseudonym that he invented for him.

2021-04-01 13:50:02
Teresa Schultz

I noted that Khalifa`s mother is a very beautiful woman :)

2021-03-29 13:23:01
Matthew Brooks

Wiz`s childhood was eventful. Living in four countries is cool, I think, but a lot of stress. Especially for a child.

2021-03-12 21:51:04
Kathleen Chavez

Some incomprehensible guy this Khalifa.. Looks like a drug addict!!!

2021-02-06 20:44:18