Rod Wave
$10.3M / 107K tickets / 11 shows
All-Genre Top 100 Rank: N/A
Rod Wave toured early in the 2023 tracking period, supporting 2022’s Beautiful Mind. He’s back on the road now, after the release of this year’s Nostalgia.
Top 10 Highest Grossing Rap Tours of 2023
Written by djfrosty on December 14, 2023
Last week, Billboard revealed its year-end Boxscore charts, ranking the top tours, venues, and promoters of 2023. That coverage included analysis of the new wave of genre diverse artists crashing stadium stages, and in turn, our charts. Here, we are breaking down the year’s biggest tours, genre by genre. Today, we continue with rap.
Hip-hop had a confusing year, celebrating all of the groundbreaking art and success that has come in its first 50 years, while also dealing with a drought of crossover hits. But major releases from Drake, Nicki Minaj and Travis Scott helped momentum in the second half of 2023, while a new class of headliners waits in the wings.
Rap has never scaled on stage in quite the same way that pop, rock and country have. Its share of the top 100 tour grosses slips from 3.4% in 2022 to 2.7% this year, having peaked at 5.2% in 2019. And even as Latin and K-pop acts increase their touring footprint with international stadium shows, hip-hop artists have yet to cross that threshold. The genre’s biggest names have mounted stadium tours alongside pop peers (Jay-Z with Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake; Eminem with Rihanna) but outside of one-off dates, there has yet to be a major stadium tour by a rapper on their own.
That’s not to say that rap hasn’t generated stars big enough to compete with pop stars such as Taylor Swift and Harry Styles. R&B/hip-hop was confirmed as the most popular genre in America in 2017 and has continued that reign into the new decade. Rap artists led Billboard’s year-end Top Artist ranking for four consecutive years (2018-21) and there are six in this year’s top 20 – more than any other genre. With Doja Cat, Lil Uzi Vert, Rod Wave and Travis Scott already touring into the 2024 reporting period, the genre’s prospects are looking up.
Keep reading to check out the top 10 highest grossing tours of 2023 by hip-hop artists, with such acts qualifying due to recent performance on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums and/or Hot Rap Songs charts. Rankings are determined according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. All reported shows worldwide between Nov. 1, 2022 – Sept. 30, 2023, are eligible.
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Image Credit: Jeremychanphotography/Getty Images -
Snoop Dogg
Image Credit: Michael Buckner for Variety $11.8M / 124K tickets / 11 shows
All-Genre Top 100 Rank: N/A
Snoop Dogg hit three continents, playing solo shows in North America, Australia and Europe. Two shows at the Tacoma Dome in Washington grossed $2.9 million from 16,600 tickets.
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Kendrick Lamar
Image Credit: Christopher Polk for Billboard $12.8M / 128K tickets /10 shows
All-Genre Top 100 Rank: N/A
After posting the highest grossing rap tour of 2022, international dates extend the chart presence of The Big Steppers Tour. In all, reported grosses for the tour hit $85.4 million with 672,000 tickets sold.
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Lil Baby
Image Credit: Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images $15.7M / 133K tickets / 13 shows
All-Genre Top 100 Rank: N/A
Speaking of repeat offenders, Lil Baby was No. 8 on last year’s hybrid R&B/hip-hop tour ranking due to his co-headline run with Chris Brown, and moves up to No. 7 on this year’s rap breakout on his own.
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NF
Image Credit: Josh Brasted/FilmMagic $18.1M / 286K tickets / 31 shows
All-Genre Top 100 Rank: N/A
NF toured the U.S. and Canada with more than 30 shows in support of Hope, which was released on April 7 and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart.
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Wu-Tang Clan & Nas
Image Credit: Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns $18.8M / 196K tickets / 21 shows
All-Genre Top 100 Rank: N/A
Across Australia, Europe and the U.S., Wu-Tang Clan and Nas teamed up for a co-headline tour fitting for the genre’s 50th anniversary. Giants of ‘90s rap, both acts are helping establish a new tier of classic hip-hop headliners.
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$uicideboy$
Image Credit: Pedro Becerra/Redferns) $20.2M / 214K tickets / 23 shows
All-Genre Top 100 Rank: N/A
The New Orleans duo scored big in 2023 and continues to win. Since the Sept. 30 cutoff, $uicideboy$ has added almost $25 million to its career earnings. Two shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., delivered the duo’s biggest gross yet, with $2.9 million in the bank.
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Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa
Image Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images $25.9M / 529K tickets / 35 shows
All-Genre Top 100 Rank: No. 94
Snoop Dogg is the only artist to appear twice on any of the 2023 year-end genre rankings. Already No. 9 as a soloist, he’s No. 3 with co-headline pal Wiz Khalifa. This year’s High School Reunion Tour marked the pair’s third tour together, after playing in 2011-12 and 2016.
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50 Cent
Image Credit: Andrea Friedrich/Redferns $35M / 445K tickets / 32 shows
All-Genre Top 100 Rank: No. 72
It’s no wonder that 50 Cent’s The Final Lap Tour has been such a success. It’s a celebration of the 20th anniversary for Get Rich or Die Tryin’, the album the propelled 50 to the top of Billboard’s 2003 year-end charts for Top Artists, the Billboard 200 albums chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.
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Drake
Image Credit: Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images $140.9M / 528K tickets / 32 shows
All-Genre Top 100 Rank: No. 12
Drake already was named Billboard’s Top Rap Artist of the year, with Top Rap Albums and Hot Rap Songs honors to boot, so it makes sense that he also has the year’s highest grossing rap tour. Reported shows earned almost $150 million (including two from outside the reporting period) that extend his lead as the highest grossing rap artist in Boxscore history, with $472.5 million.