Wiz Khalifa and Ty Dolla $ign haven’t really demonstrated any particularly fantastic chemistry. Their hits have pretty much added up to Wiz dropping a ‘Wiz‘ verse on a great Ty Dolla track. ‘Talk About It In The Morning‘ represents a leap in chemistry between the two artists who on paper have little in common.
Where Ty Dolla has been creating increasingly great music with each release, Wiz is drifting dangerously close to self parody. Basically a guy who smokes weed and parties. While no one has ever asked for soul defining depth from a Khalifa album, it’d be nice to know there’s more going on than just sex and drugs. This ep sets that right immediately, with Wiz setting an uncharacteristically sombre tone on opener ‘Judge It‘. Here he discusses the soap opera nature of his private life over atmospheric production, that sees the two artists more suited to summer party music in a reflective mood.
The ep drifts to more familiar subject with ‘Post Up‘ (Ty takes your girl…because you’re not as cool as him) before coming back to more cerebral subject matter on ‘Pretty Nights‘. Again Wiz and now Ty both seem unrecognisable here with the mood shifting to aspirations while the spectre of failure looms large. It’s a welcome change from the creator of ‘We Dem Boyz‘ and Ty Dolla $ign who at his point is the rap games Dorian Gray. After so many songs about the spoils of victory it is more interesting to hear that occasionally they feel insecure. It humanises them and when they do back to their normal day job or bragging about their lavish lifestyle, it makes those ‘realer’ songs even more inspirational.
Throughout the ep Ty and Wiz play to their strengths whilst also giving each other space to breathe. It’s less a case of Wiz waiting ‘to do rapping’ and more him dealing with a certain subject and Ty surmising it in a chorus, or tackling it from a different angle. Tellingly it’s at it’s most potent when Wiz finishes his section before the instrumental changes entirely for Ty to take over.
‘Say No More‘ closes the ep and delivers the nail in the coffin for anyone looking for ‘turn up’ music. Ty opens the track with his usual level of sinister seduction, then Wiz comes takes over in a similar vein. Neither artist is in particularly high spirits however, and sex seems to be the last thing on their minds. Both are preoccupied with the world at large and the subjects discussed on previous tracks filters through here.
Wiz Khalifa really surprises here, delivering an open an honest performance that is sure to make his future releases more captivating. The ep is a true demonstration of chemistry and given a full length the two could create a project that would elevate them from their ‘party music’ pigeon hole. The depth and cerebral side of their music exponentially raises expectations for not just these artists, but every one of their peers in the genre.
