Like any Wiz project, there will be a wide variety of opinions on 28 Grams, ranging from exuberant praise to vitriolic disdain. This variance in opinion is common for Young Khalifa, as Wiz has been riding the same strange roller coaster as Weezy the last few years, delivering excellent mixtape projects like Taylor Allderdice and Cabin Fever 2 while disappointing most with his retail offerings (though to be fair, ONIFC was tremendous compared to Rolling Papers). So, I'm going into this listening with cautiously high hopes, trying to remember it's also sort of a concept project. The alter-ego "Trap Wiz" is a reflection on the recent trend of "Trap" style music that has ruled the internet, blending rolling snares, blaring synth and triumphant horns with a heavy dose of Actavis-soaked AutoTune, that is a departure from your typical Wiz release.
First of all, I need way more weed to give this the proper listen, be right back.
OK, right off the bat it's a DJ Drama tape so we have more tags than KimYe's closet, but that's ok if the music is dope, and it is. Trap Wiz kicks off the festivities with a banger in "Aw Shit", which is the melodic and hard-hitting all at once, and heads right into his take on Schoolboy Q's "Man of the Year" (referred to as "Maan" here) where he mostly croons about rolling up some more tree, riding that stand-out Nez & Rio beat well. As I listen to "Let'R", "James Bong", and "What Iss Hittin" it becomes clear we're not going to get Khalifa's lyrical A-game, but I'm not mad, because that isn't what Trap Wiz is for. These are songs to vibe out to, songs for blue polo'd Best Buy employees to test out your newly installed system with. You have to just close your eyes, keep smoking along, and enjoy it. Once you stop listening word for word to what's being said and just let it wash over you, you'll find yourself really enjoying this. "Pure" takes you on a hazy flight to Jamaica, and was enjoyable though missing a Snoop Lion feature for sure. This middle section of songs all sound fairly similar and there aren't any standouts, but succeed in keeping the mood with above average wordplay and vocal effects that are persistent but avoid annoyance. While there does seem to be a lot of excess filler, tracks you may simply want to skip over, that's what happens when you need exactly 28 records. "Samo" brings us to the golden gates of a cloudy Weed Heaven, complete with silky vocals swimming through a beautiful harp selection. Wiz tackles the DJ Mustard and T-Pain gem "Up Down," and Berner makes an appearance, though it's nothing too extraordinary.
"Word on the Town" is one of the highlights of the entire project, with Wiz and Juicy J taking turns throwing verbal jabs before the late Pimp C blesses us to close it out. Ty Dolla $ign joins Khalifa on the Sonny Digital-produced cut "Banger" that is extremely whip worthy, feeling like it came from YG's My Krazy Life. "Comb Over" and "The Last" continue the West Coast vibe, the latter being an excellent showing from Trap Wiz, proving you he can still bring it lyrically when need be. J.R. Donato continues the trend and delivers one of the best verses on the entire project on "Handle My Biz", as does Spitta on "My Nigs". "Something Special" would've felt at home on an official album, complete with the ill Pharrell sample from Snoop's "Beautiful". Wiz and Chevy Woods absolutely murder Que's oft-covered track on "OG Bobby Taylor" and arguably have one of the best versions of it, especially Chevy who is the one of the most slept-on MCs in the game and proves it here. As we get close to the end of our 28 Grams, "The Rain" is no shake weed track, as Wiz busts out and delivers an instant classic on the Missy and Timbo sampled cut. On the finale, we get reminded by Mr. Thanksgiving that this is just the preview for Khalifa's upcoming 3rd album Blacc Hollywood before Wiz and newcomer Uzi take turns on the Nintendo-sounding "Different So Fast".
All in all, it's a great ride, just be in the proper mindset and get your re-up squared away before hitting play. Obviously there's quite a bit of filler on here with the total of 28 tracks, but who wants a zip that's a few grams short?