In 2003 George W. Bush had just invaded Iraq, Rory Gilmore had begun her undergrad degree at Yale and New York rapper 50 Cent dropped his debut album, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.
None of these events have much in common, other than the fact they occurred 15 years ago, but they help paint a picture of a different time: an era where we still watched TV, Shane Warne still played cricket and gangsta rap still ruled the airwaves.
Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ is one of the most phenomenally successful rap albums of all time. Propelled by hip-hop titans Dr Dre and Eminem, who produced and featured on the record, it sold 872,000 copies in the first week of its release, went six-times platinum in the US, was nominated for a Grammy and included two number one singles – ‘In Da Club’ and ’21 Questions’. Those tracks, along with tunes like ‘P.I.M.P’, were ubiquitous throughout the 2000s and will still fill any dance floor today.
When 50 Cent announced he was celebrating the album’s 15th anniversary with an Australian tour, including dates in Sydney and Melbourne, I had a mixed reaction. As fun as it would be to see to 18,000 people collectively sing along to the iconic hook from ‘In Da Club’ (“I’m into havin’ sex, I ain’t into makin’ love”), I wondered how 50’s catalogue would sound in an era dominated by trap, Soundcloud rappers and Kendrick Lamar. An era where even Jay-Z has replaced gangsta with introspection.
With audiences demanding more politics from artists, especially within hip-hop, how would 50 fare performing his various hyper-masculine odes to oral sex (‘Candy Shop’ and ‘Just a Lil’ Bit’)?
It turns out the answer partly lied in his choice of support acts. Rather than bringing out another international artist, 50 Cent chose Arnhem Land rapper Baker Boy and A.B Original to open for him.
Back in 2003 the concept of 50 Cent sharing a stage with an artist rapping in Yolngu and a fiery, politically charged duo like Trials and Briggs spitting truth about Australia’s racist history and present would have been unfathomable. But in 2018 it didn’t just make sense, it felt necessary.
The crowd at Sydney’s Parramatta Park was still building when Baker Boy took to the stage, and while it was pretty clear most people were there for the main act he still gave a very solid performance — especially when you consider he’s only released two tracks.
The obvious risk with an outdoor venue is the weather, and unfortunately for Baker Boy his set copped the brunt of one of Sydney’s classic summer thunderstorms, diminishing the crowd ever further and punters fled to the tree-lined ridge for very unsatisfying shelter. But despite the rain Baker Boy’s final track, ‘Marryuna’, which hit number 17 in this year’s Hottest 100, got the crowd moving and singing.
Baker Boy’s set was interrupted by a heavy thunderstorm.
A.B. Original followed up with an extremely polished performance that demonstrated why they’re amongst the strongest contenders for the Australian hip-hop crown. Their set was a highlight, and they even brought out regular collaborator Dan Sultan for a few tunes, including the polemic ‘January 26’.
Hearing a song lambasting colonial Australia and demanding a change to the country’s national day was a pretty invigorating, if somewhat surreal, lead in to an act as politically mellow as 50 Cent. It definitely got the crowd hyped — A.B. Original hadn’t even cleared the stage when the crowd started chanting “Fifty! Fifty!”, demanding the rapper’s presence.
Even though this was billed as a Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ anniversary tour, it was very much a “50 Cent’s greatest hits” performance, and that was perfectly fine. As fun as his debut album is the rapper has had solid string of hits since, including ‘Candy Shop’ and ‘Ayo Technology’ featuring Justin Timberlake.
More recent tracks like ‘Crazy’ felt a bit flat though, and there was a stark difference between the crowd’s reaction to newer tunes and the classic hits, especially those from Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. 50 was ably assisted on stage by various members of the G-Unit crew including Tony Yayo and Uncle Murda, which gave the show an extra shot of adrenaline.
Though his stage presence never dwindled, the rapper’s voice started to fade about half way through the set. It wasn’t that surprising since he’s been performing and touring for nearly two decades, and is now 42 years old, but it became more and more noticeable as the show went on.
But it didn’t really matter. Most of the crowd was there for the biggest hits, and the fans filled in any lyrical gaps. Most importantly, 50’s smile and energy never faded. The audience knew he was giving it his all, and they loved him for it. For many in the crowd, which skewed much younger than I was expecting given how old the music is now, it was their first chance to see bangers like ‘In Da Club’ performed live.
I’ve been to hip-hop nostalgia shows before, but never for an artist who dropped his debut when I was a teenager. At 27 I don’t feel like I’m old enough to experience artists of my era going through their nostalgia phase, but that’s exactly what this show was.
The best part was that 50 Cent knew it, and gave us exactly what we wanted.
The post From ‘Da Club’ To Parramatta Park: 15 Years Later, 50 Cent Still Has It appeared first on Junkee.
