Get ready for your dreams and nightmares to come true, rap fans: Meek Mill is heading on tour, and he's coming to Comerica Theatre on Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
This is the Philadelphia rapper's first full tour since his Kafkaesque ordeal with the U.S. justice system. Just over one year ago, Meek, born Robert Rihmeek Williams, was sentenced to two to four years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of parole violation. A public outcry in support of the rapper followed, revealing the absurd conduct of the courts and cops in Philadelphia: Meek's original conviction on gun and drug charges was found to have been obtained thanks to a noncredible key witness, a police officer who testified against him. Additionally, Meek was sentenced by the controversial Judge Genece Brinkley, who, among other issues, once asked the rapper to record a cover of Boyz II Men's "On Bended Knee" for her with Nicki Minaj. He was released in April in large part due to the efforts of progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who began making radical changes to the city's judicial system after his election in 2017.
Meek's first performance since his release took place in May at the Rolling Loud festival in Miami, where he was a surprise guest. In July he released an EP, Legends of Summer, and will follow it up on November 30 with a full-length album, Championships. He released two songs from the album, "Uptown Vibes" and "Oodles o' Noodles Babies," last week, ahead of a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. In September, Drake brought him out as a special guest at his show in Boston, and the two publicly quashed their feud from 2015.
In addition to the tour, Meek Mill has also written an op-ed for the New York Times calling for criminal justice reform where he recounts his issues with the law. "I know I’m the exception to the rule – a lucky one," he writes. "It’s clearer than ever that a disproportionate number of men and women of color are treated unfairly by a broken criminal justice system."
Tickets for the tour are available now via Live Nation. Find all of the tour dates below:
Meek Mill: The Motivation Tour
February 19 – Miami FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater
February 22 – Dallas TX – South Side Ballroom
February 23 – Houston TX – Revention Music Center
February 26 – Phoenix AZ – Comerica Theatre
February 28 – Los Angeles CA – Hollywood Palladium
March 1 – San Francisco CA – The Masonic
March 5 – Denver CO – Fillmore Auditorium
March 8 – Chicago IL – Aragon Ballroom
March 9 – Detroit MI – The Fox Theatre
March 12 – New York NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
March 15 – Philadelphia PA – The MET
March 19 – Lowell MA – Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell
March 21 – Washington DC – The Anthem
March 23 – Raleigh NC – The Ritz
March 24 – Atlanta GA – Coca-Cola Roxy
Meek Mill. 8 p.m. Tuesday, February 26, 2019, at Comerica Theatre, 400 West Washington Street; 602-379-2800; comericatheatre.com. Tickets available via Live Nation.