Eminem is heading back Down Under. And this time, he’s bringing Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole with him.
The rap superstar will headline four stadium shows next February. The run will open with Eminem’s first-ever date in New Zealand (Auckland, Feb. 15), before visiting each of Australia’s big-three cities (Melbourne, Feb. 19; Brisbane, Feb. 20; Sydney, Feb. 22).
Eminem will also curate each of the dates. Though this isn’t the “Marshall Mathers Show.” The concerts are billed under the name “Rapture,” which promoter Paul Dainty’s Dainty Group is touting as a “game-changing hip hop event.”
Australian hip hop star 360 will support, while New Zealand rapper David Dallas is confirmed to play the Auckland date. “I’m pretty stoked,” Dallas tells Billboard. “Eminem has generations of fans in New Zealand. He’s never been here, so it’s going to be huge. Dallas, who admits to being a “huge fan” of Eminem, supported Lamar on his December 2012 show at Auckland’s Powerstation. “It was completely rammed, the energy and the way people reacted to the record was amazing,” he recalls. “They knew the songs inside out.”
The announcement of the “Rapture” tour comes at a particularly tough time for hip hop festivals in Australia, with Live Nation’s inaugural Movement fest, and the likes of Supafest, Sprung and Rap City either downsizing or cancelling. Just last week, Dainty’s planned Pitbull & Ke$ha tour was scrapped.
Though if there’s anything close to a safe-bet in these part, it’s Eminem. His last trek here, a stadium tour also for Dainty Group back in 2011, was a brisk sell-out.
Dainty says he wants Rapture to become an annual event, with a long term vision of ”showcasing the best of the best in hip hop at affordable prices to the punter.”
The general ticket onsale starts Oct. 31, with tickets for all dates priced from about U.S. $95 to $290. The pre-sale kicks off Oct. 24.
Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP2” is out Nov. 5 in Australia.
“Rapture” 2014 Australasian Tour Dates:
Feb. 15 – Auckland, Western Springs
Feb. 19 – Melbourne, Etihad Stadium
Feb. 20 – Brisbane, Suncorp Stadium
Feb. 22 – Sydney, ANZ Stadium
