Kendrick Lamar can check off another career milestone on his growing list of accomplishments. A year after announcing the launch of his “The Big Steppers Tour,” the musical trek has been named the highest-grossing tour by a headlining rapper in hip hop history.
The 73-show tour sold more than 929,000 tickets for performances that took place in arenas across the U.S. and abroad in countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. In the end, “The Big Steppers Tour” amassed $110.9 million in revenue, according to Touring Data. The top spot was previously helmed by Drake’s “Aubrey & the Three Migos Tour,” which raked in $79 million with more than 678,000 tickets sold for its 43 dates. Rounding out the top six tours are Drake and Future’s “Summer Sixteen Tour,” which made $84.3 million; Kanye West and JAY-Z’s “Watch the Throne Tour,” which brought in $75.4 million; Lamar’s “The D**n Tour,” which earned more than $40 million; and Travis Scott’s “Astroworld,” which made an impressive $34.3 million.
Lamar released his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, in May 2022. The 18-track record boasts appearances from Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Kodak Black, Sampha, and a few other notable talents. Last summer, in a moment of reflection, he wrote:
“[Not gonna lie] Jesus, Jojo, and Mary. Took a n**ga 20 years to find ‘Mother I Sober.’ Rap has truly helped my expansion of self. Beyond the perception of who I believed to be. On Jojo. Music is air to a young n**ga at this point. Mr. Morale, the catalyst of my self-expression. I’ll never forget the process of falling in love with imperfection, the piano, my fans.”
The Compton native continued, “[The] stories of reconciliation I hear from penitentiaries to small villages. Some words will find you today. Some will find you in 10. Find your children type s**t. Sitting in the corner like an old book. I’m forever underground, [infiltrating] the mainstream a la carte. These cities still beautiful to watch. On Jojo. Ily.”
Congratulations to Kendrick Lamar!