Wiz Khalifa's Real Name: Cameron Jibril Thomaz

Quick answer: Wiz Khalifa was born Cameron Jibril Thomaz on September 8, 1987, in Minot, North Dakota, according to Biography.com and a Library of Congress record. AllMusic and Pittsburgh Magazine also give Cameron Thomaz as his real name. Pittsburgh Magazine says he adopted the stage name Wiz Khalifa as a teenager.

Real name and early life

AllMusic calls him a military brat. His parents divorced when he was three, and he lived in various places and on military bases around the world. Biography.com says he moved often because his father was in the military. He began writing lyrics around age nine, and AllMusic says that by 12 he was recording and producing his own tracks in his father's studio in Oklahoma.

He settled in Pittsburgh for high school. Pittsburgh Magazine says he graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School, as did rapper Mac Miller, and that although he had lived around the world, he had long considered Pittsburgh home.

Career highlights

AllMusic says he recorded at a local studio, I.D. Labs, whose staff offered him free beats and studio time. They introduced him to Benjy Grinberg, founder of the independent label Rostrum Records, which signed him. His first mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania, appeared in early 2006, followed by the album Show and Prove.

A Warner deal produced the 2007 single "Say Yeah," which reached the Top 20 of Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks, but he left Warner in 2009. In 2010 XXL named him one of its Top Ten Freshmen, and Atlantic signed him after the Kush & Orange Juice mixtape. His Steelers tribute "Black and Yellow" became a hit, and Biography.com says his 2011 album Rolling Papers reached number two. His fans are called the Taylor Gang.

He co-starred with Snoop Dogg in Mac and Devin Go to High School (2012) and released O.N.I.F.C. (2012) and Blacc Hollywood (2014). In 2015 "See You Again," with Charlie Puth, a tribute to Paul Walker from the Furious 7 soundtrack, topped the charts and was nominated for several Grammy Awards. AllMusic says four of his 2010s albums reached number one or two on the Billboard 200. It lists later releases including Multiverse (2022) and the 2026 album Khaotic.

Name notes for searchers

Pittsburgh Magazine explains both parts of the stage name. "Wiz" is short for "wisdom," and "Khalifa," which it translates from Arabic as "successor," was a name given to him by his Muslim grandfather. Thomaz is his family surname. Biography.com says he was married to model Amber Rose; they have a son and divorced in 2014.