He recently shook up the boxing world when he launched his own company, and fans of 50 Cent in the UAE should be ready for a total knock-out today: the multi-platinum-selling rap star will be performing in Dubai this October, tabloid! can exclusively reveal.
The Candy Shop rapper — born Curtis Jackson — is the first act to be named on the line-up of Atelier/Festival, a one-day hip-hop/R&B music festival taking place on Friday, October 19, at Meydan.
While 50 Cent will headline Atelier/Festival, at least another four Grammy Award-winning artists and two DJs, to be named later, are expected join him on the billing at the event, which is the second Atelier festival this year following April’s concert headlined by Ne-Yo.
Organisers are expecting up to 20,000 people at the festival to see 50 Cent perform tracks including his latest release, New Day.
The performance should be an treat for rap fans, as it comes a month before 50 Cent releases his fifth studio album, Street King Immortal, so new material can be expected.
Having focused on film in the last two years — he appears in Freelancers, opposite Robert DeNiro and Forest Whitaker — the Grammy Award-winner had taken a step back from chart releases so this represents something of a comeback. 50 Cent last performed in Dubai in 2007 at Media City Amphitheatre.
“50 Cent is a legend in urban, hip-hop and rap, and is a brand himself,” said Mac.S.Far, chairman and managing director of the event organisers Alchemy Project and founder of Atelier. “All people of all ages know him and are familiar with his music, which is perfect for this all-ages music festival. Without exaggeration, in my opinion, he is the most popular hip-hop/rap artist that lives.”
50 Cent will perform alongside his band, G-UNIT, comprising Tony Yayo, Kidd Kidd and Paris.
“50 Cent’s show has always been full of energy. He always delivers a great performance and this time he will be accompanied by his band, making this experience even more memorable. 50 himself is very excited about this festival and is looking forward to performing live at Atelier/Festival.”
Planning for the autumn event, the sequel to the April concert held at Dubai Cricket Stadium, began in early May, following the success of the festival which saw acts including Natasha Bedingfield, Taio Cruz, Jay Sean and Leona Lewis taking to one stage for a night of music.
“Arranging a festival with 5-6 of the best international artists is extremely difficult,” Far told tabloid!. “Fine-tuning the music flow, being able to catch all artists on their free dates, and, most importantly, being able to deliver the right chemistry in the line up, is extremely difficult, but always possible. The last Festival was very well received and people were dancing and having fun from the early afternoon until 3am, which was extremely overwhelming and pleasing for us.”
The October instalment of the festival will follow the same structure “with a more urban twist and stronger electronic music artists”.
“Personally, I think that the line up for this festival is even stronger than the previous one, due to the popularity of the artists. In this festival, we have one we have one of the best hip hop acts of all time.”
The concert will be open to all ages, with dedicated buses and limousine transportation to Meydan, where the acts will perform one after the other on one stage.
“There will be only one stage with a long catwalk, which are the signature elements of the Atelier brand,” said Far. “This structure keeps all the crowd together and creates a stronger energy and an amazing atmosphere for them to enjoy.”
