Award-winning rappers giving joint concert in Kennewick. Rock band also scheduled

Two award-winning rappers are giving a joint concert at the Toyota Center this fall and will be followed the next month by a popular Christian rock band.

Rapper Pitbull will perform, with Iggy Azalea opening, at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 as part of their “I Feel Good” tour.

Pitbull, whose name is Armando Christian Pérez, started his career singing reggaeton in the early 2000s. He later moved into hip hop, then rap.

His Spanish language album Dale won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album and was the No. 1 Latin Album on the Billboard chart.

He has won three Billboard Music Awards for his songs Bon Bon, Give Me Everything and Timber as well as nine Billboard Latin Music Awards.

Pitbull has toured with Enrique Iglesias and was the opening act for Britney Spears’ 2018 tour.

He will be joined by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, who was born Amethyst Amelia Kelly and moved to the United States when she was 16.

Azalea’s first album, The New Classic, was released in 2014 and immediately became a hit.

The album earned the American Music Award’s favorite rap/hip hop album the same year and she also was named the AMA’s favorite rap/hip hop artist.

Azalea has gone on to win numerous other awards, including Billboard awards, and was nominated for four Grammy awards.

Presales for the concerts open Thursday, June 24, at 10 a.m and general public ticket sales start Friday, June 25, at 10 a.m. Tickets will be limited to eight per person.

Skillet also coming

For 25 years the Christian rock band Skillet has put out award-winning music.

The band that began with husband-wife team John and Korey Cooper in 1996 is coming to the Toyota Center on Oct. 12.

They are known for Christian rock, metal and alternative rock influenced by the grunge scene.

While the married pair is all that remains of the early 1990s team, they have continued to tour with new band members and win numerous awards, including Billboard Music Award top Christian album for their compilation Awake and eight GMA Dove Awards.

Two of their 10 albums have received Grammy nominations.

Presales for the concert opened Wednesday, June 23, at 10 a.m and sales open to the general public Friday, June 25, at 10 a.m.

This story was originally published June 22, 2021 at 4:03 PM.