NEWS
Even StubHub wants to get in on the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef. StubHub revealed that ticket spiked on Thursday afternoon (June 12) for Kendrick Lamar's Grand National Tour at Toronto's Rogers Centre. In a X post, the company announced that Kendrick's tour has made Toronto one of the top five best-selling cities. The new record was based on total ticket sold.
The Toronto stop was always an anticipated show because of Kendrick Lamar's 2024 rap battle with hometown hero Drake. The two exchanged chart-topping diss tracks towards each other, including "Euphoria," "Family Matters," and "Not Like Us." Lamar would release the GNX album at the end of the year.
Kendrick's Toronto stop on the tour includes a two-night event co-headlined by SZA. The new Toronto record follows Wednesday's announcement of the Grand National Tour headed to Australia this summer. Kendrick Lamar has broken concert attendance records cities across the nation, including Dallas, Los Angeles, and Seattle.
Kendrick Lamar’s Grand National Tour has shattered several historic records, solidifying his status as a dominant force in hip-hop and live music. The tour’s Minneapolis opener set a new benchmark as the highest-grossing hip-hop concert of all time, pulling in over $9 million from more than 47,000 fans. In Atlanta, he and SZA drew a massive 45,000 attendees at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, setting a single-night hip-hop stadium attendance record, even as Pearl Jam played across town.
Streaming numbers mirrored the tour’s explosive impact. Lamar became the first rapper in history to surpass 100 million monthly Spotify listeners, joining the elite ranks of global pop icons. His album GNX also broke records, debuting with over 44 million first-day streams on Spotify and notching the largest opening streaming week for a hip-hop or R&B release in 2024.
Spanning 21 stadiums across North America between April and June 2025, the tour added extra shows in Los Angeles and Toronto due to overwhelming demand. The Grand National Tour isn’t just a concert series—it’s a cultural moment. With unmatched scale and reach, it redefines what's possible for hip-hop artists on a global stage.
After staying quiet for years, The Avalanches have finally returned with something brand new. Their latest single “Together,” released through Modular Recordings, features Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza, and Prentiss, marking the group’s first original release in close to six years.
Anyone expecting quiet, reflective electronic music or sample heavy Motown inspired textures may be caught off guard by this one. “Together” leans into bright energy and movement, delivering a lively dance driven sound that feels playful, upbeat, and built for packed rooms and late nights.
The Avalanches, currently made up of Robbie Chater, Tony Di Blasi and Andy Szekeres, made a huge impact with their 2000 debut album Since I Left You.
What made the record stand out was its incredible use of sampling, blending fragments from hundreds of recordings by artists including Françoise Hardy, Sérgio Mendes, Raekwon, Wayne and Shuster, and Madonna into something completely unique. Tracks like “Frontier Psychiatrist” and the title song helped establish the album as both nostalgic and futuristic at the same time. According to a statement from the band’s representatives, the project left “a global footprint for collaborative sampology in the 21st century.”
Their second album arrived after an extremely long wait and explored a very different direction creatively. Sixteen years after their debut, The Avalanches released Wildflower, which debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Their next project, We Will Always Love You, arrived in 2020 and later earned the Australian Music Prize for Album of the Year.
The group briefly resurfaced again in 2024 through their collaboration with Jamie XX on the song “All You Children” from In Waves.
“Together” appears to be the beginning of another major era for the group. The release is connected to a “Superfun” campaign that features artwork of Chater gaming along with an animated visual for the track. The video brings old technology to life, including an iPod and a diskette, as they wander through a colorful world side by side.
A classic Nokia 3310 also shows up in the video, floating down from above complete with angel wings.
“How are you looking after your memories? At Takumi digital archives your most treasured moments are safe with us,” says the mysterious official statement. Fans are also invited to “visit Takumi today” through the website takumiarchives.com.
Jonathan Zawada directed and animated the music video, which can be streamed below.
