Wiz Khalifa has a lot to thank his fans for, whether it's supporting his new music, being with him since day one, or sending their love during tough times. He recently thanked them for their support after he announced that his father Laurence W. Thomaz passed away yesterday (Friday, February 13).
"Today my father decided not to wake up," Wiz wrote on Twitter. "I will always love him, miss him and be greatful for the things he taught me. He went out like a true yogi, at peace and on his own time. I love you forever Laurence W. Thomaz."
"The last conversation i had with my dad was him telling me how proud of me he was for the movie i was in and I promised him i would do more. LT Forever," he added in another tweet. The Pittsburgh MC reposted some thoughtful and supportive messages from other users before thanking them for their love.
"Thank you all for your kind words. It really means a lot in this tough time and is helping me feel better," he wrote. "My father’s passing was sudden but seeing how many people love and respected him makes happy and i know he’s proud that he left a positive impact on this earth. Literally all he ever wanted."
Wiz Khalifa's Family
This difficult grief process joins Wiz Khalifa's other recent reflections on his family, whether their history, the legacy they left behind, or what they inspire in him. During a recent episode of the PBS series Finding Your Roots, he sat down with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and learned that his fifth great-grandfather, Howard Williamson, was a slave in Alabama in the 1870s.
"I feel all of them around me," the Khaotic artist said of his ancestors. "I just don’t know who they are. So now I’m able to say their name. So that just makes it even better."
He called this process a "reality check" and spoke emotionally about the hardship his great-grandfather went through. "It’s crazy to see him as a nameless person on a grid,” Wiz said. “And to know how valuable that property is because it’s a life and it’s not actually property, it’s a person. No name, just a color and an age and what sex you are."
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