Roughly 12 years after collaborating on “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” from his Reasonable Doubt album, Mary J. Blige will join Jay-Z on a 25-date North American tour. The Mary J. Blige & Jay-Z: Heart of the City tour will begin March 22 at Miami’s American Airlines Arena. The tour, which will be sponsored by Live Nation and Haymon Events, marks the first time an African-American male and female of this stature have shared twin billing in more than 15 years.
The tour takes its name from a Jay-Z song of the same name, which was featured on 2001’s The Blueprint. Although the original vocals to that song were performed by Jaguar Wright, Blige has filled in on several occasions during Jay-Z’s live performances. Both artists have expressed mutual respect and admiration for each other, which undoubtedly bodes well for promoters, given what happened during Jay-Z’s last co-headlining tour with an R&B artist. In 2004 embattled singer R. Kelly attempted to sue Jay-Z for $90 million. Kelly charged Jay-Z with sabotaging the 40-date Best of Both Worlds tour out of spite and jealousy.
“The [songs] we’re playing are the soundtracks to people’s lives,”Jay-Z said to USA Today, regarding his tour with Blige. “We’ve poured our hearts out many a night in the studio and look forward to going one step further onstage.”
