IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT

The Global Icon with 40 million followers on Instagram, Wiz Khalifa, lights up our music issue in an exclusive KIND elevation

BY BEN KAPLAN

Wiz Khalifa is a Pittsburgh-born, Los Angeles–based rap star co-headlining this summer with Snoop Dogg. Beloved as much for his jingly, hypnotic trap songs as for his ahead-of-his-time cannabis activism, the 35-year-old founder of

Khalifa Kush is at the very top of his game. “Summertime means tour season,” he told KIND in an exclusive interview. “Snoop is an OG and my brother so you know we’re going to have a ton of fun.”

KIND: What do you love most about the summertime and what makes it a perfect time for enjoying music?

WIZ KHALIFA: Summertime means it’s summer tour season. I love going on tour around the country and performing for my fans and meeting them in person. This summer will be with Snoop, Warren G, Berner and Too $hort—so you know we are gonna have a great time.

KIND: Hailing from Pittsburgh though you’ve settled into life in LA, you get what Canadians are now feeling. What can you tell us about how you fuel from the sun?

WK: Love when the sun comes out, man. It was always the best time in Pittsburgh when winter was finally over—makes summer that much better, man.

KIND: This is our music issue, and a cele-bration of life: when did you know that you loved music?

WK: When I was a kid my parents always had cool music on in the house, whether that was funk or whatever, and I got exposed to all kinds of different music. I was always interested in finding something new—then I started creating music and fell in love, yea.

KIND: When did weed come into the picture?

WK: Weed came into the picture early on, it’s always been a part of my life whether I wanted it to be or not. My mom, my aunts and my cousin would always be smoking so it’s always been comfortable for me.

KIND: How do you combine cannabis with your musical appreciation and creativity?

WK: I combine cannabis with creating while in the studio to really loosen up and look at things a little differently, to relax and be myself. I really enjoy creating music when I’m stoned. It puts me in the right mindset to do what I love.

KIND: Tell us about your approach to the flower. From consumer to entrepreneur, businessman to activist— what does Khalifa Kush mean to you?

WK: Khalifa Kush has always been the best weed in the world, and I am always looking at what we can do to make the brand stronger, make the weed better and get the products into as many people’s hands as possible. I really want to be able to bring the best weed to the masses and get everyone smoking what I smoke, so I’m blessed to be in the position I’m in.

KIND: The original strain was something developed for you in Los Angeles. How is it different from other weed in the world?

WK: Not just because of the genetics, but also the process. We work exclusively with the best growers in the world and hold our products to the highest standards, so when you get a jar of KK, you’re smoking what I smoke. If this means not packaging flower after a round, we are ready to do that and have actually done that. Quality and consistency is key.

KIND: You post often of yourself working out, in the ring or in the gym. What stigma around cannabis would you most like to see disappear?

WK: The stigma I would most like to see disappear from cannabis is that cannabis makes you lazy. I think it’s more in how you operate and your goals and vision versus using cannabis as an excuse not to do what you want to do.

KIND: You’ve given lots for your relationship with cannabis. There’s been arrests. What’s your take on legalisation so far?

WK: My take on legalisation is that it needs to happen. There are far too many arrests and focus on policing cannabis, and it opens the door to knockoff products that are dangerous, whether that’s cheap vapes cut with other chemicals or weed covered in pesticides or totally synthetic and super harmful to your health. Everyone who wants to smoke weed is smoking weed, so let’s make it legal and safe.

KIND: What have you learned from seeing Canada’s approach to legalisation and what that could mean to federal legalisation in the US?

WK: What I’ve learned from seeing Canada’s approach to legalisation is that a lot of big companies are going to capitalise and move the market to the detriment of the industry. I would hope that the US is able to do this in a way where that isn’t the case.

KIND: You’re touring this summer again with Snoop Dogg and the magazine drops before your Toronto tour date. What makes your collaborations work so well with Snoop?

WK: Snoop is my brother and OG. We have been rocking together for over a decade, collabing on music, tours, merch, everything. Weed brings us together well too.

KIND: And lastly—and thanks so much for doing this, and thanks for your activism and the great Khalifa Kush strain—what message do you have for Canadian readers of KIND?

WK: Enjoy that shit being fully legal! I’m excited to get KK up there eventually.

Wiz Khalifa plays Vancouver with Snoop Dogg, Too Short, Berner and Warren G on July 8 and Toronto on July 26. For more dates, see WizKhalifa.com