For the past few years, different trends in hip hop have been emerging quickly. From the Hyphy movement out of the Bay area to the most recent of rappers creating dance moves to coincide with their song, each trend just seems to come and go. But caught in the middle is Wiz Khalifa, an East Coast rapper with a heart of gold and lungs full of smoke. His knack for spitting a freestyle at the drop of a hat has made his numerous mixtapes spread across the underground hip hop scene like the plague. Now, 8 mixtapes and 2 full-lengths later, Wiz is on a states wide tour enjoying the best of what fame has to offer.

Wiz got his start in 2005 with the release of his first mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania. This mixtape led to the release of his debut album, Show and Prove, and brought attention to label heads at Warner Bros. Though Wiz was and still is signed to the independent label Rostrum Records, he released the song “Say Yeah” through Warner Bros. This mash up with Alice Deejay’s “Better Off Alone” became an instant hit that led to more collaboration and stage time for Khalifa with rappers David Banner and The Game.

Eventually, Wiz split with Warner Bros. and stayed true to Rostrum Records, releasing more mixtapes. One of the more popular mixtapes, Burn After Rolling, includes mixes with Empire of the Sun’s “Walking on a Dream” and Drake’s “Best I Ever Had.” Only getting bigger, Wiz Khalifa has worked with Rick Ross and performed at Soundset 2010 with Murs and Atmosphere and Rock the Bells 2010 with A Tribe Called Quest, Lauren Hill and Snoop Dogg among other hip hop classics.

Wiz Khalifa has now signed with Atlantic Records and released the single “Black and Yellow” through Atlantic and Rostrum. He’s currently out on the road on the “Waken Baken Tour,” and set to release his debut full-length with Atlantic next year. For a list of tour dates and to listen to tracks, peep Wiz’s Myspace. If you like what you hear (which I’m sure you will) go to his official website and become part of the Taylor Gang, the name of Wiz Khalifa’s fan base.

*Wiz Khalifa-Black and Yellow