Fresh from the surprise release of his sixth album “GNX,” acclaimed rapper Kendrick Lamar announced he will kick off a 19-city stadium tour April 19 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Lamar’s frequent collaborator SZA is also on the bill.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster. Cash App Card users have access to a presale that runs from 10 a.m. Wednesday through 10 p.m. Thursday.

It’s been an eventful year for Lamar, who has amassed 17 Grammy Awards over the past decade. In September, the NFL announced Lamar would headline the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show in February. In 2022, the first halftime show devoted entirely to hip-hop featured Lamar alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J. Blige. It earned rave reviews and won three Primetime Emmy Awards.

In March, he revived his long-running feud with Canadian rapper Drake and the pair have spent the time since releasing songs taking shots at each other. Some have compared it to the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop rivalry from the 1990s. The general consensus is that Lamar is winning the battle, particularly after Drake filed a pair of lawsuits last week claiming Lamar’s record label used illegal tactics to boost streams for Lamar’s single “Not Like Us” and that the label paid iHeartRadio to play the song.

A California native, Lamar began rapping as a teen and found his breakthrough success with his 2012 sophomore album “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” which became the longest-charting hip-hop album in the Billboard 200’s chart history. He curated the songs for the soundtrack to the 2018 film “Black Panther” and earned an Oscar nomination for “All the Stars,” one of his many collaborations with SZA.

Born Solana Imani Rowe, SZA is known for her multi-platinum hits “Drew Barrymore,” “Love Galore,” “The Weekend,” “Good Days,” “I Hate U,” “Shirt,” “Kill Bill” and “Snooze.” She is featured on two tracks on Lamar’s new record and is expected to release her third album “Lana” in the coming months.

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