Soundcheck: Hot Ticket Tours

posted in: Music NewsUrban

With the new year comes new talent, new music and new must-see shows from some of our favorite artists. While more hot ticket tours are sure to be announced as the months go by, here’s a few we’re already gearing up for in 2012.

Rick Ross: Although he’s been relatively quiet since last year’s numerous health scares, it seems Ross is ready to get back on the scene with a year full of features, releases and live gigs. On January 13, he will be at LA’s Nokia Theatre with Busta Rhymes, Y.G. and Eric B; following up with a show two weeks later at Webster Bank Arena in Connecticut.  In February, he’ll hit the stage for “The Maybach Massacre” featuring Waka Flocka Flame at Uno Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. This year is looking good for Mr. Ross, who began production last week on the video for his single, Rich Forever from his upcoming mixtape of the same title.  The video reportedly features Meek Mills, Drake, DJ Khaled and French Montana.

Bow Wow: The Young Money artist took to Twitter to confirm that he would be embarking on a world tour in 2012 in to promote his album, Underrated. He’s planning to hit North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, Japan and South America, but no official confirmation has surfaced.  Only time will tell if Bow Wows global bounce back comes to fruition, or is just wishful thinking.

Lil Wayne & Eminem: Though no dates have been confirmed, Eminem and Lil Wayne are rumored to be coordinating an international tour together for 2012.  Weezy first announced the news in November on his Facebook account, posting Headed to Fiji, Australia, then S. Africa¦on tour with Slim Shady¦a blessing¦thx to those who supported C4! 2x platinum! Love y’all With his album, The Carter 4 going double platinum, and Eminem being the show-stopping performer he is, there’s no doubt this tour will be the hottest ticket in town.  The two already have numerous successful singles under their belts, including No Love, Drop The World and ˜Forever.

Lady Gaga: Showing no sign of slowing down from her epic 2011 run, Gaga is going full throttle in 2012 with a Monster’s Ball 3.0 Tour in the works.  Rumors about the tour have been swirling for months, with some media outlets claiming she’ll make over 450 stops over the next two years.  During an X-Factor UK appearance in November, Gaga revealed to her British fans, “I’m gonna be here next year for my next tour. I just finished designing the stage and it’s bigger and better than ever. I’m so happy. I can’t wait to see you all there.”

“This album was the most personal [because of] the amount of detail that went into this record, the amount of passion [and] emotion from her and the team,” Fernando Garibay, Gaga’s producer , told MTV News in December. “Every song was a story towards the Born This Way theme. We’re excited now, putting that into the tour and expressing that on a live performance level. You can imagine what happened on the ˜Monster Ball’, so use your imagination,” he said. “That’s what’s going to happen, exaggerated.”

Drake: He delivered a preview of the tour at his New Year’s Eve show at The Joint in Las Vegas; Drake’s official Club Paradise Tourkicks off on Valentine’s Day in Miami. Drizzy will make stops at colleges in seventeen US cities including New Orleans, Austin and San Diego before crossing the sea for the tour’s European leg in March.  “I fought for this tour, I fought really hard for this tour because, of course, they want me to go get the big bucks, go into the stadiums and cash out,” he said of the tour.  But I was just like, I really made this album for the same people that supported me since day one.”

Two hot commodities will be joining Young Money’s golden boy, Compton’s Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky.  With such a strong team at YMCMB, the choice puzzled some spectators, but Drake is confident in his opening acts. “I wanna bring Kendrick, I wanna bring A$AP, those are guys that I love. It has nothing to do with people on my label,” he told MTV News in October. “Tyga’s out, Nicki’s working on an album and everybody else is doing their thing on the road with Wayne or with Wayne in the studio, so I just sort of showcased the music that I happen to love right now, and those are the two guys that I’m bringing out.”

Atmosphere: Next month, Rhymesayers and Atmosphere will embark on the 2nd annual Welcome To Minnesota Tour, featuring Kill The Vultures, Big Quarters, Mally and BK One. The tour, which boasts six shows in six straight nights, makes stops across the state, giving die-hard fans a chance to see their hometown hero up close and personal.

Rick Ross/ Wale

Wale: The Maybach Music signee released his sophomore album Ambition on November 1 and kicked off his Ambition Tour on October 2. Wale added another three months of shows to the tour, which was slated to wrap in Atlanta on December 8.  The second leg of the tour picks up with a sold-out show at New Jersey’s House of Blues this month and runs through March 6, when he wraps in a well-deserved vacation spot”Nassau, Bahamas.

T-Pain & Gym Class Heroes: This unlikely pairing hit the road for The Snowstorm Tour in Las Vegas last week.  The tour, which is aimed at delivering Top 40 artists at an affordable price, runs through February and will stop in Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Colorado among other states. No doubt T-Pain will be performing his recent hits from Revolver, and Gym Class Heroes’ recently released, The Papercut Chronicles II is a sure crowd-pleaser.  The duo will also be joined by Chicago’s Grieves & Budo and Pharell’s eighteen-year-old rumored protégé, Cris Cab.