Tory Lanez books a US listening tour while serving a 10-year sentence

Tory Lanez is putting a tour on the road without going on it. The Not On Tor Tour is a run of listening events across the United States this autumn, and the rapper will not be at any of them, because he is in prison.

The format does the work instead. Each night is built around DJs and special guests playing material from his most recent album alongside catalogue tracks, and organisers have confirmed there will be no physical appearance from Lanez himself. The title is the joke and the disclaimer at once.

The dates open in New York on 25 September, then Los Angeles on 15 October, Washington DC on 22 October, New Orleans on 12 November and Pittsburgh on 13 November. Toronto and Montreal are also expected, with dates still to be announced. They are logged in the tour guide.

Lanez is serving a 10-year sentence following his 2022 conviction in connection with the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, which is the reason the events exist in this shape rather than as a normal run of shows.

Keeping a campaign moving from custody has become a recognisable pattern in hip-hop. Pooh Shiesty released the song Last Man Breathin from behind bars, and Diddy's team has kept working through a prison term that keeps being recalculated. What separates this one is the ticketed room: a paying audience turning up to hear an absent artist's records played back at them, promoted under his name.