Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige Plan Co-Headlined Tour

Now this is truly the best of both worlds. Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige have announced a 25-date North American co-headlining tour that will kick off March 22 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

The tour, which will be called "Mary J. Blige & Jay-Z: Heart of the City," was touted in a press release as "the first time in more than 15 years that African American male/female [artists] of this stature have co-headlined a national concert tour," apparently referring to an Luther Vandross/ Anita Baker tour some years back. It will hit Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore before swinging through New Orleans; Houston; Las Vegas; and Oakland, California. The first batch of dates announced will end April 16 at the Hollywood Bowl, but more dates are scheduled to be announced soon. Tickets for the first shows will go on sale February 15.

The outing will unite the longtime friends and collaborators onstage, and will be first time Jay has toured extensively in support of his 2006 comeback album, Kingdom Come, and its follow-up, last year's American Gangster.

"The [songs] we're playing are the soundtracks to people's lives," Jay-Z said in a statement, according to USA Today. "We've poured our hearts out many a night in the studio and look forward to going one step further onstage."