Nick Cannon is on a run across the country for his Future Superstar Tour. The tour is a celebratory and empowering journey trek that highlights rising stars and provides keys to success for artists in every major Hip-Hop hub across America looking to become a superstar.
The tour launches in Los Angeles at the Wiltern theater, bringing in the likes of Amber Grimes, Datwon Thomas, and L.A. Reid for a panel discussion of what it takes to break into the industry and become a superstar. During the LA Stop, Zoe Osama was the first of 24 future superstars who received an award on tour. The award is a $5,000 cash prize, professional mentoring, and the opportunity to participate in that city’s performance.
“I feel like this is the stage in my life and my career, where I just want to connect with real ones and do stuff like this that actually benefits the community,” Cannon said about the run.
The tour will run through the entire month of March, touching Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and more. In an exclusive with The Source, Nick Cannon reveals the inspiration behind The Future Superstar tour, the artists joining him across the country, and his desire to continue to want to help the next generation. You can secure tickets to the Future Superstar tour here.
The Source: What sparked the idea for this Future Superstar Tour?
Nick Cannon: I was chopping it up about really creating opportunities for the next generation and really connecting with the community in a real way. There’s a lot of talk going on about what people in the industry should be doing for young people or how we should be passing on game, or how we should be bringing community together. I’m tired of talking, I’m just gonna do it. So that’s where that inspiration came from. But it was also taking a page from the old school days of Barry Gordy and Motown, where literally he would just put all his artists on a bus, from Stevie Wonder to the Temptations, and sent ’em to the hood. It was the process of saying, yo, if you really wanna make it, this is the work that you gotta put in from the artist’s perspective. But then from the fans’ perspective, it’s like, yo, you feel like you can really connect and relate with the artists because they came to you, and that’s really what we doing with Future Superstar.
Additionally, it’s that fan experience that our generation got a chance to witness with 106 and Park or The Scream Tour and understand that these are the right people. Because there’s so much content out there right now that we kind of got lost in it. We don’t know who the superstars are. Capturing that energy of “I’m excited about this person’s journey,” you don’t really even get to see that no more. So I’m excited to be able to hopefully reintroduce that process to this generation.
A lot of people know that you put on talent. You never want to ball hog the spotlight or give someone an extra boost in their life. What attracted you to the artist that you’re bringing on this tour?
Man, I’m a fan of all of them, to be honest. I kind of keep my ear to the streets in a real way. We have Symba and he’s everywhere. Even Dr. Dre is calling on him his favorite rapper, and to know that this is a young dude that’s holding it down for the hip-hop culture, for the rap culture, a real rapper like that would just step up to any mic and give you an ill 16 full of punch lines. I was a fan and then we connected. But then, at the same time, we got artists that are even outside the hip-hop genre, like Pop Money. We got the female hip-hop artists that are doing big things like Big Boss Vette with the “Pretty Girl Walk” movement and Klondike Blonde. These are people really just been putting in the work for so long and now this is the opportunity to show the entire world that they are superstars.
We know it’s genuine for you to put on these artists, but what does that actually feel like resonating in your spirit?
Yeah, man, it’s purpose. It truly is the reason why God has given me these opportunities. We’re blessed, so you could be a blessing and really just trying to live the talk that everybody else talks about. My hat’s off to everybody who can sit on a podcast and tell you what you should be doing. We just want to take it one step further and really offer it up for the community. And hopefully, the community offers that love back
These artists get to this stage, but there’s also the component of being in the press and on the cover of a magazine. They’ll get an episode in the series on BET, that specifically tells their story. How hard is it to manage their production of a tour and the other pieces of their story as forms of content?
It’s definitely quite a feat when you think about what we are setting out to do. But it’s all about hard work. Also, showing the artists that this ain’t gonna be no cakewalk, if you got that superstar energy, then this tour is for you. It’s showing these artists what it takes to become Beyonce and Drake and Michael Jackson and Usher, and all the people that we love. Those are some of the hardest-working people that I have ever witnessed. So, we just hopefully cultivate that energy from the beginning and we get to see these artists become.
This tour is also giving the information and details needed to the rising professionals and musicians. Is there a core set of details, principles, or beliefs that you want to install in these audiences as you move around the country?
Everybody always wants to know the secret to success and it really is like embodying superstar energy. I mean, that’s why we call it Future Superstar because those two words highlight that this generation truly is the future. As cliche as that sound, it’s what you embody on the inside. You don’t just have to be in front of the camera or on the mic. You could be a superstar lawyer or PR director. It’s about having it within and then pushing it forth to let you know that you’re the best.
You’re going to 24 cities and you’re basically doing it in a month. In consideration of your personal well-being, how do you actually prepare for this tour?
Man, it’s really about just getting to that space of being in the flow, cause you gotta make sure your health and wellness are number one to be able to pull something like this off. But then, at the same time, there’s no room for low frequency, you know what I mean? There’s no room. It’s about bandwidth and management when you trying to pull off something this big/
You’re going to be hosting each night, but is there a chance that you can slide a song into the night somewhere?
You never know. I got all my bag of tricks with me. I’m the DJ for the entire tour, for all of the acts. So I’m going to be dropping stuff like crazy. And then, obviously, the jokes are just in me. That’s what I do. I’m a host, so I’m going to make sure everybody feels comfortable. Earlier in the night, when we do the seminars and everything, that’s really when I’m putting my one-on-one interview skills to the test. So you going to see everything I got.