Erykah Badu‘s ready to hit the road with The Roots. The singer, who is out to support her latest LP, New Amerykah, Pt. One: 4th World War, is hitting different spots in North America with The Roots crew opening up later this year.
Badu‘s announcement notes that the singer and the band will be starting this tour in May. It should be noted that The Roots will only open up for certain tour dates and will not be at others. According to various reports, the tour dates are as follows:
May ’08
4 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
5 – Toronto, Ontario – Massey Hall
6 – Sherbrooke, Quebec – Jacques Cartier Park
8 – Boston, MA – Orpheum Theatre
9 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
10 – Baltimore, MD – Pier Six Concert Pavilion
11 – Upper Darby, PA – Tower Theatre
14-15 – Washington, DC – DAR Constitution Hall
16 – Norfolk, VA – Chrysler Hall
17 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
18 – Richmond, VA – Landmark Theater
20 – Boca Raton, FL – Mizner Park Amphitheater
21 – San Juan, Puerto Rico – Coliseum of Puerto Rico
23 – Atlanta, GA – Fabulous Fox Theatre
24 – Montgomery, AL – Jubilee City Festival
25 – Aruba, Dutch Caribbean – Soul Beach Music Festival
27 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
28 – Memphis, TN – Orpheum Theatre
29 – St. Louis, MO – Fox Theater
30-31 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
June ’08
2 – Denver, CO – Fillmore
3 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
5 – Redmond, WA – Marymoore Amphitheater
6 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom
8 – Oakland, CA – Paramount Theater
10 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
12 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
13 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
14 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Amphitheater
15 – Albuquerque, NM – Kiva Auditorium
While being considered the ‘best’ in their respective music genres, Jay-Z and Beyonce, may have a little more to prove as they will have to take on the post-marriage album sales jinx.
Taking a look at previous marriages involving high profiled urban entertainers, the trend of record sales decreasing after officially marrying has been frequent.
Before exchanging vows on June 5, 2004, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony were both releasing multi-million selling albums. Lopez had sold a total of 8.1 million from three albums while Anthony, between 1994 and 2004, had sold up to 2.1 million albums, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
Since marriage, her 2005 album Rebirth only sold 731,000 while her 2007 releases, Como Ama Una Mujer and Brave collectively pushed 354,000 albums. The same decrease has applied to Anthony as his 2007 album El Cantante has sold 183,000.
A more relatable situation to the newly married couple would be Nas and Kelis, whom married on January 8, 2005. Prior to marriage, Nas released eight albums that totaled around 11.3 million, while Kelis’ two pre-marriage albums combined for about 785,000, according to Reuters. Since being married, Nas’ 2006 Hip Hop Is Dead has sold 755,000 while Kelis’ Kelis Was Here has fallen around 157,000 albums.
While the trend has not closely been examined due to the lack of big named artists getting married within the music industry, the challenge is still in place as Jay-Z and Beyonce both enter in to their first full week of marriage.
Reported By Andres Tardio & Cyrus Langhorne
