Taylor gang interview
Wiz Khalifa is taking stage this summer performing some solo shows and at festivals across the country, recently performing at Point Break Festival in Virginia Beach.
At Point Break the rapper and his live band performed well known hits like “Black and Yellow”, “I Roll Up”, “The Thrill”, “See You Again”, and more.
Lit up joints could be seen throughout the packed crowd as fans sang along during the performance. Khalifa joined in lighting his own joint that he then threw into the crowd for them to catch.
After the show TCC had the opportunity to talk to some members of Khalifa’s band to ask some questions. One of those band members is Michael Nelson.
Nelson was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He’s been playing the drums his entire life and been playing for Khalifa’s band for about 8 years.
“We’ve got passion for everything that we do, and we want that to be displayed everytime we sit here and play our instruments,” Nelson said.
He shared his favorite song to perform with Khalifa is “King Of Everything”.
“That’s been one of my favorite songs to play… Even before I started playing with Wiz I used to listen to that song a lot… when that thing goes on I go crazy.” Nelson shared.
Kenneth Wright is Khalifa’s musical director, but he also plays bass and keybass at Khalifa’s shows. He’s been a part of the Taylor Gang team for more than 10 years.
Being the musical director means Wright is the go to person for all things musical on stage like rehearsals and show setup. His job is to guide the show while he pays attention to everything going on from the notes coming out of the instruments to the lights on the stage.
He said being a part of Taylor Gang means the world to him and he did not originally start off as a musical director, but he said Khalifa and Will Dzombak, Khalifa’s manager, believed in him to help bring Khalifa’s vision to life.
“It’s an honor to be trusted in that capacity. Taylor Gang has always been my family and continues to be,” Wright said about his position and being a part of Taylor Gang.
When asked what songs he enjoys performing the most, Wright said “The Kid Frankie” and “The Race”.
When asked his favorite part about touring he said it’s meeting people, from different areas and different cultures. “Everybody has their own story,” Wright said.
Larry Lambert II is the fill-in keyboardist for CJ Branch who was not able to make it to Point Break. Lambert said his favorite song to perform is either “The Thrill” or “No Sleep”.
