50 Cent - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 10th December @ Entertainment Centre, Bris QLD
50 Cent – The Final Lap Tour
Entertainment Centre, Brisbane QLD
December 10, 2023
Support: Jeremih
A long long time ago, when mainstream media wasn’t the nanny state it’s become – there was a time when hard rock, metal and hip-hop stars rubbed shoulders on the airwaves and at star-studded events that shoehorned the entire music industry together. Always deemed the outcasts of the scene (compared to that of pop), an unlikely partnership formed between heavy music and rap when differing fans were brought together over a shared love of groovy instrumentals and intelligent rap verses. Evidence of this can still be traced back to nu-metal’s origins with bands like KoRn and Limp Bizkit, or even the collaboration of the new millennium when Linkin Park and Jay-Z teamed up for 2004’s Collision Course EP and proved two fanbases could live cohesively as one G-unit.
As time went by, our music preferences may have changed, but we’ve always been connected to that period where for several years, an effective cross-pollination existed and we weren’t exposed to elitism like we have in this day and age. That’s a pretty long-winded way of saying: I used to be a hip-hop head back in the day and when it was announced 50 Cent was coming back to Australia for one final tour before throwing in the towel, we had to jump at the chance to cover it – besides, there’s a good chance many of our readers were reliving their youth at these farewell shows too and who knows, this could be the origins of a new venture, Wall Of Rap anyone!?
I rocked up to the Sold Out Brisbane Entertainment Centre show with my brother Josh – a long-time hip-hop fan and part of the reason why my musical knowledge extends as far as it does – and we were met with a vast array of attendees from the A-typical Gold Coast gangster wannabes, through to the reformed baddies turned daddies taking their kids to experience a night of throwbacks and hits that made Curtis Jackson a household name for the better part of the past 20 years.
It’s been a hot minute since my last rap gig, but even I was amazed at the collection of tracks that made the final 35-ish song setlist, including deep cuts from his 2003 debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’, its 2005 follow-up The Massacre and the penultimate soundtrack to Jackson’s semi-biographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin’ also released in 2005. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
Opening the evening was Jeremih who sang along to hits played by his Macbook button-pushing DJ pal. A sad turn of events happened when about a third way through, the pair scrapped the performance of a song due to the fact the crowd weren’t as invested in it. I’ve never experienced this in my entire gig-attending life and sat in awe (not the good kind) as they moved straight into the next track, undermining the fans who were legitimately signing along. The singer also teased his biggest hit ‘Birthday Sex‘ before scrapping the song again in favour of playing it later in the show (more on that soon).
Following the MacBook sing-a-long section of the night, the crowd flowed in, filling the entire venue from top to bottom and as the lights dimmed, the thunderous applause began before 50 Cent and Friends appeared on stage wasting no time getting straight into showtime commencing with ‘I’m On Some Shit‘, which set the flow and tone for the next hour and a half.
You could hear the walls shaking when the MC bounced into fan-fav tracks such as ‘What Up Gangsta‘ and ‘If I Can’t‘, but the surprise addition of The Game collab ‘Hate It or Love It‘ really proved just how deep we were heading tonight. As Fiddy spat verses, the audience was lapping up every word and syllable flung their way, returning serve for the chorus with phones locked to the stage. The same can be said for when he whipped out ‘How We Do‘ with those now iconic synth beats.
Chaos ensured when the collection of back-to-back bangers saw songs like ‘Hustler’s Ambition‘, ‘Disco Inferno‘ and ‘Window Shopper‘ increase fan appreciation ten-fold, but the shockwave experienced when the set went from ‘P.I.M.P.‘ into ‘Candy Shop‘ left me dumbfounded, especially when the entire audience stood-up collectively and spouted the iconic catchphrase “G-G-G-G-G-UNIT”.
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For those who have never seen 50 Cent in concert, there’s a lot to unpack. We were treated to live band action during various songs, Fiddy at one point flew above the stage amidst a collection of backdrops with impressive visuals that captivated the attention of many stoners in attendance – and, AND, ample costume changes!
At one point I lost track of the number of times Fiddy would literally just turn his head and he’d be wearing a new set of clothes – which set the tone for the song he was busting out at the time. I was ready to commend him for keeping it simple by coming out and performing in a jeans and black shirt combo, only to eat my words by the halfway mark when we’d already seen several jerseys (including a ridiculous Louis Vuitton ensemble), singlets and suits. I love a good party costume change at the best of times, but this guy had us all beat within a matter of minutes.
As the night progressed, you’d think at some point the hits would stop coming, but when you’ve got more anthems in your arsenal than bullets removed from your body in the year 2000, you know you’re on a winner. ‘Best Friend‘, ‘21 Questions‘, ‘Just a Lil Bit‘, ‘Ayo Technology‘, ‘Baby by Me‘ and ‘Many Men (Wish Death)‘ flowed quicker than a sneaky vape hit and there was even time for Jeremih to make a reappearance on stage to bust out that breakthrough single ‘Birthday Sex‘ during the downtime part of the show. At first, I wondered why he was given another chance to finish what he started earlier, but I guess this is Fiddy’s way of giving back to the next generation of rap superstars and long-time friend.
By the time ‘In da Club‘ came on, it felt as if that sonic boom surround sound from earlier reared its head again with not one single body standing still during its entirety. At one point the entire venue was singing along, making it difficult to even hear the main event through the speakers – a testament to the song’s popularity, which has amassed over 1 Billion streams on Spotify alone. Sadly no hanging upside down appearances were included – I kinda feel like that was a Super Bowl-exclusive experience kids. Damn. The closing drum solo from the touring band’s skin hitter was dope and wouldn’t have felt out of place at a post-hardcore show to be fair.
The show could have very much ended after that performance, with many punters legging it from the mosh before DJ Push-Play returned to the stage egging us on to cheer loudly for Fiddy to come back. As the screams increased, the lights dropped and the second half of the already massive set began with more throwbacks popping off to excitable cheers and applause, including ‘Patiently Waiting‘, ‘Wanksta‘, the absolute G-UNIT anthem ‘Stunt 101‘, Southside‘ and the totally unexpected (yet welcomed) ‘I’ll Whip Ya Head Boy‘ closing out the madness.
It’s hard to comprehend just how many hits 50 Cent has had over the past 20 years, but evidence of this could be heard with every song performed and the unrelenting wave of voices singing every word. Personally, my rap/hip-hop days may be long gone, but it was an experience in itself finally catching one of the best rappers (who played a huge part in my formative teenage years) live before he calls it a day following an illustrative career in music, movies and pop culture.
Gig Review by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul
Photo Gallery by Charlyn Cameron. Insta: @chuck_stuff
Please Credit & Tag Wall of Sound and Charlyn Cameron if you repost photos.
Jeremih
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