Wiz Khalifa's Argumentative Essay

Nobody can just forget about a loved one after they pass away, but often people never know how to celebrate their life in such a way that they will be remembered forever. Wiz Khalifa does just that with his song, “See you again”, which honors famous actor Paul Walker. Cameron Thomaz, who is widely known as Wiz Khalifa, is a very popular rap artist out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although born in Minot, North Dakota, Khalifa started his career while attending high school in Pittsburgh. Khalifa had breakthroughs in his career in the year 2006 and 2007. Through Khalifa’s life, he had many top hits, and big albums that would later help him create one of his biggest hits. In 2013, famous actor Paul Walker passed away who was a huge star in the Fast and Furious movies. He passed away in a car accident off-set while filming of the seventh fast and furious movie was going on. The cast and crew turned to Khalifa and asked
him to produce a song that would remember Walker forever. Khalifa’s “See you again” was one of the biggest hits of the year, and bouncing from the number one song on the charts for ten weeks straight. Khalifa’s song is not just a memorial for one movie, but it is a song people will commemorate and sing forever to remember lost loved ones.

The song starts with singer, Charlie Puth, who is featured in Khalifa’s song. The first words grabbing the audience's attention are, “It’s been a long day without you, my friend. And I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again” (A-Z Lyrics). The first line is talking about the days after Walker's death. These are the hardest days for anybody who loses someone because it all seems so unreal. The days seem like they go on forever and the nights get so much shorter. Many sleepless hours pass while loved ones reminisce on old memories. Stories are shared, many people laugh, cry, but also love together as they tell stories about the life of the one who is gone. The second part of the first line is a reassurance that the loved ones who spent all these days weeping together and celebrating the life of someone will be able to see them again. In this case they say they will tell them all about the days after the terrible incident, and will share memories that they missed. They will tell them all about their life, and how different it is without them.

Near the end of Khalifa’s first verse, he says “Those were the days, hard work forever pays, now I see you in a better place” (A-Z Lyrics) Throughout the whole song, Khalifa is practically speaking for all of those cast members that had a relationship with Walker. He is remembering all those days and all those moments that were spent on set, at a Barbecue, or doing anything with all of those people that held Walker so close to their heart. He is remembering all those long hours that it took to make one of the seven movies, and how hard they worked to get to where they are today. He talks about how the hard work that they put in while filming and while they weren’t filming will always pay. Not will it just pay the bills, but it will always be a memory, and nobody can ever take away those things that the cast went through together. He ends this line by saying that although Walker has passed away, and it’s time to celebrate his life, that it is not the last time he will be seen. All the cast and family to Walker will see see him when it is their time to pass and live in a better place with Paul.

In the bridge of the song the words are, “How could we not talk about family when family’s all that we got” (A-Z Lyrics).
This shows how close of a relationship every cast member on set of the movies had with Walker. In the case of the Fast and Furious movies, the family bond was a little tighter than many other cases. They all watched Paul grow up from being a young kid in the first movie, to being a huge lead in the last few. The movies are based on missions that can go wrong at any moment and result in death, so therefore this makes the bond in the movies so much more relevant and obvious. The cast started filming their first movie in 2001, and just released Furious 7 in 2015. That is fourteen years together with the same people, so there is definitely a bond tighter than just work partners happening there. When Khalifa talks about family being the only thing you got, in the case of the Fast and Furious cast, in a time of sorrow after Walker’s death, they are the people who were together with each other offering a shoulder to lean on to each
other.

In the last verse, Puth says, “Let the light guide your way, hold every memory as you go” (A-Z Lyrics). The light is one that people always refer to as sort of a death statement. Some say “Don’t look into the light” as a saying that would be the same as don’t give up hope. In this song Puth refers to the light in the same manner as for Walker who is following the light to live in a better place. He also uses the light for such hope that the fellow cast members should always follow the light because that is Paul guiding them and looking over them. As Puth says to hold every memory as you go, he means that most people don’t just know when they are going to die. Everyday on this beautiful earth is a blessing, and everyday should make a memory that you can hold onto for the rest of your life. The cast needs to hold every memory of Paul for their lifetime until they see him again.

As a song, the piece was written for the cast of the Fast and Furious movies. Being such a popular song and tribute to Walker, many people share this song as a memorial for others also. When this song is heard on the radio, many people think about those loved ones that they have lost and put it in perspective for their situation. As a whole, the song is a memorial to any loved one that has gone to a better place, and people know they will see them again. This song helps people keep hope, and will continue to do that for a long time. As for Walker passing away, this song is something that people will never forget, and every time that the song is heard, they will remember Paul in their hearts forever.