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Wiz Khalifa Opens Up About Arrest

'They want to try to scare you or make an example out of you,' he tells MTV News after drug charges.

If only [artist id="2427571"]Wiz Khalifa's[/artist] Taylor Gang fans knew him before, the upstart Pittsburgh rapper definitely has a higher profile now.

The [article id="1651809"]"Black and Yellow" rapper was arrested[/article] last week in North Carolina on drug charges after a show on a college campus. The incident was a wakeup call for Wiz.

"They want to try to scare you or make an example out of you before you get too far into what you're doing," he told MTV News on Monday (November 15). "When I started doing what I was doing [in the music industry], I was ready for it. Just being from where I'm from, I was already a target on a small scale. But as I build up and become more nationally known, that scale just gets larger."

According to Wiz, he wasn't present when police allegedly smelled marijuana emitting from his tour bus. Authorities began searching the vehicle and discovered [article id="1651847"]more than 60 grams of marijuana[/article]. The rapper was booked on two felony charges (trafficking and marijuana storage) and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He downplayed the situation and said he and his team were cooperative throughout.

The charges raised the concern of some of the rapper's peers. Artists such as Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Curren$y and Drake all reached out to offer support. Wiz said his mother helped him make it through the ordeal.

"She was worried, but she knows the risk that I run, and I been her son forever," he said. "So this might be new to some people, but in any situation, my mom is right there sticking with me throughout. No matter what it's been. So she never holds too much against me or makes me feel bad about it. She knows there would be all types of other people coming down on me, so she wanted me to be good personally by keeping my spirits up and laughing and joking."

And what did Mama Khalifa say when she saw her son's mug shot? "She was like, 'Ooh, your skin looks nice,' " Wiz laughed.

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