Wall Street needs a bailout. An unpopular war continues in Iraq. The presidential election is on the mind of many Americans. But rapper Shwayze pays no attention to the top stories.

"There's other stuff to think about," Shwayze, aka Aaron Smith, says. "You don't have to get bummed out."

"Shwayze," Smith's first album, proves that his views are consistent with his songs. The laid-back Southern California native raps about what he knows, which is his beloved cannabis ("Lazy Days"), beer ("Corona and Lime") and babes ("Roamin"). The tunes reflect his enviable Malibu 'hood.

"This album is definitely a postcard from home," Smith says, who'll be performing for Duke students on Saturday. "It's a reflection of me. It's what I needed to do."

Smith, 22, tried his luck at a San Diego Community College but lasted barely a semester in 2006. "I was partying so much that I didn't complete a credit," he says. "I just went back to Malibu."

That's where Smith hooked up with singer/songwriter/DJ Cisco Adler, son of music executive Lou Adler. The tandem connected in 2006 after Adler noticed Smith freestyling behind the microphone.

"I knew he was a diamond in the rough," Adler says. "I had to see what he had and cultivate it."

Adler saw enough of Smith to break up his band Whitestarr and take a break dating celebrated scenesters Paris Hilton, Lauren Conrad and Mischa Barton.

"I'm going to write a great book someday," Adler says.

Adler crafted the music for the Shwayze disc while Smith added the lyrics. "Cisco is a genius," Smith says. "He lays down the sounds and it just works."

The Sublime-influenced album is the soundtrack to a stoner's life. "You pop this disc in and you just forget about the bad and just chill out," Smith says.

The eclectic tour Warped tabbed Shwayze for its annual summer jaunt.

"It was the first time I've ever been on a national tour," he says. "I saw how amazing playing out can be. I feel like I've been through it."

Now Shwayze is a headliner. "I'm more than cool with that," Smith says. "This tour is going to be a breeze."

Smith and Adler were featured in "Buzzin," an MTV reality show that aired during the summer.

"That was fun, but I don't think it'll be back," Smith says. "I got used to the cameras, but they were always there. I would wake up and my hair would be all nappy. I had to live with the bad look since there was no place to hide. But Cisco and I aren't going to worry about reality television. Our thing is going to be music. That's what we do best."

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