Star Image Analysis - Wiz Khalifa

Known as a large contribution to the Hip-Hop genre, Wiz Khalifa has multiple aspects to his Star Image, and what he is most known for. 

Besides the fact that he is featured in the news a lot, he is known by the younger generation instantly, either by look, particular song, or the amount of cannabis he smokes each day.

This is what Wiz looked like in 2010 once he had released Black and Yellow. He was mostly recognised for his extremely catchy song, and the fact that his hair represented the flag of his resident city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was his emergence into stardom so there wasn't an exact determined image that his fans would know him for until later on in his career.

At this point, he gained an increased level of fame by the collaborations he made. A collaboration with British rapper Tinie-Tempah on the song Till I'm Gone helped him gain popularity in the UK, and a collaboration with 50 Cent on the song Telescope helped him increase his popularity in the US.

Wiz maintained this look and image from 2010-2013.

This is what Wiz currently looks like, demonstrating this look after the release of O.N.I.F.C., before and during the release of Blacc Hollywood. At this point in his career, Wiz is known for a lot more after having much time in the public eye.

The word that most people would associate with him and his image is cannabis. He is known for openly smoking it and supporting its legalisation in the few states of America, and the rest of the world in the future. One would also associate him with fellow weed smoking rapper Snoop Dogg, as they share a quite similar image - suggesting that Wiz is a younger spawn of Snoop. 


In early 2014, Wiz Khalifa stopped paying approximately $10,000 a month on cannabis as he became a sponsor of "The Cookie Factory", a medical marijuana dispenser. He has also created his own strain of cannabis, known as Khalifa Kush, which he made a song about in Blacc Hollywood, called KK.

The constant change of hair colour is also a factor of his image that he is recognised for, having gone through multiple, such as brown, "Pittsburgh" and this purple colour. 

He is also known for dating supermodel Amber Rose from 2011-2015, and they had 1 child together. 



According to Richard Dyer, Wiz would be adding to his constructed image with all the changes he is making to it, and all the additional popularity and recognition he's receiving via social media. He has also used his own strain of cannabis, his own rolling papers, and other merchandise as a unique selling point.