- I always envisioned myself being a rapper
and being in the game and having success
but you never know what it really feels like
or how you're going to be when you're there.
I don't think either of my parents
thought that I was going to take it this far.
I see myself as a pioneer in the game.
That's the main thing,
I don't really do too many campaigns
to like make people do stuff or like gimmicks or anything.
I just try to give 'em as much as possible,
show 'em the love.
- He's an American rapper, songwriter and actor.
He received numerous awards,
even before he launched his career and debut album
including being one of Rolling Stones' Artists to Watch.
His debut single, Black and Yellow
hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
He's Wiz Khalifa and here is my take
on his top 10 rules for success.
Rule number two is my personal favorite
and I'm curious to figure out
which one you guys like the best.
And as always, if Wiz is talking
and says something really inspiring to you,
please leave it in the comments below
and put quotes around it
so other people can be inspired as well.
Enjoy.
♫ Yeah, uh-huh, you know what it is
♫ Black and yellow, black and yellow
♫ Yeah, uh-huh, you know what it is
♫ Black and yellow, black and yellow
♫ Yeah, uh-huh, you know what it is
♫ Everything I do, I do it big
♫ Yeah, uh-huh, screaming that's nothin'
♫ When I pulled off the lot, that's stuntin'
♫ Reppin' my town, when you see me you know everything
♫ Black and yellow, black and yellow
I have been making music and writing and freestylin'
with my cousins and stuff like that
like rappin' over other people's beats.
But I guess I just got to that point
where I was comfortable
and I really really had a passion for it.
So when I told my dad, he's like,
"If you want to do it then do it."
I don't think either of my parents
thought that I was going to take it this far
but they supported me.
They never made me feel like it was out of reach
and when it happened it was a dream come true.
♫ I had a dream that the whole world was staring at me
♫ I woke up and was a no one then
♫ Was a no one then
♫ Yeah, same song to a different beat
The only time I would lose is if I give up who I am.
You know what I'm saying?
And as long as I stand up for me and what I believe in,
I'll be straight.
I see myself as a pioneer in the game.
I see Drake as a pioneer in the game
and people like Lil Wayne.
There's only certain people who really come
and define their generation
other than being a part of their generation.
And it's cool to be a part of it as well
but this is how I see myself,
as a leader and somebody who changes things
and doesn't just follow.
My crowd and everybody that I talk to,
they either dress weird, smoke weed,
you know, drive certain cars or skate.
And it's like, I've done all of these things
and I've been into all of these things
and I've learned 'em in different stages of my life.
And I'm in that stage right now
where I really want to do something physical.
I got a son on the way, you know what I'm saying?
And learning how to skate is something
I always wanted to do but
with rapping and making money
and providing for a family and stuff like that,
you don't always get the time
to just grab a board and go skate.
So I kind of did it in reverse
but it's something that I'm real passionate about.
Just passionate about having fun with it.
I don't want to be the best skater in the world
I just want to, you know,
be able to relax and cruise. (laughs)
- [Interviewer] Now, judging from the pictures,
you're also not afraid to take a fall too.
- You can't be, you can't be, man.
You gon' take some falls.
I hit my chin, it's cool now.
Like so, I'm aight.
And like being that I'm on T.V. and that I perform,
everybody's like, "Don't do this, you don't want to get hurt."
But everything is a risk, you know what I'm saying?
So if you're not willing to take the risk
then there's no point in doing it anyway.
- [Interviewer] Where did you decide to draw the line?
'Cause like, in the U.K. the problem is,
a lot of writers release a lot of free material
and then when it comes to retailing their material,
people still expect the free stuff.
How was it for you to transition?
- Well, you just got to make a difference between
what the free stuff is and what the stuff for sale is.
And when you polish it up
and when you give 'em great free music
and great free stuff to a point where it's like,
you know, they want to pay for it.
Like, when I put out my mixtapes,
I used all original beats.
I put so much thought and so much stuff into 'em,
people are like, "Yo, I'm going to buy the album."
Like, you know, they feel like that's there job.
So I think it's just making people feel involved
and they want to support
and that's the main thing.
I don't really do too many campaigns
to like make people do stuff
or like gimmicks or anything.
I just try to give 'em as much as possible,
show 'em the love,
and then if they want to support,
that's what they do.
- [Hype Man] Hands up, hands up.
- I always envisioned myself being a rapper
and being in the game
and having success.
But you never know what it really feels like
or how you're going to be when you're there.
Yo!
- [Hype Man] Hands up.
♫ And they say all I rap about is bitches and champagne
♫ You would too if every night you seen the same thing
The name Wiz comes from me being the youngest dude
in my age group of people that I hung out with.
They would call me a young wiz, you know,
like I was wise beyond my years
and the Khalifa is Arabic.
It means successor, leader, or shining light.
My granddad gave me that name.
He's actually Muslim so you know,
he's just seen my path and what I was doing
and how hard I was working
and he gave me that name
and I just put the two together.
♫ I tell them pick one
♫ Cause they was with me when nobody seen a vision
♫ Always about my business
♫ Don’t play the cards
♫ I talked to the niggas who dealed them, uh
Of course I do rap music and I'm a hip hop artist
but as an individual, as personality,
and what I give to the people,
I see myself as like the lead singer of a band or something.
(laughs) You know, when I go out there,
I'm a real performer.
It's all about the vibe and the feeling.
You got to be balanced.
And it's like nothing that I have to put on.
I really feel that energetic
and that happy to be in front of the kids.
I've actually had new management
for the past year and a half almost.
I signed with Constance Schwartz and SMAC Entertainment.
And it's been really good 'cause she doesn't even do rap
and she used to work with Snoop back in the day
but she does people like Michael Strahan
and Tony Gonzales and Deon Sanders and stuff like that.
So when she took me under her wing
and started managing me,
it was really good because it allowed me
to go to the next level
and for people to look at me
like I was doing bigger and better things.
And my relationship with my old business partners
and things like that, it's like,
it comes to a point where,
I started really early with them, when I was 16.
I'm 28 now and it's like, you know, things change.
So throughout that time I just had to boss up
and man up and do my own thing.
And some people are with that,
some people aren't with that.
And sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's not.
Part of bossin' up is proving that you a boss
so that what we gon' do now.
I would teach how to be your own boss.
They really don't teach you that much in school.
They got like entrepreneurship classes and stuff like that
but they don't really teach you how to be your own boss.
So I would try to teach kids
how to really, really work for themselves.
Building relationship with people inside the game,
whether it be DJ's or radio or promo people
or interviews or whoever
because you meet and you always going to work
with these people throughout your career.
And whether you're doing good or bad,
they're always going to remember you
and you want 'em to want you to do well.
- You work hard. - Yes, sir.
- [Interviewer] What's that, touring, studio?
- Yeah, touring all the time.
That came up more recently.
My tours were a little bit more spread out before
but now I'm pretty much always moving.
- Always on the go. - Yeah, yeah.
Since about November I've been non-stop.
- Run with that heat, baby.
- Yeah, exactly, I love it.
- 'Till your heals fall off. - Exactly.
And I'm always recording.
I built a studio on my house.
I got studio buses on the road and stuff like that
so I'm always bringing it.
I'm not leaving shit, I'm going to be here forever
so that's what people can expect.
I'm going to be an old ass man,
my hair gon' down to here it's gon' be gray
and when I feel like leavin'
then that's what I'm going to do
but about 180 years I plan on just sticking around.
(light piano music)
- Thank you, guys, so much for watching.
I made this video because 50centUraguay asked me to
so if there's a famous entrepreneur
that you want me to profile next,
leave it in the comments below
and I'll see what I can do.
I'd also love to know which of the rules
had the biggest impact on you and why.
What did you learn from watching this video?
Super curious to find out.
Please, put it in the comments below.
And I also want to give a quick shout-out
to Justin Morgan, Mr. New Future Builder.
Thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book
and that amazing YouTube unboxing video that you made.
It really, really, really means a lot to me
and I hope you enjoy, man.
- Your One Word.
Evan Carmichael.
Thank you.
I've been waiting for this for a while.
Ordered this a long time ago,
the moment that he announced
that pre-orders were available.
I pretty much hopped on this a couple weeks after that.
And so, Your One Word.
- So thank you guys so much for watching.
I believe in you.
I hope you continue to believe in yourself
and whatever your one word is.
Much love, I'll see you soon.