Rap legend JAY-Z has announced a North American tour in support of his new album, 4:44.

The 31-date trek will hit arenas across the country. JAY-Z is also set to make headlining appearances at New York City’s The Meadows and Austin’s Austin City Limits festivals, as well as his own Budweiser Made in America festival, where he has enlisted J Cole, The Chainsmokers, Solange, Run the Jewels and more to perform.

4:44 has made headlines for going RIAA-certified Platinum in less than a week after its release. The album was initially only available to subscribers of the rapper’s streaming service, Tidal, and Sprint customers. Although it was made available as a free download to the latter group, Sprint did purchase these copies, allowing the album to reach its Platinum status. However, 4:44 did not chart on the Billboard Top 200, although this is probably due to Tidal not reporting its streaming figures to Nielson Music. 4:44 has since been released to iTunes and Apple Music and a physical release is forthcoming.

A Roc Nation representative recently confirmed to Pitchfork that JAY-Z now officially has added the hyphen back to his name (after dropping it for 2013’s Magna Carta…The Holy Grail) and will now be formatted in all caps.

For 4:44 tour dates nearest you, click here! 

Written by Eugene

Last evening (July 12th, 2017) marked the highly anticipated ESPY Awards- a high class event that was designed to recognize top-performing athletes, and affiliates of various sporting organizations. This year marked the 25th annual ceremony, and it was hosted in Los Angeles, California.

Narrated by former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, this event was full of honorable, tear-jerking stories, accompanied by good humor to lighten the mood. Manning poked fun at several different athletes (although Kevin Durant wasn’t a fan) before rolling out the actual awards.

Aside from recognizing top performing players, the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award show also accredits noble individuals who have made a difference within the sports community. This year there were several heart-warming awards given to extremely deserving individuals including:

• The Pat Tillman Award for Service: Granted to U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro, who survived a devastating explosion during his tour in Afghanistan in 2005. He was told he had a 15% chance of survival, and despite his injuries, he made a recovery and even re-enlisted in the air-force a couple of years later. 

 

• The Jimmy V Perseverance Award: Given to 15 year-old Jarrius Robertson who has a debilitating liver disease. In just 13 years, he has undergone 15 surgeries, yet he continues to be positive, and show his endless love and enthusiasm for sports. Robertson is a legend in the sports community, and he acts as a reporter, performing interviews with the players at major awards shows. 

 

• The Asher Ashe Courage Award: Former first lady Michelle Obama honored the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver with this award for her role in founding the Special Olympics.

For a complete list of winners click here! 

Written by Tara