Wiz Khalifa - Laugh Now, Fly Later

Wiz Khalifa
Laugh Now, Fly Later
2017
Spotify

I haven't heard a Wiz release in some time that had any sort of energy to it. Wiz seems so content to make boring, weed infused music revealing little about his personality save for what He likes to smoke. I'm a pothead, I love weed, like a lot, but I don't talk about it all the goddamn time. He cannot go through a feature, a song or an album without mentioning weed. This would be fine if it was wrapped up in stellar beats, and razor sharp vocals, but it's not. Wiz's fan base are appropriately frustrated with his recent releases which feel forced and like He is sleep walking through the entire thing. On this new mixtape Laugh Now, Fly Later Wiz feels more comfortable and involved with his music, but the energy is nowhere to be found. "Long Way to Go" is the one track where it feels like Wiz has something to say besides a forced laugh and a bong rip. It is just hard to listen to Wiz expelling advice when his rise to fame is baffling at best. This track in particular descends into Wiz giving an interview, who knows if it's real or not, about how he wants to share new music at his shows which I just do not understand at all. Who gives a shit if you like to play new music at your shows? Why would this interview ever make it on an album? He makes choice after choice that make no sense and absolutely never land.

All would be forgiven if this record banged, if his lyrics were sharp and if He felt like He cared about this album. You never get that sense though and instead it feels like a record He was forced to make rather than one his creativity made it impossible to not make this record. "City of Steel" is almost seven minutes long and ends in a mostly spoken word diatribe of shoutouts, stream of consciousnesses and a plug for his strain of weed coming out. This album is repetitive, uninspired and so slow moving that getting through it is such a fucking slog. Wiz Khalifa can do better than this, has done better than this and should do better than Laugh Now, Fly Later but time after time He keeps devolving into a worse and worse performer. Hopefully something clicks or something changes because if Wiz keeps putting out shit like this His time in the industry will rapidly come to a close.

2.0 out of 10