Wiz Khalifa "Prince of the City Vol. 2" (2007)

Upon first listening to Prince of the City Vol. 2 I was scratching my head. It wasn't that it sounded terrible but it didn't really seem like the Wiz I had been listening to. Perhaps this contributed to why I was delayed in running it yesterday like the plan has been. Sometimes delays happen and Mothers Day was no joke in the resturant biz! Cash money in my pocket makes things all better though.

So what's good with this second mixtape of '07 from the Khalifa man? It's head and shoulders above Prince of the City Vol. 1 for a multitude reasons. He is finally coming into his own. Don't get me wrong, the projects before this one were definetly instrumental in his sound, but here on Vol. 2 you will hear what it is you know Wiz for.

The tape starts quick with a vocal clip from the movie The Wiz before the celebratory anthem "Got Damn Love It" about how much he loves life. It's up beat and fun as are many of the beats to be found on this disc, done by much of his in house team I'm assuming. They too are coming into their own as producers incorporating more electronic and dance sounds into the tunes, giving them a more friendly feel that would certainly translate to broader pop appeal.

Where the previous tape with Green Lantern felt like something a major would organize to "help" their new signee, Prince of the City Vol. 2 feels like something Wiz did on his own out in the 'Burgh just trying to please his fans. His trademark weed song is great here, simple and to the point. He smokes that good weed and rolls it up in blunts (yeah he wasn't talking all that shit forever) - if this is what you do you are gonna vibe with Wiz.

The biggest change on this tape compared to the previous ones is his lyrical abilities. While his album, rightly so, was filled with solid bars and his awesome flow his mixtapes have often been a little lazy and not to complex overall. Here he finally demonstrates that he can spit a hot 16 with the best of, and does it on multiple tracks. It's still generally the same content but proves that his signing was due to more than just some hype.

Prince of the City was probably the start of his mainstream exposure and his introduction to many people. It's a great one. My homie in OR has said this is his favorite Wiz tape, I'm not convinced it's topping flight school - still got a couple days til we dive into that one proper. It does continue to show me that Wiz is no one trick pony and that anyone who hates needs to peep the history.

Download Prince of the City Vol. 2.

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