Features
J. Cole Fires Up Touring Engine Once More
It is still a Cole World. J. Cole is treating arenas, theaters and a few very special small venues to some of his most recent tunes in the “4 Your Eyez Only” world tour.
Gregory Payan / AP Images for NFL – J. Cole
“VH1 Super Bowl Blitz,” Queens College, Flushing, N.Y.
The rapper dropped the 4 Your Eyez Only album Dec. 9. Cole has also released a steady stream of topical singles, reinforcing his relevance in the hip hop community.
The new dates start at The Music Farm in Columbia, S.C., on June 1 and continue with a string of 13 intimate venues in his home region of the Southern U.S., ending with
The former Pollstar HotStar mostly did festivals in 2016, but he claimed the highest-selling hip-hop tour of 2015. During that run he performed his 2014 Forest Hills Drive LP in full and the tour culminated in a live album recorded in his hometown of Fayetteville, N.C. If you want the brief summary of what that tour was about, check out the closing track from that live album, as during the intro which he speaks about experiencing life as a superstar and blue collar worker and witnessing the effects of materialism firsthand. Here is the video for the song:
While Cole’s name inevitably comes up whenever hip hop enthusiasts argue who is the best living rapper, he has said the game has changed and there will be no more kings in rap as every man making the claim does so because he is scared to fall.
Here is the artist’s routing:
June 1 – Columbia, S.C., Music Farm Columbia
June 2 – Jacksonville, Fla., Maverick’s
June 3 – Tallahassee, Fla., Pot Belly’s
June 5 – Jackson, Miss., Hal & Mal’s
June 6 – Birmingham, Ala., Avondale Brewing Company
June 7 – Baton Rouge, La., Varsity Theatre
June 9 – Little Rock, Ark., Metroplex Live
June 11 – Kansas City, Mo., Arvest Bank Theatre At The Midland
June 13 – St. Louis, Mo., The Pageant
June 14 – Memphis, Tenn., New Daisy Theatre
June 15 – Louisville, Ky., Mercury Ballroom
June 17 – Norfolk, Va., The NorVa
June 18 – Greensboro, N.C., Cone Denim Entertainment Center
July 6 – Phoenix, Ariz., Talking Stick Resort Arena
July 8 – Las Vegas, Nev., MGM Grand Garden Arena
July 9 – Anaheim, Calif., Honda Center
July 11 – Inglewood, Calif., Forum
July 15 – Oakland, Calif., Oracle Arena
July 17 – Seattle, Wash., KeyArena At Seattle Center
July 18 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Rogers Arena
July 21 – Saint Paul, Minn., Xcel Energy Center
July 23 – Auburn Hills, Mich., The Palace Of Auburn Hills
July 24 – Chicago, Ill., United Center
July 28 – Toronto, Ontario, Air Canada Centre
Aug. 1 – Brooklyn, N.Y., Barclays Center
Aug. 4 – Boston, Mass., TD Garden
Aug. 5 – Uniondale, N.Y., Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Aug. 6 – Baltimore, Md., Royal Farms Arena
Aug. 8 – Washington, D.C., Verizon Center
Aug. 9 – Charlotte, N.C., Spectrum Center
Aug. 11 – Duluth, Ga., Infinite Energy Center
Aug. 14 – Miami, Fla., AmericanAirlines Arena
Aug. 16 – Orlando, Fla., Amway Center
Aug. 18 – Houston, Texas, Toyota Center
Aug. 19 – Austin, Texas, Frank Erwin Center
Aug. 20 – Dallas, Texas, American Airlines Center
Sep. 29 – Copenhagen, Denmark, Tap 1
Sep. 30 – Oslo, Norway, Oslo Spektrum Arena
Oct. 1 – Stockholm, Sweden, Annexet
Oct. 3 – Cologne, Germany, Palladium
Oct. 5 – Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ziggo Dome
Oct. 6 – Berlin, Germany, Columbiahalle
Oct. 7 – Offenbach, Germany, Stadthalle Offenbach Veranstaltungs
Oct. 9 – Zurich, Switzerland, Samsung Hall
Oct. 10 – Paris, France, Zenith Paris
Oct. 12 – Nottingham, England, The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham
Oct. 14 – Birmingham, England, Barclaycard Arena
Oct. 15 – London, England, The O2 – London
Oct. 18 – Dublin, Ireland, 3Arena
Oct. 20 – Cardiff, Wales, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Oct. 21 – Manchester, England, Manchester Arena
Oct. 22 – Leeds, England, First Direct Arena
Dec. 1 – Auckland, New Zealand, Vector Arena
Dec. 2 – Brisbane, Australia, Brisbane Riverstage
Dec. 5 – Moore Park, Australia, Hordern Pavilion
Dec. 6 – Melbourne, Australia, Margaret Court Arena
Dec. 9 – Mt. Claremont, Australia, HBF Stadium
American Express cardholders can get tickets Feb. 21 at noon and fans get a presale Feb. 22. The general onsale for North America and Europe is Feb. 24. Australians can get their tickets Feb. 28.
Learn more about the artist at Dreamville.com.