Rising hip hop artist Latto coming to Fresno and performing at historic theater

Rising hip hop artist Latto, whose videos have generated more than 200 million views on Youtube, is coming to Fresno on her upcoming tour.

And the rapper’s showing could be a sign that the future of the Rainbow Ballroom remains on solid ground even if the historic venue has been up for sale for nearly a year.

The Monster Energy Outbreak Tour announced Wednesday that Latto, AKA the self-proclaimed Queen of Da Souf, will perform March 25 at the Rainbow Ballroom in downtown Fresno. The Fresno concert is listed as the fourth stop on Latto’s 24-city tour.

“Monster Energy Outbreak Tour has backed a lot of big artists in the beginning stages of their careers so I’m super excited to work together,” Latto said in a news release. “It’s been a tough year for a lot of people so I’m looking forward to letting loose and having some fun.”

Among the reasons that the Rainbow Ballroom was put up for sale at the start of this year was because the venue had stopped operations for most of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pause in entertainment at the downtown venue caused owner Leo Valdivia and his family to explore options of selling the 18,000-square-foot building.

Nonetheless, the Rainbow Ballroom has continue to hold music showings throughout the year rather than staying empty while up for sale.

The continuous music acts has simmered some concerns of the possibility that the venue eventually gets sold to a church, as has happened with other historic venues, and the musical showings go away.

The Rainbow Ballroom was built in 1918 on what would become Broadway Avenue and the cultural arts/mural district.

Could continued success in booking acts and selling out the venue cause ownership to reconsider selling the venue?

Latto, who is expected to release a new album, “777,” soon, could be the type of headliner to help the venue attract a large crowd.

The Atlanta native’s platinum-selling breakout song “B*itch from Da Souf” already has generated 82 million views alone on Youtube since coming out in 2020.

And her latest song “Big Energy,” which uses the hook and beat from the Mariah Carey 1995 hit “Fantasy,” has drawn positive reviews for the 22-year-old, too.

“In a short time, Latto has proven herself to be one of the most intriguing new female hip hop artists in the industry,” Monster Energy Outbreak Tour Founder / Producer Steve Glazer said in a news release. “(She) is poised for massive success with the release of ‘777.’”

The Rainbow Ballroom had not posted the Latto concert on its Facebook page as of Thursday.

But tickets are expected to go on sale Friday, according to Monster Energy Tour.