How do rappers who once filled arenas manage when their star quality depletes?

[Lil Bape the PostGod]

I don’t think TIP ever actually had anything near an arena tour

He may have headlined a few radio station concerts in arenas...but that ain’t the same

 

[eastsideTT]

TI is a funny example because he's one of the few that diversified early and spends / invests his money wisely. Besides the reality TV - which was most likely a vanity project for his wife - you can track the dude's career moves and see that they've been pretty solid (subjectively speaking about his actual music though)

 

[Sad Bunny]

I don’t think TIP ever actually had anything near an arena tour

He may have headlined a few radio station concerts in arenas...but that ain’t the same

I think Lil Wayne brought him on one of his tours before so I think that would count

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

I went to see Run-DMC at the Hampton Coliseum during the Tougher Than Leather tour in ‘89 when I like 8-9 years old.

shyt was crazy.

nikkas had explosions, crazy light show, crowd going ape, the whole 9.

Every time Run said “Who’s House?!” the whole building erupted “Run’s House!!!!”

One of the best shows I ever saw in my life.

Fast forward 8 years..

These nikkas get booked for a show at the Hampton University convocation center.

I’m 17 now and think I’m too cool for everything at this point.

I’m blunted, playing the back wall of the shyt, but still lowkey geeked to see Run and D.

They come on and it was like being at prom watching some local band nobody gave a fukk about.

I’m waaaay in the back and I can see the whole stage clear as day because most people left before they came on, and the people that hung around wasn’t paying any attention to them.

nikkas is smoking, trying to bag somethin, talkin shyt, while Run is up there sweating his ass off running around the stage.

That shyt depressed me and I felt embarrassed for them.

Not even 10 years ago they was on top of the world, now look at them.

Run tried that “Who’s House?!” shyt one time and nobody said a muthafukkin thing.

By the time they got to My Adidas, I looked down at my Timbs and broke out.

Couldn’t even finish the show.

I think it was moreso the audience.

sounds like they performed in front of a college crowd that wasn't into music when run dmc was poppin.

 

[SleezyBigSlim]

T.I. for example. Dude was a bonafide rap star, had Chevy commercials, and was being groomed for movie stardum. He honestly gets Rodney Dangerfield treatment these days. Something I didn't see in his career forecast even a decade ago.

How do rappers who once had it all in their hands manage when the fans look at them now like they speak Spanish?

TI can still fill arenas and always will be able to. The past summer I went to a concert featuring TI and the crowd went nuts he had probably the best performance. Only rappers that had a higher turn out there were the Migos

 

[phcitywarrior]

They just do other stuff.

Common is out here in Microsoft AI commercials.

It’s 2018, brehs just tryna secure the bag

 

[DarkmanX]

Breaking new artists, other business ventures, acting, television etc. every artist has an expiration date and don't stay a star forever.

This is true.

However it always lead me to another question.

Should they then care about the art like we expect most of them to do, or just think about the check? I mean think about it..

Them checks might dry out soon and when you're cold you not gonna get checks & momentums like you previously had. So should you
really give a fukk about hip-hop (or whatever else) when you know sticking to the craft and caring about your art and not the $ when you might
not last more than 5 years and be back broke again?

Its a dilemma.

 

[eastsideTT]

I don’t think TIP ever actually had anything near an arena tour

He may have headlined a few radio station concerts in arenas...but that ain’t the same

I know in like 2005? 2006? he did a big arena tour with Wayne and someone else. Forget who the third person was but it was someone super popping in 2005/2006 as well. The tour was huge. TI didn't headline / carry the thing by himself, but they definitely sold out some nights and packed big arenas. I know because I have a friend in the stagehand union who works shows in NY and he said that he was doing the spotlight and found 1 white kid in the crowd and followed him with the spotlight the entire night Also said the crowed left a metric ton of blunt guts on the floor

 

[tuckgod]

I think it was moreso the audience.

sounds like they performed in front of a college crowd that wasn't into music when run dmc was poppin.

Yeah it was mostly a college age crowd from what I remember, but I’m sure most folks there was Run DMC fans when they was poppin.

By ‘96 most folks wasn’t really checking for them like that anymore.

Music had changed a lot in those 8 years.

 

[Lil Bape the PostGod]

Damn..just looked it up..tip has no real touring history as a legit star

He headlined the “scream tour” with Ciara in like ‘07 or “08 because bow wow bailed out

And in like 2012 or 2013 he went on america most wanted tour and opened for Wayne

 

[banner34]

Tip probably ain't the best example

He could probably still do 5k seaters easily

Naw he doing smaller venues than that more like 1k-2k he fell off big time

 

[banner34]

TI can still fill arenas and always will be able to. The past summer I went to a concert featuring TI and the crowd went nuts he had probably the best performance. Only rappers that had a higher turn out there were the Migos

T.i can’t fill arena tours when he tour in nyc it’s was at Irving plaza

 

[SleezyBigSlim]

T.i can’t fill arena tours when he tour in nyc it’s was at Irving plaza

When have down souf rappers filled arenas in NYC breh? "When I look at our sales in Atlanta it be like 30k and when I look at our sales in NYC it be like 8" -C Murder

 

[L&HH]

Grand Hustle is still doing well.. isnt Travis Scott signed to him? as well as Lil Duval who has the #1 song in the country.

Duval not signed to him

I don’t think TIP ever actually had anything near an arena tour

He may have headlined a few radio station concerts in arenas...but that ain’t the same

Yeah I don’t think people realize the concept of a solo artist going on an arena tour with only one other headliner wasn’t a thing until recently. I don’t even know if the up in smoke tour was all arenas and they had 4 headliners and a long ass list of pretty popular opening acts.

 

[banner34]

When have down souf rappers filled arenas in NYC breh? "When I look at our sales in Atlanta it be like 30k and when I look at our sales in NYC it be like 8" -C Murder

If u a big rapper u should be able to do arenas everywhere not doing a 1k venue in a major city like nyc or la which have twice as much people as these down south places my point is t.i was not doing arenas in any major southern city either maybe in his hometown but I even doubt that unless he got like 6 other big artist from the city on it