50 Cent Take Over At Tampa Hard Rock
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 10: Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson attends WE TV's "Hip Hop Homicides" New York Premiere at Crosby Street Hotel on November 10, 2022 in New York City.
Let me just start by saying there is no greater time, or greater place to spend a Sunday afternoon, than at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino pool. The ambiance of this place is just amazing, *chef’s kiss*. I have wanted to DJ their pool parties since they opened it. Tempo Day Life parties have been known for their EDM, & occasional Hip-Hop shows, & when I saw 50 Cent was on the bill St. Patty’s Day weekend, I knew it was going to be as epic as the Nas & Wu-Tang show that happened last year.
The week of the show I got the call to come through and DJ an opening set, and I couldn’t have been more hyped to do it. I was even more excited because, I was getting to spin alongside my good friend & fellow DJ, DJ Ku, who was also opening the show.
Pulling up to the Hard Rock pool, I felt overjoyed to touch that stage. Before I came to Tampa, 8 years ago. I was tour DJing around the country with rappers, Chris Webby & Tech N9ne. So being on a big stage again felt really good, & just like old times. My set was on point, thanks to an early crowd storming in right at 11 am, so the vibes were already set, & with it also being St. Patrick’s Day, the crowd definitely came to party to those 50 Cent classics. Before 50 took the stage, DJ Spinking hyped the crowd, dropping hit after hit before the Southside Jamaica Queens legend was ready to perform, & when he did, it was all gas no breaks.
50 kicked the show off with his hit “P.I.M.P,” and really set the tone for the party. After that, it was non-stop banger, after banger. He performed classics such as, “In Da Club,” “Hate Or Love It,” “Candy Shop,” and the list just went on and on. The songs flowed like the Branson Cognac in the cups of fans.
The songs took me back to some good times I had when I used to purchase 50 Cent & G-Unit mixtapes at my local bodega. What was even better, is I got to share that moment with good friends, my girlfriend, & my WiLD fam. Wish you were there.
Peep the recap below.
50 Cent: 5 Essential Songs
These days, 50 Cent might be more well known for his beef with other celebrities and his Power series. But 50’s longtime fans know him for his iconic hits in the early 2000s. 50 started his career with his mixtape Guess Who’s Back? in 2002 after his Power of the Dollar was never released (due to the rapper getting shot). He addressed the shooting on “F— You,” which is on Guess Who’s Back?.
“I’m havin’ flashbacks, I can feel the shells burnin’/Comin’ up, I was taught never back down/That’s why I act the way I act now, hold the Mac down/32 shots, squeeze til there ain’t a shell left,” he raps on the track. That mixtape helped 50 get his record deal with Eminem’s Shady Records. Shady Records is an imprint of Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
50’s debut album released in 2003, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was a huge commercial success. It spawned singles such as “In da Club,” and “21 Questions” featuring Nate Dogg which both topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart shortly after their release. In 2003, 50 also founded G-Unit Records and the rap group G-Unit which consisted of himself, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo. Throughout the years, The Game, and Kid Kidd were also were short-lived members of the group. Young Buck replaced Yayo after the latter’s 2003 imprisonment but also later left the group before it officially disbanded in 2022, according to 50. As a group, they produced two studio albums, Beg for Mercy, and T·O·S (Terminate on Sight), as well as an EP titled The Beauty of Independence.
Besides his musical success, 50 has taken his talent on and off the screen. His Power series has been a mainstay in the culture that has created several spin-offs such as Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan and Power Book IV: Force. These productions are under his G-Unit Films and Television company.
Whether you know 50 for his beef, television series or music, take a look at five essential songs from 50’s discography: