"This is going to be one the most peaceful events" — DJ Akademiks predicts there will be no drama at Kendrick Lamar and SZA's Toronto show
Kendrick Lamar announced his upcoming Grand National Tour, starting in April 2025, with SZA joining as a co-headliner. The tour will feature 21 shows across the US and Canada, including one at Toronto's Rogers Center. Given that Toronto is Drake's hometown, there's anticipation of potential tension at the event due to their rivalry.
Addressing the subject earlier today, DJ Akademiks spoke with The Art of Dialogue, saying:
"I'm gonna be honest with you... I predict this is going to be one of the most peaceful events of the year. And it's not because Toronto n****s ain't like that, 'cause they are. It's just that, once you get to the arenas and the stadiums, there is so much police, only an idiot or a crash-out will even attempt to do anything."
Akademiks then recalled attending a Drake concert in Philadelphia earlier this year, amidst the Drake-Lamar beef, where 45 cop cars were escorting the rapper to the venue. The podcaster then compared it to something you see in the case of the country's president, adding that he expected a similar level of protection and security during Lamar's show in Toronto.
Kendrick Lamar's tour will kickstart in Minnesota
Billboard revealed the details of Kendrick Lamar's upcoming Grand National Tour on November 3, stating that the rapper will debut his first show in Minneapolis on April 19. The next two shows are in Texas (Houston and Arlington), followed by Atlanta, Charlotte, and Philadelphia, and two shows in East Rutherford.
On May 17, Lamar and SZA will perform in Seattle, after which they have two shows in L.A., and one show in Glendale, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. In June, their tour has announced only six shows so far, taking place in St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Hershey, and Washington D.C.
The announcement about Kendrick Lamar and SZA hitting the road together comes after the duo paired up on two tracks of the Alright rapper's recently-dropped surprise album, GNX. The rappers have collaborated on Gloria and Luther. The latter debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Lamar's upcoming tour will likely support GNX
The announcement of the Grand National Tour comes nine months after Kendrick Lamar wrapped up his fourth headlining tour - The Big Steppers Tour - in March 2024. Just like his last tour supported Lamar's fifth album, the upcoming tour will likely support GNX - his sixth album that was surprise-dropped on November 22.
The album was named after the vintage car K-Dot had purchased earlier in 2024 - a limited-run 1987 Buick Grand National Experiment (GNX). Much like the album, Kendrick's tour is also named after his car.
Besides SZA, other artists who have feature appearances in Kendrick's GNX include Roddy Ricch, Wallie the Sensei, Lefty Gunplay, Peysoh, Doddy6, AzChike, Hitta J3, and Young Threat.
A snippet from one of the songs from Lamar's GNX - Squabble Up - was pre-released in the rapper's chart-topping diss track released earlier this year, Not Like Us. The music video of the song - which was released two months after the track dropped - features a 15-second clip of Squabble Up's intro.
In the music video of Squabble Up, the DNA rapper is also seen reading a book titled "How To Be More Like Kendrick Lamar for Dummies" which attracted the attention of netizens on social media.
