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Key Takeaways
- Wiz Khalifa introduced ‘Kush & Orange Juice’ to NPR’s Tiny Desk for a 15-year anniversary set with dwell instrumentation.
- The efficiency featured tracks from each the unique mixtape and its sequel, mixing nostalgia with progress.
- Wiz Khalifa ended the set in tears, delivering a uncooked second that captured the emotional weight of his journey.
Wiz Khalifa stepped into NPR’s Tiny Desk and turned it right into a smoky, soulful 15-year celebration of Kush & Orange Juice, the mixtape that helped outline his sound and launched him into rap’s weblog period highlight. The efficiency was a part of NPR’s Black Music Month programming, spotlighting albums that formed tradition and proceed to resonate right now.
Initially launched in 2010, Kush & Orange Juice fused laid-back manufacturing with a lifestyle-first strategy that turned a signature for the Pittsburgh native. For this late anniversary celebration, he curated a dwell set that pulled from each the unique mixtape and his latest follow-up, Kush & Orange Juice 2. The sequel builds on the unique’s vitality with a extra mature edge, and the 2 initiatives sat comfortably facet by facet on this dwell reimagining.
Wiz Khalifa’s band introduced a hometown really feel and acquainted chemistry. With DJ Bonics on turntables, Kenneth Wright as music director and bassist, Uncle Bubz on keys, Russell Gelman-Sheehan on guitar and Kendall Lewis on drums, the group labored by means of a six-song set that included “Mezmorized,” “By no means Been” and “Crimson Eye,” to call just a few.
The vitality within the room felt tight from the beginning. Wiz Khalifa stored his concentrate on the music and stayed principally silent between songs. NPR workers even stepped in after just a few tracks to remind him it was okay to work together with the gang, however he remained distant — till the ultimate music. After “Crime Bud and Girls,” the rapper turned to the room, wiped tears from his face, and delivered his solely phrases of the set aimed towards the viewers: “You made me cry. F**okay y’all.”
The emotion wasn’t compelled or overplayed in any respect. It got here by means of naturally, wrapping the set in one thing extra uncooked than celebratory. A mixtape that after moved by means of dorm rooms and smoke-filled basements now lives in a unique area, reimagined with dwell instrumentation and a long time of perspective behind it.