When I first heard that Lil Wayne (Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.) was going on tour with blink-182 and Neck Deep, I was a bit surprised. I didn’t expect a punk rock show to mix very well with hip-hop crowd but non the less, I bought a ticket and decided to go. Then the news broke, Lil Wayne is quitting the tour.
On July 11 2019, Lil Wayne cut his Thursday night set in Bristow, VA short stating that it “wasn’t his swag”. Wayne abruptly walked off stage and left his band and fans perplexed at what had just happened. The crowd at Jiffy Lube Live was significantly smaller than normal due to bad weather earlier that evening but Wayne didn’t care. He wasn’t feeling it and he left the stage.
Shortly after, Twitter clips of Lil Wayne walking off stage went viral and music blogs started publishing out headlines that read ‘Lil Wayne Quits Tour’. I’ll admit, I was pretty bummed when I first got word. Not that blink-182 didn’t stand on their own as a solid rock headliner but that I wanted to see this dynamic show combining two huge artists from different sides of the music scene come together and work successfully. The following morning Lil Wayne tweeted this out.
Yesterday was krazy! But I want all my fans to know I won’t be quitting this tour! I’m having too much fun with my bros blink-182. Bangor,ME See you tomorrow!
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) July 12, 2019
Two weeks later, I can happily say that Lil Wayne did not quit the tour and that it continues on successfully. I was actually able to attend two shows; a Saturday night show in Virginia Beach, VA at Veterans United Home Loans and a Tuesday night show in Charlotte, NC at PNC Music Pavilion. Both shows were unique, impressive and packed out but the Saturday night show stood out to me as the clear winner.
Both shows involved similar sets from each artist. Lil Wayne played some of his hits like “A Milli, 6 Foot 7 Foot” and “John” as well new songs like “Uproar” off the Tha Carter V. Lil Wayne also brought out Gudda Gudda as a special guest at both shows.
blink-182’s 20th Anniversary of Enema of the State
blink-182’s performance was nothing to overlook. Matt Skiba, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker were on point as they delivered very energetic performances in NC and VA. Their sets included a special play through of Enema of the State for it’s 20th anniversary which was mentioned in the tour announcement.
Matt and Mark playfully joked that they were “going to play the album front to back.” If anything, blink-182 is still the same foul mouth punk rock band that they were 20 years ago. I do however feel the band has grown up a bit now that the mid-song conversations are slightly less offensive.
blink-182 has fans of several generations who listen to their music and attend their shows and I think they are aware of that. There was a healthy mix of old and new blink songs and I think fans will appreciate it and thoroughly enjoy their performance.
blink-182 just announced their new album NINE which will be out on September 20th, 2019 via Columbia Records with several tracks already out including “Blame It On My Youth” and a new song titled “Darkside” that you can hear below.
Lil Wayne and blink-182 tour continues through August and September before wrapping up on October 20, 2019 in Brooklyn, NY.
