Laser & TamTam: 50 Cent invited people to the “Candy Shop” in Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena. We were there.
50 Cent hasn’t been particularly busy in the past ten years, at least musically. Apart from a greatest hits record in 2017, the last resort for the uncreative, nothing has happened since 2014. Fifty, real name Curtis James Jackson III, instead made his fortune from video games, cell phone ringtones, clothing and cognac. Lucrative? for sure, but the people are hungry for a comeback. And so the gangster rapper, whose childhood was marked by crime and overshadowed by the murder of his mother by strangers, embarks on a major world tour 20 years after the release of his successful album GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN’.
Get rich or die tryin’
This slogan has accompanied the Queens/NYC-born artist and businessman his entire life. As a teenager he earned his money through drug dealing, went to prison, survived a murder attempt at the age of 25 and was seriously injured, before his smash hit “In da Club” catapulted him into the charts worldwide in 2003. Since then, Jackson has built a veritable empire for himself, allowing him to put an end to his poor past. He has never made a secret of his wealth, just like many of the visitors to Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena, where countless Chanel bags are on display next to the comparatively cheap models from Prada and YSL. At these ticket prices it is primarily the elite who take advantage. 50 Cent also clearly shows off his massive, diamond-studded precious metal chains, which shine brighter in the spotlight than his perfect, white teeth. In front of the audience is not a boy from the ghetto, there is a millionaire businessman who you can meet and greet for good money. This upgrade costs a mere 1,300 euros – or as one visitor in Berlin noted: “2600 times 50 cents”.
Mothafuckin’ PIMP
Anyone who is that rich is automatically desirable. In any case, this is the image that the eight dancers that 50 Cent has with him are intended to convey. Lascivious in a constantly changing touch of nothingness, the extremely professional dancers ensnare the rapper, fondle each other and spread their legs in voluptuous anticipation of the over-man, i.e. Curtis James, who, on the other hand, stands cool and aloof in the middle and above things. In 2023, this traditional rapper cliché will no longer appeal to anyone behind the stove. Not even his pupil Jeremih’s solo on the piano can do without dry sex from an out-of-control dancer on the grand piano. Support act Busta Rhymes, on the other hand, only plays his set with sidekick Spliff Star and guess what? In the end it should be the best act of the evening.
Gimme some more!
Anyway, Busta Rhymes. Demoted to a support act with far too little time available, the now 51-year-old shows the crowd that he is still one of the best rappers on the planet. He appears sitting on a throne with a stern expression. But he doesn’t stay there for long, he jumps up and turns the stage into his catwalk. The long dreadlocks are gone, but the crazy look and the speed with which he drops his verses are still there. He takes time for his audience, enjoys the cheers and endures them. When Berlin is too passive for him during “I know what you want,” he animates the audience and cheers them on until no one is sitting anymore. He acknowledges the frenetic reactions with a thieving smile. Dancers or big vermilion? Busta doesn’t need that. “We don’t use special effects up here, because we ARE the fucking special effects.”
Still, of his early hits he only performs “Break ya neck,” what a shame. Maybe the German audience will see him as a headliner again in the future, at least he teased the Berliners.
The Candy Shop
But back to 50 Cent. He has now had a number of costume and jewelry changes and sometimes floats from the ceiling of the hall (in front of PIMP), emerges from the underground, nimbly dodges lasers or plays through all the rapper poses with his two sidekicks. The show that the Berlin audience gets to see is anything but sloppy. 50 Cent treats himself to an incredibly good live band, which sits prominently on the cubist video screens. His dancers are complete professionals who don’t look cheap in even the most obvious poses and could possibly get hired at the Flic Flac circus straight away, and gravity doesn’t seem to play any role for the two break dancers. His sidekicks are present, but give their boss all the attention. And 50 cents? He’s the pimp, the boss in the candy shop, who wants the ladies to lick his lollipop and then celebrate with him in the club as if it were their birthday. With a mixed bag of sweets for 50 cents.
Hate it or love it
50 Cent loves the cliché and the cliché loves him. A pompous show, pornographic dancers, a pop band and a bombastic light and video show. That’s how it has to be, because that’s the nature of the big rap stars: not to mess around, but to show off. And 50 Cent pulls it off. Of course, the cheers are greatest for songs like “In da Club”, “Candy Shop”, “Ayo Technology” and “PIMP”, but the concert doesn’t have any real low points. However, it is also so overloaded that the essentials, namely the rap skills and the music, fade into the background. 50 Cent only shows noble restraint when it comes to his rap parts. In a direct comparison, Busta Rhymes wins this evening’s rap battle hands down. Woo-Haa!