Wiz Khalifa to Headline Spring Fling

02/10/2012 

Grammy-nominated rap artist Wiz Khalifa will rock SUNY Cortland’s campus at the College’s Spring Fling on Saturday, April 28.

The 24-year-old rapper, who in 2011 hit No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s Top 100 Chart with his hit single “Black and Yellow,” will take the stage at 8 p.m. in SUNY Cortland’s Park Center, with doors opening at 7 p.m.

Roughly 3,000 tickets, which cost $20 for SUNY Cortland students and $30 for the public, will be available on a limited basis, with students receiving first priority. They go on sale Saturday, March 24, and will be sold from noon to 7 p.m., or until they are sold out, at the Corey Union Information Desk.

SUNY Cortland students will be allowed to purchase one ticket and must show their College ID. Students will not be allowed to purchase tickets for their friends, even if they have that friend’s Cortland ID.

Tickets will stay on sale exclusively to SUNY Cortland students on Monday, March 26, and Tuesday, March 27. They will be sold from noon to 7 p.m., or until they are sold out, at the Corey Union Information Desk. If tickets are remaining, they will be sold to faculty, staff and the general public from Wednesday, March 28, through Friday, March 30. Tickets will be sold from noon to 7 p.m., at the Corey Union Information Desk.

Khalifa joins a long list of big-name artists to play SUNY Cortland’s Spring Fling, a list that includes the Black Eyed Peas, O.A.R. and the Fray. Kid Cudi, last year’s headliner, played to a sold-out arena.

“Last year’s student surveys came back and said that students wanted to see him,” said Delvin “D.J.” Johnson, one of the co-chairs in charge of lining up music acts for the College’s Student Activities Board. “So this year, we took a chance on trying to get him and he accepted.”

The Pittsburgh-raised rapper has three albums to his credit and his own label, Taylor Gang Records, under parent company Atlantic Records. “Black and Yellow,” a song named after the colors associated with professional sports teams in Pittsburgh such as Steelers football and Pirates baseball, established Khalifa’s mainstream success. The track earned him a nomination for Best Rap Song at the 2011 Grammy Awards and spawned several remixes and parodies by other recording artists.

“Rolling Papers,” Khalifa’s debut album with Atlantic, came out in March and hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. It features other mainstream hits such as “Roll Up” and “No Sleep.”

Khalifa also has collaborated with Snoop Dogg and Bruno Mars on the current hit single “Young, Wild and Free,” and has announced a new album in the works.

“He has some huge fans here and we knew it would go over pretty well with students,” Johnson said. “People are excited about it.”