Instagram/@jacoblatimore
Jacob Latimore is hitting the road, thanks to the DTLR HBCU Welcome Back Tour, and the alumni, in turn, have laid plenty of ideas down for their version of the campus comeback. Actor and musician with many talents, Latimore took to Instagram to announce the dates of his tour, performing at Bowie State University on August 28 and Alabama A&M in Huntsville on September 12. These announcements come while his recent album continues to gain momentum on the streaming platforms.
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The promo is an eye-catching illustrated portrait of Latimore, wearing clear glasses and a beige shirt, carrying the charisma of a person who just bought into his own hype; bold letters screaming “TOUR” across the pure warm hues of school spirit; along with branding: there were sponsors McDonald’s and Nike, ensuring that you know it is a real production.
The true story unfolded in the comment section as HBCU alumni began planning their returns. As one alumna said, “As a Bowie State Alumna, I will gladly pull up to welcome you to our campus!” and another responded with what was, truly, the perfect use of crying emoji: “I graduated two years ago they better let me in.”
That energy carried on for all the universities, beyond the announced ones. The Norfolk State fans were already rallying, with one screaming, “Come to Norfolk State!! Pretty Please!!!” – possibly the beginning stages of some full-blown tour expansion request. Meanwhile, the Alabama A&M cheerleaders had to put a shout to their city, “Yoooo!! HSV on the map!”; because one could hardly go wrong with a little hometown pride.
Some fans, who declared that they were true up-and-downs, remained very grounded about adult responsibilities. Another user hilariously pinned down the problem with Thursday, saying, “not on a thursday when the real tour dates dropping for the adults bae? because momma got work, a business to run and a child to tend to”-apparently Jacob’s team forgot that grown folks do have schedules too.
One person in our comment section uttered, “I tht he was only an actor not a singer,” revealing some still discovering Latimore’s musical side-after all, honestly, it’s the same thought for me. Between his acting gigs and immediately this tour announcement, they’ve got to have a pretty busy schedule.
It’s really cool to see how the comments will quite literally go on to become a junior alumni reunion here. They’re not just vibing to see Jacob do his thing-they are excited about heading back onto their campuses in the spirit of representing their schools, lapping up every color available, and pretty much having an excuse to relive their college days. One even joked about having to “sneak in” to their alma mater, which actually is forming a soundtrack to a coming-of-age flick.
The energy is reflective of something bigger than just concert excitement-community, school pride, and that special binding that HBCU alumni keep so alive well past graduation. When Jacob Latimore is able to tap into that energy, it shows he knows his audience far beyond the track.
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Between the alumni ready to crash old campuses and cities begging for additions to the tour, this announcement has created the kind of buzz a tour announcement has to generate. The immediate question left, though, is whether the stellar response will open doors to other HBCUs being included. Nonetheless, either way for immediately, Jacob managed to place a good spotlight on HBCU culture and alumni pride by memory.
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