Rap Stars With Humble Beginnings

Opening for an established artist can be a turning point in an up-and-comer’s career. There’s a reason that Kendrick Lamar, in the middle of his DAMN tour, took a moment to sincerely thank Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko for granting him the opening slot of their Independent Grind tour in 2010.

The experience one can gain from performing alongside established artists is among the most valuable assets a musician can obtain in the early stages of their career. Even those who have already gained a footing in the game — sometimes even a significant one — can benefit from holding down the opening spot on a headlining tour. 

Sprite understands the importance of the opener, and as such, they’ve granted a new opportunity for three of their Sprite Way musicians. Sprite Way is a community-first social platform that puts on the up and coming creators and arbiters who are pushing hip-hop forward. This primarily comes to life through their Sprite playlist. Check out the latest here.

This summer, Sprite kicked off their Live From The Label concert series, featuring three headlining performances from Latto, Saweetie, and Jack Harlow. The opening performances were handled by ChloTheGod and Summer Valentine respectively, while Harlow’s opener was Ryan Trey. If you missed the livestream, not to worry, you can still see them by scanning the Live From The Label QR code on your bottles of Sprite or Sprite Zero Sugar.

In honor of Sprite’s recent initiative, it feels appropriate to highlight some of the notable opening acts throughout the past few years, many of whom have gone on to headline shows of their own. Check out some of the connections below.

KENDRICK LAMAR

• Kendrick Lamar opened for Tech N9ne & Krizz Kaliko’s Independent Grind tour in 2010. He was also joined by Jay Rock. He gave the Strange Music rappers a shout-out during a 2017 concert in Kansas City: 

“It was almost a decade ago. That was my first experience on tour, and I was soaking up so much game. A humble student before I even knew what humble was. Better yet, that was my first time hearing about motherf****n’ per diem. I want to give a salute to Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko, and the whole Strange Music family for being true big brothers when we was just scrubs in this sh*t.”

• Opened for Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller’s Under The Influence Of Music tour in 2012. 
• Opened select dates for Drake’s Club Paradise tour in 2012.
• Opened for Kanye West on the Yeezus tour in 2013.
• Opened for Eminem during select shows of the Rapture tour in 2013. 

 NICKI MINAJ

• Opened for Lil Wayne at the I Am Music tour in 2008.
• Held it down with opener Young Money for Lil Wayne’s 2009 America’s Most Wanted tour.
• Opened for Britney Spears during the Femme Fatale tour in 2011. 
• Reprised role as the opener for Lil Wayne’s I Am Music II tour in 2011. 

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

J. COLE

• Opened for Clipse during several shows in 2009.
• Opened for JAY-Z’s The JAY-Z Fall Tour in 2009.
• Opened for Eminem during select shows of the Rapture tour in 2013. 

TYLER, THE CREATOR & EARL SWEATSHIRT

• Opened for Eminem during several European tour dates in 2013. 

RICK ROSS 

• Opened for Lil Wayne during the I Am Music II tour. 

SCHOOLBOY Q

• Joined Kendrick Lamar in opening for Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller’s Under The Influence Of Music tour in 2012.

FREDDIE GIBBS

• Shortly after signing to Jeezy’s CTE label, Freddie Gibbs opened for the Snowman’s TM103 tour dates. 

YOUNG THUG

• Opened for Travis Scott during the 2015 Rodeo tour. 
• Opened for J. Cole’s KOD tour in 2018. 

 Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

PUSHA T

• Opened for Future during the Pluto tour in 2012. 

BIG SEAN

• Opened for Wiz Khalifa during the Rolling Papers world tour in 2011. 

LUPE FIASCO

• Opened for Kanye West during the Glow In The Dark tour in 2008. 

RIHANNA

• Also shared the Glow In The Dark stage alongside Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco.

21 SAVAGE

• Currently slated to open for J. Cole on the upcoming Off-Season tour later this year. 

THE LOX

• The former Bad Boy signees opened for Diddy, then known as Puff Daddy, at the No Way Out tour in 1997. 

JAY-Z

• According to Cam’ron during a recent appearance on NORE’s Drink Champs series, JAY-Z opened for Method Man at an unknown show. Cam later noted that the roles were reversed during the Hard Knock Life tour in 1999, when Method Man and Redman opened for JAY-Z. 

Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images

JUICE WRLD

• Opened for Nicki Minaj during the Nicki WRLD tour in 2019.

FUTURE 

• Opened for Lil Wayne during the 2013 return of America’s Most Wanted tour.

T.I. 

• Joined Future in opening Lil Wayne’s America’s Most Wanted tour in 2013. 

JOEY BADA$$ 

• Opened for Juicy J on The Smoker’s Club’s One Hazy Summer tour in 2012. 

YG

• Opened for Mac Miller during the Macadelic tour in 2012. 

KEVIN GATES

• Opened for Cardi B during her debut tour in 2019. 

TYGA

• Opened for Nicki Minaj for Pinkprint Reloaded tour in 2012

B.O.B 

• Opened for Eminem & JAY-Z during the Home & Home tour in 2010. 

MACHINE GUN KELLY

CHANCE THE RAPPER

• Opened for Childish Gambino during the CAMP tour in 2012. 

EARTHGANG

• Opened for Ab-Soul’s These Days…tour in 2014:

“Them fools gave us just like so much weed just off top. It was like “what’s popping? It’s good to have y’all on the road. Here’s weed. Enjoy.” It was dope because a lot of people don’t know, we didn’t get paid for that tour, they just gave us that opportunity and if you really about your grind, you gonna take that opportunity and make the most of it.” – Olu, speaking on the These Days…tour. 

• Opened for Mac Miller’s Good AM tour in 2015
• Opened for J. Cole during the KOD tour in 2018:

“We had sleepovers with Young Thug on the bus, like playing GTA, like that regular stuff. Thug got all the cheat codes. He hopping over buildings and sh*t!”

 Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images