Wiz Khalifa — August 2026

Cameron Jibril Thomaz — performing as Wiz Khalifa — grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the city's hip-hop scene provided the cultural infrastructure for an artist who would go on to become one of the most commercially successful rappers of the 2010s. He began writing lyrics around age nine and recording original tracks several years later, developing a local following in Pittsburgh before his mixtape output attracted wider attention in the late 2000s. His breakthrough into national visibility came through a series of independently released mixtapes, most significantly Kush & Orange Juice (2010), which topped Google's Hot Search Trends list upon release and demonstrated sufficient commercial potential to attract the attention of Atlantic Records. After signing with Atlantic, Khalifa released Black and Yellow in 2010 — a Pittsburgh-themed hip-hop track that peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of that year's most recognizable pop-culture moments, adopted immediately by Pittsburgh Steelers fans as an unofficial team anthem and embedded in American sports culture in a way that most hip-hop tracks never achieve. Rolling Papers, his Atlantic debut album released March 29, 2011, debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and confirmed that his commercial appeal extended well beyond the hip-hop core. His lyrical and sonic identity — built around a laid-back, celebratory approach to life, touring, and personal freedom, accompanied by production that drew from the melodic, synth-forward West Coast rap tradition — gave him a distinct position in the mainstream hip-hop landscape of the early 2010s. Work Hard, Play Hard (2012) and We Dem Boyz (2014) extended his hit catalog, each earning platinum certification and demonstrating his ability to maintain commercial relevance across multiple album cycles. His most commercially significant and culturally resonant single arrived in 2015 when See You Again featuring Charlie Puth was commissioned for the Furious 7 film soundtrack as a tribute to Fast & Furious actor Paul Walker, who died in 2013. See You Again spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 — an unusual run that demonstrated the track's sustained cultural resonance rather than a single peak moment — and briefly held the record for the most-viewed YouTube video in history. The track's crossover appeal beyond the typical hip-hop demographic — carried in part by Puth's piano-and-vocal hook, which gave the production an emotional weight rare in hip-hop tribute songs — contributed to streaming totals that accumulated hundreds of millions of plays within weeks of release. His studio album catalog continued with Blacc Hollywood (2014), Rolling Papers 2 (2018), and subsequent releases, maintaining his commercial presence while he expanded his touring profile to include major festival appearances and Las Vegas residency bookings. His performances at Drai's Nightclub at The Vanderpump Hotel (formerly The Vanderpump Hotel (formerly The Cromwell)) on the Las Vegas Strip reflect his positioning within the live hip-hop concert format that has defined his Las Vegas presence for multiple years: live performance with DJ support, delivered in a venue purpose-built for the crossover between club atmosphere and concert energy. Drai's, which occupies a rooftop setting at The Vanderpump Hotel (formerly The Cromwell), books live hip-hop and R&B performers as a central element of its programming identity — positioning it distinctly from the electronic music-dominated venues on the Wynn and MGM Grand campuses. Khalifa's laid-back stage presence and broad catalog appeal across multiple generations of hip-hop listeners make him a natural recurring booking at a venue whose audience spans from dedicated rap fans to casino visitors discovering its programming through hotel promotion. He also appears at Tao Beach at The Venetian for pool party dates during the summer pool season. Guest list through NoCoverVegas for Wiz Khalifa's Drai's Nightclub and Tao Beach appearances provides free entry for qualifying guests, with advance registration recommended for the high-demand dates around holiday weekends when Drai's books its most prominent live performers. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiz_Khalifa, draisgroup.com.