Hot tours come to Philly

This spring seems to be the time for hip-hop and R&B fans as several concerts are to hit the Philadelphia region in the upcoming months. Grammy-award winning singer Alicia Keys and critically acclaimed newcomer John Legend join forces to perform at the Liacouras Center on Sunday, April 10 at 8 p.m. on the “Diary Tour.” This tour features two of the most prominent figures in R&B today with Neo-Soul/ R&B vibes and great vocals to accompany the music. Legend, who will open for Keys, is the protg of Kanye West, who has worked with Lauryn Hill, Talib Kweli, Slum Village and Jay-Z, and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. Keys, who just recently won Grammy awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group with Vocals, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album last month, is headlining. Three rap concerts are heading to Philadelphia as well. Nellyʼs “Sweat/Suit: Up Close and Personal Tour” has the rapper performing various songs from his multi-platinum albums and is featuring the St. Lunatics also. The rest of the tour lineup includes Fat Joe and T.I. Urban Legend, the most recent album from T.I., the selfproclaimed “King of This spring seems to be the time for hip-hop and R&B fans as several concerts are to hit the Philadelphia region in the upcoming months. Grammy-award winning singer Alicia Keys and critically acclaimed newcomer John Legend join forces to perform at the Liacouras Center on Sunday, April 10 at 8 p.m. the South,” has gone platinum and has featured street anthems such as “U Donʼt Know Me,” and “Bringʼem Out.” Fat Joeʼs upcoming album, All or Nothing, is slated to be released this May and features the hit “So Much More.” The “Sweat/ Suit” tour will be in Philadelphia at the Liacouras Center on April 16 at 8 p.m. Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $49.50.One of the most anticipated hip-hop concerts of the season goes to West Coast natives Snoop Dogg and The Game with the “How the West was Won” tour sponsored by BET. The Gameʼs debut album from the label Aftermath sold over 500,000 copies in its first week and is still going strong in the top 10 of Billboard/Soundscanʼs Hot 100 album chart. Rap veteran Snoop Dogg proves that heʼs still in the game as his platinum album R&G (Rhythm and Gangsta): The Masterpiece is still doing well in the Hot 100 album category. His first single off that album, “Drop It like Itʼs Hot,” became his most successful single behind “Beautiful,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles categories in the beginning of 2005 for several weeks. The “How the West Was Won” tour will be at the Wachovia Center Saturday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m.