Summertime is often regarded as prime time for live music, as the biggest artists hit the road to play arenas, amphitheaters, and festivals all around the country. Last summer was a significant time for hip-hop with massive co-headlining tours like Rihanna and Eminem's "The Monster Tour," Drake and Lil Wayne's "Drake vs. Lil' Wayne Tour," and Beyoncé and Jay-Z's "On the Run Tour," holding the forefront of the genre in the U.S. The summer of 2015 has been a bit quieter on the rap front, and bigger acts like Kendrick Lamar and Drake have stuck to mostly festivals and just a handful of dates rather than larger scale tours. Nicki Minaj's "The Pinkprint" tour and J. Cole's "Forest Hills Drive" tour have been the leading hip-hop tours with the highest demand on the secondary ticket market.
(Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)
The North American leg of Nicki Minaj's "The Pinkprint" kicked off July 17 in Dallas and wraps up on August 23 for a show at The Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival. The tour is backed by up-and-comers DeJ Loaf, Tinashe, Rae Sremmurd, and Nicki Minaj's boyfriend Meek Mill. The tour is in support of Nicki's 2014 release The Pinkprint, which debuted at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 Chart. The album was the second highest in first-week sales for a female artist in 2014 and second highest in first week sales for a rap artist in 2014. Across the calendar, Nicki Minaj tickets have averaged at $162 on the secondary market. Currently, the most expensive date on Minaj's schedule was her July 26 show at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where an average secondary ticket was $242, with a get-in of $87. The cheapest tickets of her tour so far were available at her August 13 show in Chula Vista, CA, where the average ticket was $57 with a get-in price of $27, according to data provided by TiqIQ.
This summer has been an epic one for J. Cole, as he continues to climb the ranks of hip-hop hierarchy. His "Forest Hills Drive" tour has marked some huge milestones for the NYC-educated rapper, including a first-ever sold-out headlining Madison Square Garden on August 4. With the help of openers Big Sean, YG, and Jeremih, the tour has moved tickets consistently throughout the its run, which will end in August. A ticket to see J. Cole is currently $244 on the secondary market. J. Cole's July 21 show at the Isleta Amphitheater in New Mexico had the cheapest tickets with an average of $65 and a get-in price of $25. His most expensive date was his July 31 show at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey, where the average secondary price was $1,793 but with a get-in ticket price of $53.
