Wiz Khalifa was sitting in an El Paso jail cell taking a selfie when the world was supposed to be listening to his new music. It was May 2014. The internet was melting down because Wiz had just been popped for marijuana possession at the airport. Most artists would be panicking. Wiz? He just smiled for the camera and tweeted the photo.
That "jail selfie" became the unofficial marketing campaign for the wiz khalifa 28 grams mixtape. When he finally walked out of custody a few hours later, he didn't just go home. He dropped a massive, 28-track project that would define a very specific, very polarizing era of his career. It was the birth of "Trap Wiz."
Honestly, people weren't ready for it. Up until that point, Wiz was the king of the "smooth stoner" vibe. Think Kush & OJ. Think melodic, breezy, Taylor Allderdice-style flows. Then, suddenly, he shows up with heavy Auto-Tune, 808-heavy production, and a grit that felt more like Atlanta than Pittsburgh.
The Trap Wiz Experiment
You've gotta understand the context of 2014. The "trap" sound was completely taking over the mainstream. Future was ascending. Young Thug was breaking rules. Wiz, being the student of the game he is, wanted to play in that sandbox. He didn't just dip his toes in; he jumped into the deep end.
The wiz khalifa 28 grams mixtape was his way of saying he could hang with the heavy hitters of the South. He recruited the absolute best producers of that moment:
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- Metro Boomin (who was just starting his legendary run)
- Sonny Digital
- TM88 and the 808 Mafia crew
- Zaytoven
- Sledgren (his long-time Taylor Gang collaborator)
The sound was jarring for some. If you were looking for "Black and Yellow" part two, you were going to be disappointed. Instead, you got "James Bong," a track so heavy on the bass it could rattle the screws out of your car door. You got "Maan," a remix of Schoolboy Q’s "Man of the Year" that felt like it was recorded through a thick cloud of smoke.
Critics weren't exactly kind. HipHopDX gave it a 2 out of 5, complaining that Wiz was just "catering to popular trends." PopMatters called it "underwhelming." But here’s the thing: the fans? They didn't care about the reviews. They were too busy blasting "Get That Zip Off" and "Aw Shit" in their cars.
Breaking Down the 28 Tracks
Twenty-eight songs is a lot. Like, a lot a lot. In a world where albums are now barely 30 minutes long, a 90-minute mixtape feels like a marathon. It’s definitely got some filler. You can’t record 28 songs and expect every single one to be a "Pursuit of Happiness."
But the gems? They’re still incredible.
Take "Something Special" featuring Thundercat. It’s easily the best song on the project. It blends that weird, funky bassline from Thundercat with Wiz’s classic, laid-back delivery. It was a bridge between the "old" Wiz and the new experimental phase. Then you have "Word on The Town" with Juicy J and a posthumous Pimp C verse. That’s pure Southern royalty.
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Why the wiz khalifa 28 grams mixtape was a Turning Point
Before this tape, Wiz was leaning heavily into the pop-star lane. He had the massive hits. He was a household name. But 28 Grams felt like a conscious effort to reclaim his "cool" in the underground. He wasn't chasing a radio hook; he was chasing a feeling.
It served as the perfect appetizer for his studio album Blacc Hollywood, which dropped later that same year. If 28 Grams was the raw, unpolished experiment, Blacc Hollywood was the refined, stadium-ready version of that sound. You don't get "We Dem Boyz" without the experimentation that happened on this mixtape.
Basically, he was testing his limits.
He wanted to see if his fans would follow him into a darker, more aggressive sonic territory. Some didn't. Some felt the Auto-Tune was a bit too much—a "Future-lite" version of Wiz. But for a huge chunk of the Taylor Gang, it was a refreshing change of pace. It proved Wiz wasn't a one-trick pony.
The Features and the "Weedmixes"
One of the coolest parts about the wiz khalifa 28 grams mixtape was how it functioned like a classic DJ Drama Gangsta Grillz project (even though it was technically hosted by Drama, it had that "tapes-in-the-streets" energy).
Wiz did what he calls "Weedmixes." He took the hottest songs of the year and just... made them his own.
- "Maan" (Schoolboy Q's "Man of the Year")
- "The Rain" (The Missy Elliott/Timbaland classic)
- "Get That Zip Off" (K Camp's "Cut Her Off")
- "OG Bobby Taylor" (Que's "OG Bobby Johnson")
Watching him slide over these beats was like watching a veteran player join a pickup game just for the fun of it. He wasn't trying to out-rap anyone. He was just vibing. The guest list was also stacked. You had the core Taylor Gang members like Chevy Woods and Ty Dolla $ign, but you also had Curren$y—which always makes the fans happy—and even Thundercat.
What the critics got wrong
Looking back, the "imitation" critique feels a bit lazy. Every rapper in 2014 was using those producers. If Metro Boomin gives you a beat, you're going to use it. Wiz wasn't "biting" a style as much as he was participating in a culture.
Sure, the lyrics weren't revolutionary. He talked about weed. He talked about money. He talked about his "nigs." But since when has Wiz Khalifa ever promised to be a lyrical miracle scientist? He’s a vibe-setter. On 28 Grams, the vibe was heavy, distorted, and unrepentantly loud.
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It was also a project that showed his business savvy. By releasing it for free on DatPiff right after a jail stint, he dominated the news cycle for a week. That’s a masterclass in PR.
How to Listen to it Today
If you’re going back to revisit the wiz khalifa 28 grams mixtape, don't try to listen to it all at once. It’s too dense for a single sitting. Instead, treat it like a playlist.
Skip the tracks that feel like "generic trap" and head straight for the Ricky P-produced songs like "Pure" or "Samo." Those have a soulfulness that age much better than the hyper-aggressive stuff. Also, pay attention to the transition between "On a Plane" and "Banger." It shows the range he was working with at the time.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
If you want to truly appreciate the impact of this era, here is how you should dive back in:
- Listen to the "Weedmixes" first: Start with "Maan" and "The Rain." They show how Wiz could take a familiar beat and completely shift the energy to fit his world.
- Track the Evolution: Listen to Taylor Allderdice, then 28 Grams, then Blacc Hollywood. You will hear the exact moment his sound shifted from "soul-samples" to "808-trap."
- Check the Production Credits: Look for the Metro Boomin and TM88 tracks. It's fascinating to hear these legendary producers before they became the global superstars they are now.
- Don't overthink the lyrics: This is "Trap Wiz." It’s meant to be played loud in a car or at a party. The technicality isn't the point; the atmosphere is.
The wiz khalifa 28 grams mixtape isn't his best work—most people would still give that trophy to Kush & OJ—but it might be his most adventurous. It was the moment he decided he didn't have to be the "nice guy" stoner rapper anymore. He could be whoever he wanted to be, even if it meant taking a jail selfie and dropping 28 songs of Auto-Tuned chaos.
Ultimately, it’s a time capsule of 2014 hip-hop culture. It’s messy, it’s loud, and it’s unapologetically Wiz.