Beyonce Announces Summer Stadium Tour Following Super Bowl Performance

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Time to empty your wallets.

Following a colorful Super Bowl Halftime performance with Coldplay and Bruno Mars, Beyoncé announced the "Formation World Tour." The tour, almost 40 dates long, will start in Miami on April 27th and travel to stadiums in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Boston and more before ending in Hershey, PA on June 12th. The "Crazy in Love" singer brings the tour to Europe on June 28th.

See when Queen Bey comes to a city near you below. Tickets can be found on February 16th over at Beyonce.com.

April 27 – Miami, FL – Marlins Park

April 29 – Tampa – Raymond James Stadium

May 1 – Atlanta, GA – Georgia Dome

May 3 – Raleigh, NC – Carter-Finley Stadium

May 5 – Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium

May 7 – Houston, TX – NRG Stadium

May 9 – Dallas, TX – AT&T Stadium

May 12 – San Diego, CA – Qualcomm Stadium

May 14 – Los Angeles, CA – Rose Bowl

May 16 – Santa Clara, CA – Levi’s Stadium

May 18 – Seattle, WA – CenturyLink Field

May 20 – Edmonton, AB – Commonwealth Stadium

May 23 – Minneapolis, MN – TCF Bank Stadium

May 25 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre

May 27 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field

May 29 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field

May 31 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Field

June 3 – Boston, MA – Gillette Stadium

June 5 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field

June 7 – New York, NY – Citi Field

June 10 – Baltimore, MD – M&T Bank Stadium

June 12 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium

EUROPE:

June 28 – Sunderland, UK – Stadium of Light

June 30 – Cardiff, UK – Millennium Stadium

July 2 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium

July 5 – Manchester, UK – Emirates Old Trafford

July 7 – Glasgow, UK – Hampden Park

July 9 – Dublin, IE – Croke Park

July 12 – Dusseldorf, DE – Esprit Arena

July 14 – Zurich, CH – Letzigrund

July 16 – Amsterdam, NE – Arena

July 18 – Milan, IT – Stadio San Siro

July 21 – Paris, FR – Stade de France

July 24 – Copenhagen, DK – Parken

July 26 – Stockholm, SE – Friends Arena

July 29 – Frankfurt, DE – Commerzbank Arena

July 31 – Brussels, BE – Roi Boudoin

Album Review: Future Delivers Yet Another Hit Album with "EVOL"

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EVOL Album Cover (Epic Records)

Future’s new album EVOL meets the hype from the sneak peek many heard on DJ Khaled’s Snapchat video while he was in the studio with the rapper recently. EVOL dropped on Khaled’s “We The Best” radio station on Beats 1 on Apple Music Friday night, and the dark tone of the album combined with a sensual theme common to the hip-hop culture seeps through all eleven tracks. Future has a tone similar to Fetty Wap’s recognizable rap sound; dark knights such as Fetty Wap and Drake are successful due to their recognizable sounds. Future is another to add to that list: EVOL’s songs demonstrate his unique tone that has landed him with deals such as the mixtape, What A Time to Be Alive, with Drake later last year. 

“Low Life” is one notable song on the album due to its feature with The Weeknd, one of the hottest and most sexual sounding male singers in the industry at the moment. The beat of the song is slow and quiet like a build up that compliments what The Weeknd excels at. Future raps, “If she catch me cheating, I will never tell her sorry. Porshes in the valley, I got Bentleys, I got Raris – taking pain pills on the plane, getting chartered.” The song is a classic mix of hip-hop themes: girls, drugs, and ego. Its low-key tone adds darkness to the song combined with heat from The Weeknd’s particular sound. The Weeknd sings the chorus, “I’m reppin’ for the low life…” His smoothness contrasts Future’s lower tone. Together, it is a well-done mix of hip-hip grit and pop/R&B sensuality. 

“Seven Rings” is a harsher song on the album that begins with intense backbeats mixed with high-pitched horns. Future raps in the beginning and end of the song, “Tote them pistols, poppin’, say it's a problem. I told you off the top that I would sign 'em. I told you we get money, 'bout to peel out. I told you half of these niggas we be winning.” This song is also about common hip-hop material, except “Seven Rings” leans more towards the gangster and violent side of that material in contrast to the sensuality in “Low Life.” Money and ego are the center of attention. Like the name implies, it reminds the listener of “Big Rings” in What A Time to Be Alive with Drake. If he’s not chasing girls, he’s chasing money – Future’s slightly electronic rap tone vibes with the robotic beats particularly in “Seven Rings” with neat sounds such as the horns’ effect.

EVOL might not do anything different with its content – the songs are about the rapper’s common plate of performance: ego, women, money, and flashiness. However, Future continues to build a resume for himself, as his recognizable sound can be heard clearly past the backbeats and features. When one begins to listen to EVOL, the listener knows undoubtedly that it’s Future. This is the base for any successful rapper in a sea full of the ones trying to make it. Future is joining the ranks of Drake and Fetty Wap who listeners pick up immediately when they turn on the radio. 

Beyonce Premieres New Video "Formation" in Honor of Black History Month

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Beyoncé released a surprise music video, "Formation" today with enough shades of racial discussion to fill up a professor's lecture notes. The video shows shots of B on top of sinking New Orleans roofs representing the Hurricane Katrina aftermath and in all different make ups of stereotyped black women. The lyrics shoot with the fiery attitude that is Queen B - "I slay" is just one repeated lyric that weighs so heavy it crushes any haters hanging under her stilettos. B seems to sing about owning her black self from her features to history, even if the media mocks the stereotype. What your interpretation of the video and song is up to you: I dare say, pretty sure that's her point.

Download Beyonce's new single Formation on Tidal for free by clicking here.

Photos: Jack & Jack Take Over Anaheim's House of Blues

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Jack & Jack performing at House of Blues in Anaheim, CA on February 5th, 2016 (Gibson Dintersmith/Roman's Rap-Up).

Hip hop music sensations Jack Johnson and Jack Gilinsky (known as Jack & Jack) started their sold out U.S tour this week, and made a stop in Anaheim Friday night at the House of Blues. Check out photos from the show below: 

Album Review: Majid Jordan Push Boundaries of R&B with Self-Titled Project

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Majid Jordan album cover (Warner Bros Records)

Majid Jordan, a Toronto R&B duo, dropped their self-titled album this morning. The duo has strong ties to mega-rapper Drake, as they co-produced and featured on his hit, “Hold On, We’re Going Home.” Drake even featured in a song on the album as a smoother version of his usual tough hip-hop tone in his own music. Majid Jordan includes a range of R&B tracks that push what is considered R&B in the music industry. While the lighter, smoother singing tones appear throughout the album, the beats of the songs are what separate them from classical R&B. 

(Norman Wong/Warner Bros Records)

“King City” is a song that sticks out to its listeners due to both the singing and backbeats. The backbeats of the song are electronic and proceed quickly after each other in a purposeful pattern; it creates a very free-flowing vibe to the track that highlights Majid Jordan’s singing quality in a high key with drawn out notes. They sing, “You’re driving me wild, King City.” The entire package creates a car-ride vibe. Meaning, the song is certainly one you’d want to hear driving with the windows down on a summer day or, even better, through city tunnels on a summer night. There is a slight eeriness to this song and others, a slightly darker tone, which contrasts the lightness of the preliminary listening experience. “King City” is one that you close your eyes to and just see what it makes you feel. It is much freer than classical R&B and creates an actual listening space and experience that demonstrates its uniqueness.

“My Love” is Majid Jordan’s song featuring Drake. The song begins with a much lower key than “King City.” Techno beats begin to the fill the background of the piece, as Drake and Majid Jordan alternate verses. They sing, “Why you wanna be my love? My love, my love, love?” It is much more demanding and intense than “King City.” However, Drake overpowers the duo in the verse with his recognizable tone in a key that better suits him than Majid Jordan. Majid Jordan excel at a higher, R&B vibe, while this song suits Drake’s style. “My Love” is a great example of another twist to R&B in the album, as it is much more demanding and aggressive than the laidback style fans are used to hearing in the genre. 

Majid Jordan is filled with twists and turns, as the duo navigates 80’s music seasonings, electronic beat improvises, and contrasting key changes that switch up the vibes of their songs. Each track differs from the others due to these influences. Their singing is solid; however, what carries the album are the backbeats that create a new, techno vibe to the edgier R&B that Majid Jordan are creating. It seems as the duo is pushing the expectations of an R&B album; it is a set of songs that should be listened to lying down with eyes closed to gain the full experience.