By Camille Cannon

(This article originally appeared in Vegas Seven magazine on January 20, 2016.)

As of late, rapper Wiz Khalifa has become best known for the following: dropping bars on 2015’s biggest pop smash, “See You Again”; his former marriage with model Amber Rose and the birth of their child; and, as always, a diehard weed habit. Khalifa released his Cabin Fever 3 mix tape in December, and plans to release the album Khalifa on January 22 as well as the highly anticipated Rolling Papers 2 (“the perfect stoner album”) later this year. He’s also been moonlighting as DJ Daddy Kat, using Tao as his Las Vegas scratching post, with eight dates already on the books. Following a Halloween gig and early January stop, Daddy Kat will return on February 6 and March 18, bringing some of that new Khalifa music—and a few new business ideas—along with him.

Where did the name DJ Daddy Kat come from?

I started doing blends and putting it on Soundcloud. I wanted to try to figure out a name I could use where people could search but it wouldn’t really come up. I just landed on Daddy Kat as something that sounded fun, interesting and mysterious, but still felt like me. Eventually, I just kept messing with it—kept practicing, kept DJing, started booking gigs—then realized, “OK, this isn’t just an Internet thing. This is a real passion of mine, rocking crowds and doing the DJ thing.” I ran with the name, and I feel like it gives me just a little bit different edge to perform under that name, rather than have people just look at it as a Wiz project.

Do you play Wiz Khalifa music when you spin as Daddy Kat?

Yeah, I usually do my newer songs, the stuff people don’t normally hear in the clubs. I feel like it would get a good reaction out of people, so I play it.

In addition to your music, you get a lot of attention for your personal style. How do you decide what to wear?

I usually base it off of the event. If it’s a dinner or something like that, I wanna wear a nice shirt, nothing too loud, just something really nice so I can blend in and look clean. If I’m going out to the club, I don’t mind wearing something more loud and aggressive. Still me, kinda laid-back and chill. But it’s definitely going to attract some attention. And if we’re talking just regular daytime, I wanna be comfortable, so it’s either sweats and a tee or some baggy, ripped-up jeans and a T-shirt, just to keep it moving.

You’re something of a weed aficionado and have your own strain called Khalifa Kush. What entrepreneurial ventures do you have in the pipeline, weed-related or otherwise?

Definitely in the weed game: to expand as more and more medical spots open up. It’s become more of a thing for me to put my strain in there and make it available for people. On top of that, [I want to] get more into fashion. I signed with IMG recently, the modeling agency. I’ve been doing a lot of different spreads and things in the fashion world that I haven’t otherwise been able to do. I’m doing voiceovers for cartoons. A lot of them are newer ones that haven’t come out yet or things that may or may not be used. Some of them are for kid stuff. You know, now that I’ve got my kid, I’m doing a lot of different things involving children. I’m trying to flip it up and keep it relevant to my life. On top of acting, I just really want to get my personality out there as much as possible.

Recently you tweeted, “I watch mad documentaries. More than regular movies.” What are some of your favorites?

There are some Jimi Hendrix documentaries on Netflix. Those are awesome. There’s one about background singers that I really dig. It’s super important for people to know about the harmonies and the vocalists who help people enjoy music. I watch a lot of crime documentaries about old gangsters from different countries and people from around here that people might or might not know about. There are financial documentaries about bank crises and things in America that people don’t even know [about]. If I feel like it’s relevant to me or my life or what I’m interested in learning about, I just throw it on and make it a part of what I’m doin’.

You also tweeted recently, “I wanna get stoned and go see Star Wars, but I’m afraid I’ll get stuck on the gettin’ stoned part.” Did you ever see the film?

[Laughs.] Nope. I got stuck.