Lil Wayne Announces New Tour: "I Am Music II" Kicks Off Mar. 18 in Buffalo

The diminutive rap star has announced a 24-city tour for 2011, set to feature Rick Ross and Young Money protege Nicki Minaj as well as blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Mixmaster Mike.

Dubbed the I Am Music II Tour, Weezy's road trip begins in Buffalo on March 18 and wraps up May 1 in East Rutherford, N.J.

The tour comes roughly three months after Wayne's release from prison and serves as the follow-up to his hugely successful I Am Music Tour in 2008-2009.

Though incarceration at Rikers Island put an eight-month damper on Wayne's activities, the rapper's career hasn't visibly suffered. In addition to releasing the full-length LP "I Am Not a Human Being" while still in jail, which spawned the hit single "Right Above It," guest verses on songs such as Nicki Minaj's "Roman's Revenge 2.0" have kept him in heavy rotation.

He is currently at work on "Tha Carter IV," his ninth album and the follow-up to 2008's wildly popular, twice-platinum "Tha Carter III." Lead single "6 Foot 7 Foot" features Cory Gunz and proves that Lil Wayne's skills haven't gone stale. On the contrary, the song is an unrelenting verbal onslaught that suggests Weezy's time away from the microphone only increased his hunger for it.

Following are tour dates for Lil Wayne's I Am Music II Tour featuring Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Travis Barker and Mixmaster Mike:

Mar. 18: Buffalo, N.Y. (HSBC Arena)
Mar. 19: Columbus, Ohio (Nationwide Arena)
Mar. 20: Baltimore, Md. (First Mariner Arena)
Mar. 23: Hampton, Va. (Hampton Coliseum)
Mar. 24: Cleveland, Ohio (Quicken Loans Arena)
Mar. 26: Philadelphia, Pa. (Wells Fargo Center )
Mar. 27: Long Island, N.Y. (Nassau Coliseum)
Mar. 30: University Park, Pa. (Bryce Jordan Center)
Apr. 1: Chicago, Ill. (United Center )
Apr. 2: Detroit, Mich. (The Palace of Auburn Hills)
Apr. 3: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
Apr. 6: Miami, Fla. (Bank Atlantic Center)
Apr. 8: Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum)
Apr. 9: Atlanta, Ga. (Philips Arena)
Apr. 10: St. Louis, Mo. (Scottrade Center)
Apr. 14: New Orleans, La. (New Orleans Arena)
Apr. 15: Dallas, Texas (American Airlines Arena)
Apr. 16: Houston, Texas (Toyota Center)
Apr. 19: Phoenix, Ariz. (US Airways Arena)
Apr. 23: Anaheim, Calif. (Honda Center)
Apr. 24: Oakland, Calif. (Oracle Arena )
Apr. 26: Sacramento, Calif. (ARCO Arena)
Apr. 28: Edmonton, Canada (Rexall Place)
Apr. 29: Vancouver, Canada (Rogers Arena)
May 1: East Rutherford, N.J. (Bamboozle Festival)

Source: http://www.billboard.com/news/lil-wayne-announces-i-am-music-ii-tour-dates-1005009712.story#/news/lil-wayne-announces-i-am-music-ii-tour-dates-1005009712.story