Kanye West has tapped
an all-star cast for his “Touch the Sky” tour, which comes on the
heels of his #1 sophomore Roc-A-Fella Records release, Late Registration.
Keyshia Cole, Fantasia and rapper Common will join Kanye on
the tour, which is being sponsored by Verizon.
"Performing live is the reason why we make this music,
spend so much time and thought and craft on it," West said. "It’s
never been about the critics or the album sales. It’s about the fans, and I
love having the opportunity to bring this music – that I’ve poured my heart
and soul into – to them.”
West has critics. The rapper came under fire in various media
outlets after his recent comments that “George Bush doesn’t care
about black people” on a nationally televised NBC telethon.
The comments prompted a national debate on race and the President’s
handling of Hurricane Katrina and drew a response from First Lady Laura Bush,
who branded the comments "disgusting."
West also has fans. His new album Late Registration
debuted at #1 last week and sold over 860,000 copies in the first week of its
release, making it the biggest opening release in Def Jam’s history.
West’s second single “Gold Digger” recently
hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, the Chicago native’s first #1 single since
“Slow Jamz” with fellow Chicago rapper, Twista.
“I think about how audiences are going to respond to hooks
and intros and certain lines when I’m in the studio recording,” West said.
“Bringing these songs to the stage is the ultimate fulfillment of the
creative process."
The tour kicks off October 11 in Miami, Florida and winds down
in Vancouver, Canada.
Tour dates are below:
Tuesday 11-Oct Miami, FL Convocation Center: Un. Of Miami
Wed 12-Oct Tampa, FL USF: Sundome
Thursday 13-Oct Gainsville, FL O’Connell Center: Un. Of FL.
Saturday 15-Oct Greenville, SC Bi-Lo Center
Sunday 16-Oct Knoxville, TN Thompson-Boling Arena
Tuesday 18-Oct Columbia, MO Mizzou Arena
Wednesday 19-Oct Champaign, IL Assembly Hall
Friday 21-Oct Buffalo, NY Alumni Arena
Saturday 22-Oct Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
Sunday 23-Oct Detroit, MI/Columbus, OH Fox Theatre/Schottenstein
Center
Wednesday 26-Oct Kingston, RI Ryan Center: UN. Of Rhode Island
Friday 28-Oct University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center: Penn
State
Saturday 29-Oct Cleveland, OH CSU Convocation Center
Sunday 30-Oct Fairfax, VA Patriot Center
Monday 31-Oct Amherst, MA Mullins Center
Wednesday 2-Nov New York, NY MSG Theatre
Thursday 3-Nov New York, NY MSG Theatre
Friday 4-Nov Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner Arena
Saturday 5-Nov Hampton, VA Coliseum
sun 6-Nov Philadelphia, PA Liacouris Center
Tuesday 8-Nov Pittsburgh, PA AJ Palumbo Center/Peterson Evnt
Wednesday 9-Nov Toronto, ON ACC
Friday 11-Nov E. Lansing, MI Breslin Center: MI State Un.
Saturday 12-Nov Chicago,IL Rosemont Theater
Sunday 13-Nov Dekalb, IL/ Minneapolis, MN NIU Convocation Center/Excel
Center
Monday 14-Nov Northwestern University Welsh Ryan Arena
Tuesday 15-Nov Carbondale, IL SIU Arena
Thursday h 17-Nov Atlanta, Ga Gwinnett Center
Friday 18-Nov Greensboro, NC Coliseum
Saturday 19-Nov Statesboro, GA GSU
Sunday 20-Nov Birmingham, AL BJCC
Tuesday 22-Nov Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center
Wednesday 23-Nov Memphis, TN Mid-South Coliseum
Friday 25-Nov Houston, TX Reliant Arena
Saturday 26-Nov Dallas, TX Nokia Live
Sunday 27-Nov Kansas City, MO Kemper Arena
Tuesday 29-Nov Denver, CO Magness–Lecture Hall
Thursday 1-Dec Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre
Friday 2-Dec San Diego, CA Cox Arena/RIMAC
Saturday 3-Dec Los Angeles, CA Universal Amph
Sunday 4-Dec Los Angeles, CA Universal Amph
Tuesday 6-Dec San Francisco Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Wednesday 7-Dec Las Vegas, NV M. Bay–Aladdin
Friday 9-Dec Portland, OR Memorial Coliseum
Saturday 10-Dec Seattle, WA Everett Event Center
Sunday 11-Dec Vancouver
GM Place