x

The latest industry news to your inbox.


I'd like to hear about marketing opportunities

    

I accept IQ Magazine's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Central Cee announces mammoth 2025 world tour

History-making British rapper Central Cee has announced a mammoth 39-date world tour for 2025.

Produced by Live Nation, the outing kicks off on 1 April in Norway at Oslo’s Spektrum Arena making stops at renowned venues in Europe and North America before wrapping up on 2 July in Perth, Australia.

The Can’t Rush Greatness tour comes hot on the heels of his long-awaited debut album of the same name.

The project has already been hailed as having the biggest streaming day of all-time for a UK rapper, globally. This achievement comes on top of three Brit Award nominations for Best UK Artist, Best Song for “Band4Band” and “Best Hip Hop & Grime,” and a cinematic black and white visual for the album track “Limitless”.

The West London native previously made history as the first-ever British rapper to reach over one billion Spotify streams in a single year.

The Can’t Rush Greatness tour comes hot on the heels of his long-awaited debut album of the same name

Central Cee (born Oakley Neil Caesar-Su) released his first tracks in 2014, following them up with a long series of EPs and singles over the following years.

He released his first full mixtape, Wild West, in 2021, which was the top-selling British debut project of the year.

His 2022 single Doja has racked up more than 450 million streams on Spotify alone and debuted at No. 2 on the official UK charts, while his 23 mixtape debuted at No. 1 on the country’s albums chart.

2023’s Sprinter, a collaboration with fellow English rapper Dave, debuted at No.1 on the UK singles chart with over 13 million streams in just one week, the most for any UK rap single in history. The track remained at No.1 for 10 consecutive weeks, making it the longest-running No.1 rap single in UK chart history.

Central Cee is represented worldwide by Wasserman Music agents Brent Smith, Lauren Marker, Tom Schroeder and Jesse Fayne.

Can’t Rush Greatness tour dates:

April 1 | Oslo, NO | Spektrum

April 3 | Copenhagen, DK | Forum Black Box

April 5 | Hamburg, DE | Sporthalle Hamburg

April 6 | Berlin, DE | Velodrom

April 8 | Amsterdam, NL | Ziggo Dome

April 10 | Milan, IT | Fabrique

April 11 | Munich, DE | Zenith Die Kulturhalle

April 13 | Paris, FR | Accor Arena

April 15 | Dusseldorf, DE | PSD Bank Dome

April 16 | Brussels, BE | Forest National

April 18 | Birmingham, UK | Utilita Arena

April 19 | Manchester, UK | Co-op Live

April 22 | Dublin, IE | 3Arena

April 24 | London, UK | The O2

April 27 | Glasgow, UK | OVO Hydro

May 2 | Portland, OR | Roseland Theater

May 3 | Seattle, WA | Showbox SoDo^

May 6 | San Francisco, CA | The Masonic

May 7 | Los Angeles, CA | Hollywood Palladium

May 9 | Denver, CO | The Fillmore Denver

May 11 | Houston, TX | Bayou Music Center

May 12 | Dallas, TX | South Side Ballroom

May 15 | Detroit, MI | The Fillmore Detroit

May 16 | Chicago, IL | Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom

May 18 | Charlotte, NC | The Fillmore Charlotte

May 19 | Atlanta, GA | Coca-Cola Roxy

May 21 | Philadelphia, PA | The Fillmore Philadelphia

May 22 | Silver Spring, MD | The Fillmore Silver Spring

May 24 | Toronto, ON, CAN | HISTORY

May 25 | Toronto, ON, CAN | HISTORY

May 27 | Brooklyn, NY | Brooklyn Paramount

May 29 | New York, NY | Terminal 5^

May 31 | Boston, MA | MGM Music Hall

June 1 | Montreal, QC, CAN | MTELUS

June 20 | Auckland, NZ | Spark Arena*

June 22 | Brisbane, AU | Brisbane Entertainment Centre

June 25 | Sydney, AU | Qudos Bank Arena

June 28 | Melbourne, AU | Rod Laver Arena

July 2 | Perth, AU | RAC Arena*

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Nicki Minaj’s Co-op Live gig axed after drugs arrest

Nicki Minaj’s concert at Manchester’s Co-op Live was called off at the last minute, following her arrest at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

The American rapper was arrested on suspicion of exporting soft drugs before being fined €350 and allowed to continue her journey, Dutch authorities said.

The artist didn’t make it to Manchester in time for her concert on Saturday (25 May), which was postponed just after 21:30 BST, with 20,000 fans in the arena waiting for her to take the stage.

On social media, Minaj said she was in a jail cell for between five and six hours, and finally arrived at her hotel in Manchester around midnight.

In a statement, promoters Live Nation said: “Nicki Minaj’s scheduled performance at Manchester’s Co-op Live on Saturday 25 May has been postponed.

“Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled performance which will be announced as soon as possible.

“Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible. We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”

Co-op Live posted the same statement.

Minaj continued her tour in Birmingham last night (26 May) and is due to visit London and Glasgow, before a second scheduled date in Manchester on Thursday.

It is the latest problem to hit the 23,500-cap Co-op Live, which has also been forced to postpone or move gigs by the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Take That and Peter Kay in recent weeks after suffering a string of delays and technical problems.

The Oak View Group (OVG)-operated arena finally opened on 14 May for an opening performance by Manchester’s Elbow.

Co-op Live’s interim general manager, Rebecca Kane Burton, recently told OVG-owned publication VenuesNow that the venue is “all up and running and fully furnished”.

“We’ve had a natural ramp-up in terms of the capacities we’ve been hosting. Peter Kay was our biggest event (May 23-24). We had between 14,000 and 15,000 people – all of the levels in full use. All suites and premium areas have been working at full-tilt. There’s still work happening within the building, but it tends to be offices and back-of-house areas.”

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Kendrick Lamar unveils mammoth worldwide tour

Kendrick Lamar has announced an extensive worldwide tour for 2022 which comprises arena shows in the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

The news comes after Lamar, one of the world’s most critically and commercially acclaimed rappers, released ‘Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers’, his fifth album and first in five years.

Lamar’s last album, ‘DAMN’, famously became the first non-jazz or classical recording to win the Pulitzer Prize and to win five Grammys.

The rapper’s newly announced tour, dubbed ‘The Big Steppers Tour’, will kick off in the US on 19 July and culminate in New Zealand on 16 December.

The worldwide run is promoted by Live Nation and sponsored by Amazon Music, Rotation and Cash App

Support comes from American rapper Baby Keem (all dates) and Tanna Leonne (select dates), both of which are signed to Lamar’s record label, pgLang.

The worldwide run is promoted by Live Nation and sponsored by Amazon Music, Rotation and Cash App – customers of which can bag the first tickets to the tour.

Lamar’s last headlining tour came in 2017 in support of DAMN, and similarly toured the US, Europe, Oceana and Asia.

According to Pollstar Boxoffice reports, the DAMN Tour grossed $41.4 million with 452,387 tickets sold in 36 shows in North America.

Lamar averaged 9,789 tickets per show and $790,018 gross, which this new run is expected to easily surpass.

See dates for The Big Steppers Tour below.

Tue Jul 19 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center

Thu Jul 21 – Austin, TX – Moody Center

Fri Jul 22 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center

Sat Jul 23 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center

Sun Jul 24 – Miami, FL – Rolling Loud

Wed Jul 27 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena

Fri Jul 29 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center

Sat Jul 30 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena

Sun Jul 31 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena

Tue Aug 02 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center

Thu Aug 04 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena

Fri Aug 05 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center

Sat Aug 06 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center

Sun Aug 07 – Long Island, NY – UBS Arena

Tue Aug 09 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center

Wed Aug 10 – Boston, MA – TD Garden

Fri Aug 12 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena

Sat Aug 13 – Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena

Sun Aug 14 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena

Tue Aug 16 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center

Thu Aug 18 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum

Fri Aug 19 – Chicago, IL – United Center

Sat Aug 20 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center

Sun Aug 21 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center

Tue Aug 23 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena

Wed Aug 24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Smart Home Arena

Fri Aug 26 – Portland, OR – Moda Center

Sat Aug 27 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena

Sun Aug 28 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena

Tue Aug 30 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center

Wed Aug 31 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena

Thu Sep 01 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena

Tue Sep 06 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena at San Diego State University

Wed Sep 07 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center

Fri Sep 09 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena

Sat Sep 10 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center

Tue Sep 14 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena

Wed Sep 15 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena

Fri Oct 07 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome

Mon Oct 10 – Prague, CZ – O2 Arena

Tue Oct 11 – Berlin, DE – Mercedes-Benz Arena

Thu Oct 13 – Hamburg, DE – Barclays Arena

Sat Oct 15 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena

Mon Oct 17 – Stockholm, SE – Avicii Arena

Wed Oct 19 – Oslo, NO – Telenor Arena

Fri Oct 21 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena

Mon Oct 24 – Stuttgart, DE – Scheleyerhalle

Tue Oct 25 – Zurich, CH – Hallenstadion

Wed Oct 26 – Laussane, CH – Vaudoise Aréna

Fri Oct 28 – Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis

Sun Oct 30 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena

Mon Oct 31 – Frankfurt, DE – Festhalle

Wed Nov 02– Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro

Thu Nov 03 – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena

Fri Nov 04 – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena

Sat Nov 05 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena

Mon Nov 07 – London, UK – The O2

Tue-Nov 08 – London, UK – The O2

Sun Nov 13 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena

Wed Nov 16 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena

Thu Dec 01 – Perth, AUS – RAC Arena

Sun Dec 04 – Melbourne, AUS – Rod Laver Arena

Thu Dec 08 – Sydney, AUS – Qudos Bank Arena

Mon Dec 12 – Brisbane, AUS – Entertainment Center

Fri Dec 16 – Auckland, NZ – Spark Arena

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.