Drake's Australian tour to begin same date as rival Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl show

Drake is taking his musical stylings Down Under with a short Australian tour set to kick off on the same date as rival Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime performance.

The Toronto rapper announced the Anita Max Wynn Tour during a livestream Sunday night with Félix Lengyel, a Quebecois streamer known as xQc who used to play the video game Overwatch professionally.

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Drake's tour is named for his gaming alter ego.

He says the tour will begin on Feb. 9, the same date Lamar is due to take the stage at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, a connection Drake didn't make in the video.

Drake says the tour will include stops in Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast and will continue "until, like, March something."

Representatives for Drake did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the tour or when tickets would go on sale.

The tour follows a public diss battle between Drake and Lamar, which saw them exchange musical barbs in songs including "Taylor Made Freestyle" by Drake, and Lamar's "Not Like Us."

Lamar's track is nominated for five Grammys, including record of the year and song of the year.

Drake was not nominated for any Grammys this year, but his representatives did not immediately respond to questions on whether he submitted any work for consideration. In previous years he has opted not to.

Meanwhile Drake and Kendrick will face off in several categories at the Billboard Music Awards, which measure chart success, streaming, airplay and social engagement

Finalists for the Dec. 12 award show were announced Monday, and each nabbed eight nominations.

They'll go head-to-head in two of those categories: top rap artist and top male rap artist.

Drake is also a finalist in the top artist category, along with top male artist and top Billboard 200 artist.

Lamar, meanwhile, is in contention for top Hot 100 songwriter and has two songs in the running for top rap song: "Not Like Us," and "Like That," a song with Future and Metro Boomin.

A verse in "Like That" is seen as the first shot in the battle between Lamar and Drake. In it, Lamar scoffs at a lyric in Drake's song "First Person Shooter" that suggests that Lamar, Drake and featured artist J. Cole are the "big three" of rap.

There's no big three, Lamar says. "It's just big me."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2024.