air

4y

Arenas aren’t easy

Bobby_96

4y

And Kanye and Travis have been killing it in tours anyway which shows that it ain't really a race thing.

user

4y

And still can do a 2-3 hour concert without touching those songs lol

CKL TML

4y

Drake still makes Mob Ties, Omerta, War type of records Ellens audience would avoid and hes the biggest out

Grenouille

4y

Does he ever perform those though? Those are either deep cuts or loosies. Drake smart with it.

Although Mob Ties is catchy af for the type of song it is

NewCopeJustDropped

4y

Only ppl struggling are fake big 3 guys.

Travis, Cole, Kendrick. YE AND drake aren't struggling

bmass Huge ET fan

4y

Yes, he does

ilias

4y

the standard for most rappers live performances are horribly bad.

CKL TML

4y

Point is he still releases em to the public.. kinda proves that people dont listen to lyrics anymore, especially the general public. Sicko Mode verse was about spinning the block, mob ties he was saying bodybags in exchange for louis bags.. other tracks talking about his friends shooting for him. S*** even Toosie Slide was a violent street anthem disguisted as a dance song

Reborn

4y

Only really the biggest rappers can sell-out arenas, but that's not anything particularly surprising imo. I actually think the medium-sized venues are better for rap concerts anyway.

Like in London I'd much rather artists perform at Brixton Academy than the O2 Arena. It's a more intimate feel but also the moshpits aren't just people aimlessly running at each other.

CKL TML

4y

Point is he still releases em to the public.. kinda proves that people dont listen to lyrics anymore, especially the general public. Sicko Mode verse was about spinning the block, mob ties he was saying bodybags in exchange for louis bags.. other tracks talking about his friends shooting for him. S*** even Toosie Slide was a violent street anthem disguisted as a dance song

REACTIVE

4y

Drake already built his core fanbase on his safe early music. It doesn’t matter that he releases that stuff now.

REACTIVE

4y

U think a handful of black rappers who have crossover pop appeal make it not a race thing compared to the amount of white acts from other genres who sell out arenas with ease

Bobby_96

4y

And Kanye and Travis have been killing it in tours anyway which shows that it ain't really a race thing.

user

4y

I mean yeah but what were people supposed to do

Drake been using his homies to get off street bars since Meek beef and really since Stay Schemin

Bobby_96

4y

You said White acts from other genres and that's important because Beyonce, Rihanna, and Usher never had much issues selling out shows. Even Chris's problematic ass was doing arenas a few years back.

In the rap world, though, it ain't that different. You're ability to sell out arenas will depend on how well your performances are, how much hits you have, and how strong your fanbase is regardless of race. Kendrick's DAMN tour was selling out like crazy worldwide from an album where he called himself an Israelite and showed pride in his blackness lmao.

Bobby_96

4y

I remember J Cole's manager touched on this not that long ago and it's true.

You can't fake concert attendance the same way you can streams, sales, and hits.

Streaming is driven by curiosity more than being a diehard fan so having a lot of streams doesn't really correlate with having a big or strong fanbase.

Besides, selling out arenas as a rapper(particularly one who doesn't have many crossover hits) is usually something that builds up over time when you're established and not just hot for the moment. Kendrick and Cole were doing tours in amphitheaters, colleges, and smaller venues until DAMN and FHD despite going platinum since their debuts.

This is because they didn't have too much hits in their catalog yet and that was the best way for them to build up their fanbase organically. Even Ye didn't headline arenas until Grad for this reason and Wayne didn't do it until C3 although C2 went plat.

Selling out arenas as a rapper is uncommon regardless of how hot you are. Hell, headlining arena tours as a rapper wasn't even a thing until Ye did it with the Glow in the Dark tour.

Unless you're an amazing live performer or have tons of crossover hits, you gotta start small and work your way up.

Bobby_96

4y

Yup. Arenas are more of a privilege than a right.

You can't just start off trying to do arenas when you just get hot. That's shooting yourself in the foot. Especially when you got a Chiraq nigga dissing opps like Durkio with you lol.

Lil Baby needs at least 2 more major album cycles and another slew of hits to be able to pull this off successfully.

REACTIVE

4y

It all has to do with content and perception. If a white kid ask their parents for tickets to a Travis concert they can say “oh the McDonald’s guy” whereas if they ask for tickets to a future or lil baby concert their parents will be hesistant. It’s all about the crossover appeal.

So it’s not a race thing where ONLY white artist can sell arenas but it is a race thing where u have to do extra to appeal to that demo.

VeggieKubernetes

4y

Needs a crossover hit tbh

Bobby_96

4y

This too.

Baby needs a Hotline Bling/Humble/NIP/Power Trip type hit.