Death threats, day jobs, jail time,
and starring roles… These hip hop artists all found reasons to ditch the tour bus.
Unless Joe Budden is heading out to promote his podcast, it's highly unlikely that he'll
be crisscrossing the globe on tour. The former Def Jam artist retired from rap in 2016 and made
it clear that he was done with tour life. Put it like this: the name of Budden's last group
of concerts was "the last Budden shows ever," just to give an idea of how decisive he was
about retiring then. He's become a successful podcaster since that time, launching his "I'll
Name This Podcast Later" in 2015, which was eventually called "The Joe Budden Podcast."
Budden also replaced his touring money with reality show dollars,
joining the cast of VH1's "Love & Hip Hop: New York" in 2013 and the network's
"Couple's Therapy" later on. He began working with Sean "Diddy" Combs as well,
hosting the talk show "State of the Culture" on Combs' Revolt channel.
The ex-rapper spoke about walking away from music in a 2018 interview with
Vibe and explained why he's done with touring and songwriting. He explained —
Budden continued —
Al Green did it. So did Joseph "Run" Simmons of the legendary group Run-DMC. We're talking
about those who've worked in ministry after being famous musicians. Simmons
became a man of the cloth in 1995 and changed his stage name to Reverend Run.
"Being a reverend's important to me. I live my life by certain principles."
That certainly had something to do with his tour life coming to an end. But he and group
member DMC officially broke up after third member Jam Master Jay was killed in 2002.
During a press conference that was held after Jay's murder, Run said,
Now, it's true that Run-DMC has played some shows since Simmons became a reverend and
the tragedy involving Jay. But Run has still been a pretty busy guy
because besides handling his reverend duties: he had a successful show on
MTV called "Run's House" that ran from 2005-2009 and has released a few books.
One day André 3000 was a globetrotting superstar rapper, the next he stopped touring. The man born
André Lauren Benjamin had some very productive years with his OutKast co-star Big Boi,
releasing six critically acclaimed albums. Then Andre's musical output lessened. After that,
new music and shows stopped altogether. That largely has to do with the Grammy award-winning
artist having a social disorder, which he talked about with GQ in 2017. He told the outlet —
The "Hey Ya!" writer also opened up to Rick Rubin on the "Broken
Record" podcast about his relationship with music,
admitting that he lacked the proper focus and confidence to churn out new material. Plus,
Andre talked about OutKast's success possibly hindering his creativity, telling Rubin,
"For My Fans," "The King Zoo," and "Welcome to the Zoo." Those are just some of the names of
New Jersey rapper Fetty Wap's tours. For a while there, he seemed to be a pretty busy
guy after breaking onto the scene with his 2014 song "Trap Queen," and his self-titled
album the following year. But things would come to an abrupt halt for Wap, as he was
arrested on a drug trafficking charge in 2021 at New York City's CitiField. He later pleaded
guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, according to CNN.
The "My Way" rapper was booked with five others. It's said they all belonged to a drug distribution
ring that operated on both U.S. coasts. Wap is facing a max of 40 years and will be sentenced on
January 18, 2023. His touring days have certainly been put on hold, but that hasn't stopped Wap from
having a positive outlook, however. In 2021 Fetty posted a video to Instagram saying,
The year 2013 was pretty eventful for Eve. That's when she released her album "Lip Lock"
and announced the "Lip Lock Tour." Before that, the Philly-raised rhymer hadn't dropped an LP for
11 years and didn't seem to tour much, if at all. Still, no one can accuse Eve of slacking
off or wasting her rap skills. It's just she's been super busy doing things outside of music.
In 2003, the "Scorpion" creator starred in her own sitcom "Eve," for example. She's
played in popular films like "Barbershop," and "The Woodsman" as well. Not to mention,
she hosted CBS' "The Talk" from 2017-2020. And while Eve did tour with Gwen Stefani in 2016,
hitting the road for multiple dates was somewhat of a rarity for her.
What's more, her personal life stays busy, too. Eve welcomed a son named
Wilde Wolf Fife Alexander Somers Cooper with husband Maximillion Cooper on February 1,
2022. Of course, we're not saying that Eve has put her touring days behind her
for good — but if that's the case, she seems to be doing just fine without it.
From the rap stage to the Oscar stage: that could be one way to describe actor Mahershala
Ali's career. It may also explain why he won't be seen on tour. Before starring in
the "Hunger Games" saga, "Moonlight," and "Green Book," Ali was a hip-hop artist.
"I'm talking about my man Prince Ali the rapper."
Ali signed a record deal with legendary Oakland rap collective Hieroglyphics,
resulting in Ali's 2007 album "Curb Side Service."
After Ali won Best Supporting Actor
for "Moonlight," Hieroglyphics member Tajai Massey told HipHopDX,
But again, don't expect to see Ali touring, as he's fully immersed in his acting career and
has said more than once that he's a retired rapper. Still, he did tell "Good Morning
America" in 2018 that he was working on a music project. Of course, it was for an acting role.
Kreayshawn's career was off and running after the Oakland rapper scored herself
a hit song with "Gucci Gucci" in 2011. Tours followed after that,
including "The Group Hug Tour" and the "Noisey College Tour." At that time, it would be easy
for one to assume the tours would continue — but that wasn't the case. In fact, after Kreayshawn
released her debut album "Somethin' 'Bout Kreay" in 2012, she pretty much walked away from music
and touring. Her follow-up project "World's Biggest Idiot" wouldn't be released until 2021.
The same year, the rapper told Stereogum,
If one were to do an Internet search for a Kreayshawn show in 2022,
that person wouldn't see a whole lot of dates. So even though the rapper released a project in 2021,
it doesn't seem like she'll hit the road for an extended period to perform or promote it.
Before 2020, Georgia rapper Quando Rondo was on his way to what looked
like a fruitful career. He released some mixtapes, which got some traction,
he had a big social media following, and he was booking shows. But everything changed for
him when Chicago rapper King Von was killed on November 6, 2020. According to TMZ, that night,
Rondo and Von were involved in a fight at Atlanta's Monaco Hookah Lounge. Eventually,
gunfire broke out, leaving six people shot — three fatally, including Von. The late artist
was shot by Rondo's friend Timothy Leeks, who was later arrested and released on a $100,000 bond.
Right away, there was talk online about Von's friends possibly retaliating,
and Rondo's live show schedule took a nosedive. He told All Around TV,
What's more, an existing gig got the ax and another Rondo
show that did happen after the incident didn't exactly boast a teeming crowd.
All that said, his touring days may not be totally done: In September 2022,
NBA YoungBoy's manager told fans that his client and Quando Rondo plan to hit the road together.
In 2022, Los Angeles rapper 03 Greedo released a song titled "Drop Down," a
single from his mixtape "Free 03." He wasn't able to perform the song at a venue, however,
and the name of the mixtape might indicate why. In 2018, Greedo was sentenced to 20
years in prison for drug and unlawful firearm possession charges. He eventually pled guilty.
A little before news of Greedo's sentence hit, he apologized to his fans on Twitter.
He added,
It's not that The Roots never tour. They do — but now they have a day job. At one time,
the Philadelphia band toured extensively, but their lives and careers shifted in 2008
when it was announced they'd become the house band for "The Tonight Show
Starring Jimmy Fallon." It's gone well for them, to say the least.
"I love the roots. I love the roots. Well I love The Roots. I love you guys. Man I love you guys."
So no, they are not hitting the road like they once did,
but that's not to say they've stopped performing. Far from it.
The Roots' drummer, Questlove, explained the change to Okayplayer at the time, saying,
He also noted that the gig gives his bandmates an opportunity to spend more
time with their kids. If you really want to see The Roots for yourself,
you'll probably have to make your way to New York City to see "The Tonight Show" live and in person.