DJ Akademiks predicts Kendrick Lamar & SZA's Grand National Tour will outperform Drake & 21 Savage's It's All A Blur Tour

DJ Akademiks predicted that Kendrick Lamar and SZA's ongoing Grand National Tour would outsell Drake and 21 Savage's It's All a Blur Tour, which currently holds the record for the "highest-grossing rap tour of all time." This prediction came after Touring Data reported that the opening show of the Grand National Tour in Minneapolis broke the record previously held by Eminem for "highest-grossing hip-hop concert of all time," grossing $9,124,989.

During his Rumble livestream on May 2, 2025, DJ Akademiks compared the sales of the Grand National Tour with Drake's record-breaking tour. He inferred from a Touring Data report that Kendrick Lamar and SZA's co-headlining tour was raking in an average of $1 million per concert.

He postulated that this put them on the fast track to beat the It's All a Blur Tour's record (which grossed $320.5 million), with their 39 stadium stops across North America and Europe. Akademiks also predicted that Kendrick Lamar and SZA's tour could potentially gross $400 million.

However, Akademiks also noted that Drake could still hold the record in North America on a technicality, as his shows were within the US and Canada and did not extend globally.

"I think Kendrick's gonna beat the record. He's gonna beat the record. However, Drake is still gonna have the record on technicality. Because Drake is gonna have the record for the shows within the United States and Canada. Kendrick is gonna hit overseas beyond Canada, after July 2, he's going to Germany, Scotland..."

He added:

"I think Kendrick is gonna have the overall record. However, Drake is gonna have a technicality record of shows within the US and Canada."

The media personality also posited the question of whether the Grand National Tour counted as a rap tour, as co-headliner SZA is an R&B artist.

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Kendrick Lamar previously held the record for "highest-grossing rap tour of all time"

Kendrick Lamar previously held the record for the "highest-grossing rap tour of all time" for the Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers Tour, which ran globally between 2022 and 2024.

According to Touring Data, it grossed $110.9 million. However, it was soon overtaken by Travis Scott's Circus Maximus Tour, which grossed over $210 million during its run between 2023 and 2024.

In September 2024, Touring Data revealed that Drake and 21 Savage's It's All a Blur Tour surpassed Scott's tour and was subsequently crowned "the highest-grossing rap tour of all time," a position it still holds as of this article.

Drake's tour, which ran for 80 shows between 2023 and 2024 through North America, grossed $320.5 million and sold 1.3 million tickets. It's All a Blur Tour was done in support of Drake and 21 Savage's 2022 joint album Her Loss, and the Canadian rapper's 2023 album, For All The Dogs.

21 Savage co-headlined the tour with Drake during the first leg in 2023. During the second leg in 2024, J. Cole joined Drake as the co-headliner in 21 Savage's stead. The tour was rebranded as It's All a Blur Tour – Big as the What?

As of this article, Kendrick Lamar and SZA's ongoing tour has completed four of its 39 stops. According to Touring Data, the four shows have grossed $42,002,014, selling 190,358 tickets at an average price of $220.65.

The opening show at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis also made history as the "most-attended concert" at the venue, selling 47,354 tickets.

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The next stop of the Grand National Tour is on May 3 at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.