Wiz Khalifa

Hailed as the natural successor to regular wingman Snoop Dogg's stoner-rap throne, Pittsburgh MC Wiz Khalifa built himself a sticky green empire with a potent blend of slick rhymes, pop hooks and weed advocacy. Emerging from his hometown's hip-hop scene at the age of 16, Khalifa spent several years in artist development before he was finally unleashed on the public with a series of mix-tapes and an independent debut album, Show and Prove, which had the likes of Rolling Stone and Vibe proclaiming him the next big thing. 2009's Deal or No Deal enhanced his reputation further, but it was his 2010 tribute to the Pittsburgh Steelers, "Black and Yellow," and parent album, Rolling Papers, that propelled Khalifa into the stratosphere. Guest appearances on Top 10 hits by T-Pain and Maroon 5, 2014's chart-topping Blacc Hollywood and a brief foray into acting cemented his appeal, while the launch of his own line of rolling papers and strain of marijuana proved he had a business brain every bit as sharp as his lyrics.

Born in Minot, ND in 1987 to a mother and father who both served in the military, Cameron Jibril Thomaz spent most of his childhood frequently relocating, including spells in Germany, the U.K. and Japan, before settling in Pittsburgh. Inspired by the likes of Camp Lo, Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, he began writing and recording his own material during his high school years and after adopting the guise of Wiz Khalifa, started to make a name for himself on the city's hip-hop scene. Discovered by Rostrum Records president Benjy Grinberg, Khalifa released his first mix-tape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania through the label in 2005, and followed it up a year later with full-length album, Show and Prove, attracting the attention of several major national publications including Vibe, XXL and Rolling Stone, all of whom earmarked the rapper as an artist to watch.

Khalifa achieved his first taste of mainstream success with the Alice Deejay-sampling "Oh Yeah" after signing to Warner Bros. in 2007, but his relationship with the label soon soured, and after growing tired of the numerous delays with his sophomore release, he left just two years later. Khalifa briefly returned to Rostrum Records for a collaborative mix-tape with Curren$y in which he showcased a new melodic style and the Burn After Rolling mix-tape which saw him rap over productions from the likes of Drake, Beyonce and Empire of the Sun. Following the release of his 2009 second album, Deal or No Deal, Khalifa was named Rookie and Man of the Year by The Source, toured with Yelawolf and released the free mix-tape Kush and Orange Juice. After signing to Atlantic Records, Khalifa added to his list of accolades when he was awarded MTV's Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010 and declined an invitation to support Drake in favour of launching his own nationwide trek, The Waken Baken Tour.

Having previously never entered the US Hot 100, Khalifa then went all the way to its summit in 2010 with "Black and Yellow," a Stargate-produced affair inspired by the colours of the Pittsburgh Steelers which later received two Grammy nominations. Parent album Rolling Papers consolidated his success, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, in 2011, while a guest appearance on Maroon 5's "Payphone" added to his chart-topping tally. Later that year, Khalifa branched out into acting with a starring role in direct-to-DVD comedy "Mac & Devin Go To High School" (2011) alongside his close friend Snoop Dogg, with both artists also joining forces for its accompanying soundtrack, scoring a Top 10 hit with their Bruno Mars hook-up, "Young, Wild & Free." In 2012, Khalifa released his fourth studio album, Only N---a in First Class, which inevitably was abbreviated to O.N.I.F.C. for commercial purposes.

Capitalizing on the fact that he was renowned just as much for his $10,000 a month weed habit as his music, Khalifa launched a new brand of rolling papers and struck a deal with The Cookie Factory to sell his own personal strain of marijuana. Following the release of 2013's Live in Concert E.P. with Curren$y, Khalifa contributed to the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (2014) soundtrack, guested on hits by Ty Dolla Sign and Ludacris and released the 28 Grams mix-tape just 24 hours after getting out of jail for marijuana possession. Featuring collaborations with the likes of Nicki Minaj, Ghost Loft and Juicy J, his fifth LP, Blacc Hollywood, gave Khalifa his first U.S. number one album in the summer of 2014.