Drake has confirmed the title of his upcoming fourth studio album, Views From the 6, though he won't begin work on it until after he returns from his 31-city co-headlining tour with Lil Wayne. The tour, slated to start after the Canadian rapper's OVO Fest, will kick off August 8th in Darien Center, New York and run through September 27th, when it ends in Woodlands, Texas. That tour, which is sponsored by a video-game manufacturer, will feature a nightly competition between fans of the two rappers.
The meaning of the album title is unclear, but the announcement is just one part of what will be a busy summer for the rapper. On July 16th, Drake will host ESPN's ESPY Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, where the ceremony will be televised live at 9 p.m. EST on the sports channel. The show intends to celebrate the best moments in sports with music, comedy bits and appearances by famous athletes.
Later in the month, Drake's label OVO Sound will release two records by artists he signed. Majid Jordan will put out A Place Like This on July 22nd, and PARTYNEXTDOOR will release PARTYNEXTDOOR TWO on the 29th. Drake recently made a guest appearance on the latter artist's "Recognize," streaming below via Rap-Up, which will appear on the album.
Drake will then stage OVO Fest in Toronto on August 3rd and 4th, when Outkast will perform and he will do his own set, with appearances by yet-to-be-confirmed special guests. This year, OVO Fest was awarded a CAN $300,000 government grant, which amounts to roughly US $268,000, as part of an initiative to help out festivals in Ontario. A press release claims the festival has sold out of the fest's 35,000 tickets.