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Wiz Khalifa sits at a major crossroads of popular urban culture: he is tattooed from neck to toe, his tight jeans sag low, and his chains shine as brightly as his melodic hooks and incisive rhymes. Raised in a military family, Wiz moved around a lot, but spent much of his youth in Pittsburgh. In 2006, his solo debut "Show And Prove" album earned him attention from major hip hop sources like Okayplayer.com and XXL magazine. XXLmag.com ran a feature on Wiz stating that "his buzz had officially started to outgrow the streets..." and in the same year Wiz was declared an "artist to watch" in Rolling Stone magazine. In 2007, he was signed to Warner Bros. Records, where he released two mixtapes, and saw his single "Say Yeah" reach number 35 on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 chart, and number 20 on Billboards Hot Rap Tracks. In 2009, eager to be in control of his own destiny, and anxious that major label suits wouldn't understand the subtleties of his swag and the diverse makeup of his audience, he parted ways with Warner. Now Wiz is back in the pilot's seat, and his album "Deal Or No Deal" shows it.