Wiz Khalifa

“I have been at TAG 16 years and never once campaigned for a cover before,” he wrote to us. “But this artist deserves it hands down.”

That caught our attention, but Schwartz included plenty of stats, too – like how Khalifa’s MySpace page has more than 29 million plays, with 15,000-20,000 plays per day. Or that Khalifa, without the assist of radio play, sold out many of the 35 shows on the first leg of his inaugural tour.

According to Pollstar reports, Khalifa has sold out shows in markets as diverse as Cambridge, Mass., and San Luis Obispo, Calif. He has more than 350,000 Facebook friends and 200,000 followers on Twitter. He is one of the newest signings to Atlantic Records.

Khalifa will kick off a 55-city North American tour Sept. 16 at the Trocadero in Philadelphia, hitting clubs, theatres and colleges plus his first forays into Canada.

MTV News’ “Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010,” beating out 19 candidates

Box Office
21 Headlines Feb.-July 2010
Avg. Tix Sold: 682
Avg. Gross: $9,461
Avg. Tix Price: $14