Popular rap artist Wiz Khalifa will be making the rounds on a primarily U.S. tour this summer, performing along with Mac Miller and guests Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, and Taylor Gang’s Chevy Woods.
The nine-city Under the Influence of Music Tour kicks off on July 26 at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH, and ends on August 5 at Detroit’s DTE Energy Music Theatre.
The performance makes one Canadian stop mid-tour, at Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, and hits Pittsburgh, hometown to both Khalifa and Miller, at the First Niagara Pavilion on August 4.
In a recent interview with MTV News, Khalifa commented on the significance of the tour for himself and for Miller: “It means everything, Mac’s my little homey. It’s good for his fans; it’s good for everybody who’ve been wanting to see us do what we do together,” he remarked.
According to the MTV report, while the two rappers come from the same city and have recorded for the same label, the local independent Rostrum Records, they have only collaborated a few times in the past.
Wiz lent his efforts to “Keep Floatin’,” a song on Miller’s 2011 mixtape “Best Day Ever”, as well as on the song “Cruise Control.” Last year, the two hit the road for the first time together on their Campus Consciousness Tour, playing at colleges including Virginia Tech, Auburn University, and Purdue University.
In a press statement released to MTV News, Miller discussed his feelings about the upcoming tour: “I’m excited to go on a tour like this because it brings a group of individuals together to move across the country as a unit to showcase great music.”
Tickets for the tour went on sale April 20, and current secondary market prices are hovering around $150, according to Mike Janes, General Manager of Event Ticketing at ticket search engine Fansnap.com.
“Average prices vary by venue from $102 at First Niagara Pavilion in Burgettstown, PA to $167 at Molson Amphitheater in Toronto,” noted Janes.
Currently, the most popular ticket is for Khalifa’s appearance alongside Maroon 5 at May 19’s Preakness Stakes, where they will perform “Pay Phone,” a No. 1 hit for the combo on the iTunes singles chart.
“Any of these events still will cost Wiz fans much less than compared to seeing Wiz and Maroon 5 in the infield at the Preakness,” says Janes, “where a ticket is averaging $223.”
Khalifa, born Cameron Jibril Thomaz, came on the scene in 2006 with his album “Show and Prove”, through Rostrum. He released a second album, “Deal or No Deal”, before moving to Atlantic Records to produce his breakthrough “Rolling Papers.”
The album garnered him two Grammy nominations for “Best New Artist” and “Best Rap Artist” and included the multi-platinum hits “Black and Yellow,” “Roll Up,” and “No Sleep.” The artist also made his debut appearance this year at the Coachella Music Festival.
Khalifa is set to release his sophomore album for Atlantic, “O.N.I.F.C.”, on August 28, coinciding with the end of the current tour.
Miller, born Malcolm McCormick, released his debut album only last year.
Originally part of rap group Ill Spoken, Miller released his debut solo album, “Blue Slide Park,” in November of 2011 on Rostrum. The album debuted at the top of the Billboard’s Hip Hop Album Chart.
Khalifa recently was confronted on his use of lyrics referring to alcohol and drugs by Peter Rosenberg of New York’s hip hop station Hot 97. The artist, whose image is closely connected with marijuana use, was quoted on vibe.com from the interview: “I would never endorse that or try to tell anybody that’s the thing to do.”
“I think just sometimes with music and especially with rappers, we get caught up talking about our own experiences too much and not really thinking about what people can take from that … We talk about it in a way that it’s a mistake, but it kind of sounds cool. That’s where we kind of mess up and have to be more responsible.”
Whether critics believe the sincerity of such statements, sales are not likely to suffer for the upcoming tour, with the two headliners only increasing in popularity.
