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| 50 Cent @ the Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Matt Pang) |
MOUNTAIN VIEW -- It’s been 20 years since the critically acclaimed greatest debut rap album of all time dropped. 50 Cent is back on tour to celebrate the anniversary of Get Rich or Die Tryin for the global so-called "Final Lap Tour" which goes across North America and Europe. Alongside him are Busta Rhymes and Jeremih, who are supporting the tour.
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| Busta Rhymes @ the Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Matt Pang) |
The tour stopped at Shoreline Amphitheatre on a busy Saturday, with fans lined up across the lawn and nearly all of the seats sold out. Many fans were seen dressed up in 50 Cent’s iconic tank top, bulletproof vest, and baseball cap outfit as seen on the cover of Get Rich or Die Tryin.
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| Jeremih @ the Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Matt Pang) |
The night kicked off with Jeremih, the Chicago R&B star who’s recently seen much success with the resurgence of hype from his 2015 magnum opus "Late Nights". Jeremih recently came back with the hit “Room" featuring 2 Chains and Adekunle Gold. His set started off with the intro of Grammy-nominated track “Planez" featuring J. Cole, with pole dancers and matching visuals of his album displayed. Jeremih showcased strong vocals, whether he was singing acapella or with an instrumental. It was also a nice touch that he had dancers to set the vibe of his slow and smooth tracks. "I’m Jeremih, and I’m from Chicago," he said, reminding the crowd where his roots come from. Jeremih performed his feature on Wale’s "On Chill" and surfaced through tracks from "Late Nights" including "Impatient" and "Don’t Tell Em". This was a perfect way to set off a fun, party vibe to open the night, as he closed his set with acapella notes.
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| Jeremih @ the Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Matt Pang) |
Busta Rhymes came next with an impressive intro, sitting on a throne and smiling to the crowd. He was the ultimate hypeman for his own tracks and had everybody jumping from their seats. Although he wasn’t a fan of anybody who disagreed, as he called out crowd members who were sitting down. "You must be one of those special kids in special education," he called out to a fan in the crowd. He was later seen apologizing and hugging, but it was quite a vicious attack for somebody attending your show. Alongside him was his actual hypeman, who doubled the energy from Busta’s large and strong vocals. Busta Rhymes performed hits like "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See", "Make It Clap", and "Touch It". He also took time to perform and showcase the visuals of his new single "BEACH BALL," which features BIA. The music video was seen playing across the stage while he performed. "I don’t care if Labor Day is the holiday to end the summer; it doesn’t end until you have some sizzling shit like this!" says Busta Rhymes as he hypes the crowd up.
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| Busta Rhymes @ the Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Matt Pang) |
One of the main highlights of his set was when he flawlessly performed his verse from Chris Brown’s 2011 "Look At Me Now". What came as a surprise truly set the energy right, as fans loved hearing this throwback and one of the fastest verses in modern rap. Busta Rhymes later brought out his son to wish him a happy 24th birthday and took time to thank headliner 50 Cent. Busta took out a champagne bottle and said, "Cheers to two important things: 50 years of the most beautiful thing, hip hop, and secondly, our good brother, why we’re all here, 50 Cent”. He shared memories and reminisces about touring for this exact same album 20 years ago when Get Rich or Die Tryin was first released. He popped the champagne and thanked the crowd.
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| Busta Rhymes @ the Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Matt Pang) |
As the next set was approaching, fans started to cheer louder and get more hyped as they were about to witness 50 Cent perform his best album and take a trip down memory lane 20 years ago. I spoke with a few fans, and they shared memories of where they were when they first heard this album and how much this tour meant to them. It’s not often you get artists who want to resurface and perform older hits, but 50 Cent is different. He embraced the legacy and importance of his debut album, which brought him to the limelight and made him one of the biggest gangster rappers of all time.
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| 50 Cent @ the Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Matt Pang) |
50 Cent came out to "What Up Gangsta," which is technically the first track on the album if you’re not counting the 6-second intro. This had fans immediately chanting lyrics and getting hyped. 50 went through different features and tracks from that era that felt super nostalgic, including his verse on "Hate It or Love It" and "How We Do" from The Game’s 2005 "The Documentary". The performance was complemented by pole dancers and backup dancers that immensely elevated the stage production. 50 performed smash hits like "Magic Stick", “P.I.M.P.”, and "Candy Shop". All of which had amazing intros and had fans screaming just from the first note of each track. During Candy Shop, 50 had over 10 backup dancers with him on stage, performing and hitting each beat. There were also tons of pyro and smoke machines that erupted throughout the set, which was fun to see and made everyone more excited for the next beat drop.
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| 50 Cent @ the Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Matt Pang) |
One of the coolest things I saw from the show was 50 Cent’s outfit changes. He did normal swaps of shirts and pants throughout his set as he left the stage, but during "Just a Little Bit", you can see him rapping, and all of a sudden a huge puff of smoke comes up on stage. Five seconds later, 50 is seen wearing a completely different outfit. This performance was easily rehearsed and performed to perfection, which made the greatness of Get Rich or Die Tryin even more apparent. 50 took time to dedicate the next song to the fallen rapper Pop Smoke as he transitioned to "The Woo" and later brought out Jeremih to perform their smash hit "Down on Me".
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| 50 Cent @ the Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Matt Pang) |
50 goes to the back of the stage and lets Jeremih really steal the show as he performs acapella with a piano on stage. He plays the opening notes of his biggest hit "Birthday Sex" as one of the pole dancers is seen dancing across the stage, slowly making her way to the piano. This was one of the highlights for me because Jeremih was able to highlight his voice without any background tracking and let the audience know how much range his voice has. After this, 50 comes back, and everybody lights their phones up for "Many Men (Wish Death)" along with "I’m the Man," in which confetti is shot up through the crowd and onto the fans. This was a really cool moment as he performed with a live band, and you can see the 808s and instrumentation from the album translated to a live performance. He also had backup dancers use the lasers and implement them into their performances. It reminded me of some Daft Punk-inspired visuals, as they were all masked up and forming pyramids with their hands.
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| 50 Cent @ the Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Matt Pang) |
50 Cent closed out his set by going through classics and remixes of his catalog, which included "In Da Club", his remix of Chief Keef’s "Hate Bein Sober", his verse on Mann’s "Buzzin", "Back Down", "Southside", and "I’ll Whip Ya Head Boy".
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