Kendrick Lamar is riding high right now. The rapper’s album, GNX has received glowing reviews from fans and critics. He currently occupies seven of the top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100. “Squabble Up” is the rapper’s third number one single of 2024, and and fifth overall. He’s currently gearing up for a new tour with SZA, Grand National, which is slated to cover most of the major cities in North America. Lamar decided to add some new tour dates, however, and the locations turned a few heads.
Kendrick Lamar added two new dates to his upcoming Grand National tour. One of these dates is in L.A., which makes complete sense. GNX is the most California-centric release of Lamar’s career, so it would only be fair to give hometown fans another chance to see him. The other date, however will be in Drake’s hometown of Toronto. We do not need to rehash the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar feud, as it has dominated most hip hop conversations this year. It’s also helped to fuel two of Lamar’s aforementioned number one singles.
Lamar and SZA were originally slated to perform in Toronto on June 12 only. The duo will now put on an encore performance June 13. As fans have been quick to point out, these dates are right before Father’s Day, which has been interpreted as another dig against Drake’s allegedly bad parenting. There’s little to support this theory. That said, the locations of these additional dates do feel intentional. Kendrick Lamar is nothing if not purposeful with his actions. It’s hard to imagine he added dates to his hometown and his rival’s hometown without realizing it would come off as a subtle flex.
Kendrick Lamar and Drake may no longer be dissing each other, but the feud is very much still alive. The latter has decided to sue his and Lamar’s label, UMG, for allegedly using bots to boost Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” He believes the label is in cahoots with Spotify to downplay his music and promote Lamar’s. K. Dot has not commented on these allegations. He has, however, continued to put up massive numbers with his new album.
“All I ever wanted was a black Grand National/ Fuck being rational, give ’em what they ask for,” Kendrick Lamar raps “tv off” from his new album, GNX. Arriving with little to no announcement, the “Not Like Us” rapper’s highly anticipated sixth studio album has easily met and even surpassed our expectations for his follow-up to Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Equipped with plenty of West Coast bounce, and a pair of cameos from SZA, Kendrick went above and beyond with GNX.
It’s not surprising, especially since he’s a little over two months away from his upcoming Super Bowl Halftime performance in New Orleans. While there is speculation surrounding a follow-up album, it has yet to be confirmed by Kendrick himself. However, he will be hitting the road after the Super Bowl for the Grand National Tour, alongside SZA. The Compton rapper will be hitting a series of stadiums–not arenas–across North America, including a stop in Toronto, the hometown of his archnemesis. With tickets set to go on sale this week, here’s everything you need to know about Kendrick Lamar’s Grand National tour.
Tickets for the “Grand National Tour” will be available through an exclusive presale for Cash App Visa Cardholders starting Wednesday, December 4th at 10 AM local time and running through Thursday, December 5th at 10 PM local time. To access the presale, customers can use the first nine digits of their Cash App Card and complete their purchase using the same card. General tickets will go on sale starting Friday, December 6th at 10 AM local time on grandnationaltour.com. Cash App Card users can also score a 20% discount on official tour merchandise purchased on-site during the tour.
Who Will Be Opening For Kendrick Lamar?
SZA will be joining Kendrick Lamar on the forthcoming Grand National tour. SZA appears twice on Kendrick’s new album on the songs, “luther,” which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, and “gloria.” Although it’s been nearly two years since the release of S.O.S., the Grand National tour might be an indication that she has a new album coming soon. In fact, there is a good chance that she could be sliding through before the end of the year with a new project. Lanaperhaps? During her appearance on Kai Cenat’s Mafiathon 2, she confirmed that her next album would be released by the end of 2024.
As usual, Kendrick keeps a tight ship, thus making it practically impossible to predict what he might have up his sleeve on the upcoming tour. The Big Steppers tour was a highly theatrical outing that saw Kendrick and Baby Keem perform globally. The tour also earned a total revenue of $111 million across 73 shows. It became the highest-grossing hip-hop tour of all time. However, it was later dethroned by Drake and then, Travis Scott’s Circus Maximus tour.
Tour Dates
Minneapolis – April 19 – U.S. Bank Stadium Houston – April 23 – NRG Stadium Arlington – April 26 – AT&T Stadium Atlanta – April 29 – Mercedes Benz Stadium Charlotte – May 3 – Bank of America Stadium Philadelphia – May 5 – Lincoln Financial Field East Rutherford – May 8 – MetLife Stadium East Rutherford – May 9 – MetLife Stadium Foxborough – May 12 – Gillette Stadium Seattle – May 17 – Lumen Field Los Angeles – May 21 – SoFi Stadium Los Angeles – May 23 – SoFi Stadium Glendale – May 27 – State Farm Stadium San Francisco – May 29 – Oracle Park Las Vegas – May 31 – Allegiant Stadium St. Louis – June 4 – The Dome at America’s Center Chicago – June 6 – Soldier Field Detroit – June 10 – Ford Field Toronto – June 12 – Rogers Centre Hershey – June 16 – Hersheypark Stadium Washington, DC – June 18 – Northwest Stadium
It’s been a triumphant year in hip-hop, from receiving quality bodies of work from artists like ScHoolboy Q and Vince Staples to the Blockbuster battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake but it looks like the final quarter of the year will continue to keep up the momentum with Tyler, The Creator’s forthcoming album, CHROMAKOPIA due out on Monday, October 28th. Ditching traditional release dates may set the tone for artists moving forward to avoid the first-week sale debacle.
Tyler, The Creator is undoubtedly a visionary who is just as meticulous with producing each of his albums as his live performances. And if you saw him live during the Call Me If You Get Lost tour, then you know that his commitment to bringing his albums to life is bar none. Though we aren’t entirely aware of what’s to come on his upcoming project, he recently announced the CHROMAKOPIA tour for 2025–a trek that will take him and his latest across the globe with some excellent openers including Lil Yachty and Paris Texas. For those looking to cop tickets and see Tyler, The Creator live, here are all the details.
The CHROMAKOPIA tour is set to launch in early 2025, following the release of Tyler’s album on Monday, October 28th. This tour spans several months and will also see Tyler, The Creator performing in major cities across the globe. Furthermore, with stops in North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, fans worldwide will have a chance to catch him live.
Special Guests: Lil Yachty and Paris Texas Will Join the Fun
MONTREAL, QUEBEC – AUGUST 05: Lil Yachty performs at the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau on August 05, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Mark Horton/Getty Images)
Tyler is certainly not going on this journey alone. In addition to the headliner, the tour will feature special performances by Lil Yachty, who has continued an impeccable run in 2024, and fellow Los Angeles natives, Paris Texas, who are riding high off of their 2023 album, Mid Air and released two singles this year. Each of Tyler’s tours have curated the opening acts amazingly, and the inclusion of Yachty and Paris Texas will undoubtedly produce one of the most exciting tours of the year.
Ticket Sales Begin November 1st
Tickets for CHROMAKOPIA: THE WORLD TOUR will be available to the general public starting Friday, November 1st, at 10 AM local time in each city. Fans eager to secure their spots should act fast and secure their spots when it goes live. You can purchase tickets here.
For those with an American Express card, there’s good news. Card Members will have the opportunity to access presale tickets for shows in North America, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and select European markets starting Tuesday, October 29th. Additionally, Amex Card Members will have exclusive access to limited-edition tour merchandise at select venues, making it an exciting perk for fans attending the shows.
The tour announcement comes days before the album drops and shortly after he unloaded two new singles off of the project including “NOID” and “St. Chroma.” However, the next few weeks are bound to be incredibly busy on Tyler’s end. Along with the album, he’s set to host a listening party the night before in Inglewood. Then, on November 16th and 17th, he’ll be hosting the annual Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in Los Angeles, which will mark his first live performance of new material.
St. Paul, MN – February 4 – Xcel Energy Center Milwaukee, WI – February 6 – Fiserv Forum Kansas City, MO – February 8 – T-Mobile Center Denver, CO – February 11 – Ball Arena Los Angeles, CA – February 14, 17 & 20 – Crypto.com Arena Sacramento, CA – February 23 – Golden 1 Center Oakland, CA – February 24 – Oakland Arena Portland, OR – February 26 – Moda Center Vancouver, BC, Canada – February 28 – Rogers Arena Seattle, WA – March 2 – Climate Pledge Arena San Francisco, CA – March 5 – Chase Center Las Vegas, NV – March 7 – MGM Grand Garden Arena San Diego, CA – March 9 – Pechanga Arena San Diego Phoenix, AZ – March 12 – Footprint Center Austin, TX – March 15 – Moody Center Dallas, TX – March 17 – American Airlines Center Houston, TX – March 19 – Toyota Center Atlanta, GA – March 21 – State Farm Arena Orlando, FL – March 22 – Kia Center Miami, FL – March 24 – Kaseya Center Charlotte, NC – March 26 – Spectrum Center Pittsburgh, PA – March 28 – PPG Paints Arena Columbus, OH – March 29 – Schottenstein Center Washington, D.C. – April 1 – Capital One Arena Cincinnati, OH – June 27 – Heritage Bank Center Cleveland, OH – June 28 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Chicago, IL – June 30 – United Center Detroit, MI – July 3 – Little Caesars Arena Philadelphia, PA – July 5 – Wells Fargo Center Boston, MA – July 8 – TD Garden Baltimore, MD – July 11 – CFG Bank Arena Raleigh, NC – July 12 – Lenovo Center New York, NY – July 14 – Madison Square Garden Brooklyn, NY – July 17 – Barclays Center Montreal, QC, Canada – July 22 – Bell Centre Toronto, ON, Canada – July 24 – Scotiabank Arena Newark, NJ – July 27 – Prudential Center
UK/EU Tour Dates
Antwerp, Belgium – April 25 – Sportpaleis Paris, France – April 27 – Accor Arena Milan, Italy – April 30 – Unipol Forum Zurich, Switzerland – May 1 – Hallenstadion Frankfurt, Germany – May 2 – Festhalle Cologne, Germany – May 4 – LANXESS Arena Oslo, Norway – May 6 – Oslo Spektrum Copenhagen, Denmark – May 7 – Royal Arena Prague, Czech Republic – May 9 – O2 Arena Krakow, Poland – May 10 – TAURON Arena Krakow Berlin, Germany – May 12 – Uber Arena Amsterdam, Netherlands – May 14 – Ziggo Dome Birmingham, UK – May 17 – Utilita Arena Birmingham London, UK – May 19 – The O2 London, UK – May 21 – The O2 Dublin, Ireland – May 24 – 3Arena Manchester, UK – May 27 – Co-op Live Glasgow, UK – May 30 – OVO Hydro
AU/NZ Tour Dates
Auckland, New Zealand – August 18 – Spark Arena Melbourne, VIC, Australia – August 22 – Rod Laver Arena Melbourne, VIC, Australia – August 23 – Rod Laver Arena Sydney, NSW, Australia – August 26 – Qudos Bank Arena Sydney, NSW, Australia – August 27 – Qudos Bank Arena Brisbane, QLD, Australia – August 30 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre Perth, WA, Australia – September 4 – RAC Arena
LOS ANGELES — May 24th
