In the summer of 2022, Kendrick Lamar embarked on The Big Steppers Tour, aided by supporting acts Baby Keem and Tanna Leone, both of whom are signed to Lamar’s new imprint pgLang. The Big Steppers Tour kicked off just weeks after the release of Lamar’s comeback studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, his first solo LP in five years.
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After fulfilling over 70 shows worldwide on the tour, with over 40 of the dates being in U.S. cities, Lamar’s final concert for The Big Steppers Tour took place on Dec. 16 in Auckland, New Zealand. Now, just a few months since then, the Twitter account Touring Data has tallied up the total revenue Lamar raked in throughout his journey, along with a few other statistics.
On Wednesday (April 26), Touring Data announced that The Big Steppers Tour had officially become the highest-grossing headlining tour by a rapper in music history. Eclipsing previous tours like Drake’s Aubrey & the Three Migos (2018) and Kanye West and Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne (2011-12), The Big Steppers Tour amassed $110.9 million from the 929,000 tickets it sold.
Going into more detail, Touring Data concluded that the tour averaged over 12,700 tickets sold per venue, and made an average of $119.35 per ticket. These averages come from reported numbers from all of the 73 tour dates Lamar and company performed at.
Additionally, Lamar sold a whopping 98.89% of all available tickets for the European leg of the tour, which included 26 shows in cities like Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, and Paris. For the Oceana leg of the tour, which included seven shows in different Australian and New Zealand cities, Lamar similarly sold 98.90% of all available tickets.
Lamar’s massive fanbase is now undeniable, as his streaming numbers evidently translate to in-person supporters. When Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers first released, it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 295,000 equivalent album units in its first week. Needless to say, Lamar’s fans couldn’t wait for his return.
Photo by Ollie Millington/Redferns
