Wiz Khalifa Found His Runner's High

When Wiz Khalifa logged onto our video call as “Jimi Hendrix,” camera off, I did a double take. Then again, he’s spent 15 years making a career out of the unexpected. The rapper went from the mixtape circuit to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, building Taylor Gang into a label and lifestyle brand along the way. He’s also launched his own cannabis line, Khalifa Kush, and picked up Muay Thai, acting, bowling, and livestreaming. Weed has been so central to his persona that hearing he’d gotten serious about long-distance running gave me a second double take, so I needed to know how it happened.

His latest pursuit has landed him a new role as the face of Spotify’s Running Mode, which lets listeners build playlists by pace, genre, and duration. Wiz has curated one that shows exactly what keeps him moving, and it arrives during a busy stretch. The rapper turned 39 last month and has hopped on more than 45 tracks this year, including “Yiccen” from his upcoming album, Cool, and a collaborative mixtape with mgk, blog era boyz.

His playlist is as wide-ranging as he is. Alongside his own classics and the 2000s trap he used to hear in the club, it moves through salsa, deep house, jazz, and EDM, usually around 160 BPM on a regular day. That range has seeped into the new album, too. “It’s hard to make a stony-ass weed album when I’m running every day,” he says. Wiz used to spend six, eight, even twelve hours in the studio smoking, and the music slowed down with him. Now he’s training all day and recording clear-headed, making songs that match “where my life is at now, rather than 3 o’clock in the morning when I’m stoned making records.”

Running has also given him something to look forward to outside of music. He’s getting faster, going longer distances, and tracking his heart rate to watch the stats improve. “It’s like an out-of-body experience,” he says, and for a guy who already had a training program, it’s “just another thing for me to nerd out about.” I’m sure Jimi Hendrix would be proud. Below, Wiz breaks down his running playlist, the gear he swears by, his pre-run snack of choice (it involves a bong), and how his lungs are holding up after all those years of Khalifa Kush.

HYPEBEAST: How did your running journey start?

Wiz Khalifa: One day I went to a trail, and instead of walking, I decided to run. I just kept running, and it felt really good. I had just gotten a starter watch as a gift, and I looked down at the watch, and I had run four miles. I was like, “Oh sh*t! I kind of liked that.” It was kind of cool. It’s kind of fun. After that, I started getting gear, the right shoes, and the stuff that I needed. That’s what turned it into more of an everyday habit.

What’s on your running playlist?

Man, there’s a lot of different things on my running playlist. I’m about to drop an album pretty soon, so I’m listening to the new songs I just made. There are some of my classics, and there’s a lot of 2000s trap music that I used to go to the club and listen to. There’s some salsa music on there. I love the rhythm, the cadence, and the tempo of salsa records. There’s also some deep house, jazz, and EDM. 

I got a lot of different vibes on there because I like to stick to a certain tempo, but I don’t like to get bored. I have a really wide range of music that I listen to, so sometimes I like to go in my bag and listen to stuff that I already know, and then sometimes I like to discover new music while I’m running. I’ll just let a playlist go.

What kind of tempos? What kind of BPM?

160 is a regular day, and then if I want to go up from there, we’ll take it up.

Do you think this diverse playlist has informed your upcoming project?

100%. It’s hard to make a stony-ass weed album when I’m running every day.

Do you think your music taste has changed since you’ve started running, or has it always been this diverse?

It just got clearer what my taste and vision are. In the studio, during my older sessions, I would stay in there for six, eight, twelve hours, and I’m smoking a lot of joints. I’m getting really high, so the tempo of the music would slow down, and the subject matter, and just the whole temperature of it all. Now when I’m creating, and I’m training all day, so I’m not super duper stoned. It’s more upbeat and more of a tempo that matches where my life is at now, rather than 3 o’clock in the morning when I’m stoned making records.

It seems like running has changed your lifestyle and daily routine. 

It opened up a lot for me to have something else to look forward to other than just the music. I have my family to look forward to, as well, but running is really exciting, and there’s a lot of motivation to do stuff that’s based around it. 

Uphill or downhill?

Oh sh*t! Uphill. 

Best pre-run snack?

A bong rip. 

Post-run meal?

Anything with a lot of carbs.

Running shoes you live by, or any running gear? 

Everybody who asks me, “What shoes should I get?” I always tell them the Vomero 18s. I’m gonna say that even though Nike don’t give me no money; I just want people to run and feel good. That’s the best everyday beginner shoe, and a waist pouch. You should have one of those to carry your phone, or if you want to bring a gel or some honey. Those pouches are the best way to keep it moving and have your stuff on you.

How are your lungs holding up?

[Laughs] My lungs are holding up great. I’m getting faster. I’m able to run longer distances, but I already had really good endurance from doing Muay Thai and from being on stage. 

It’s making me tap into something that I’ve never tapped into before, and I love that feeling. It’s like an out-of-body experience, and I track my heart rate. Seeing that I’m able to get up to certain speeds and do stuff at certain levels and still have a chill heart rate is pretty exciting to see. It’s fun to watch the stats get better and better.

It sounds like you’re a lot more in tune with your body and everything.

Oh, for sure. I already had a program, so this is just another thing for me to nerd out about.

Listen to Wiz Khalifa’s Spotify Running Mode playlist here.