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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Rap superstar 50 Cent to play Arena Aug. 24

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 07/19/2003 5:25 AM | Comments: 0

Winnipeg's bad luck with hip-hop will change for the better next month when the second-biggest rapper on Earth comes to town.

American superstar 50 Cent will play Winnipeg Arena on Sunday, Aug. 24, Winnipeg Enterprises spokesman Kevin Donnelly said yesterday. Tickets go on sale next Saturday for $59.50 at Select-A-Seat, 780-3333 or www.selectaseatmb.ca.

The multi-platinum urban artist, whose bullet-ridden debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin' remains on the Nielsen SoundScan Top 10 chart almost six months after it went on sale, will be the biggest hip-hop star to play a concert in Winnipeg.

If that sounds familiar, that's because two other major rap stars who announced Winnipeg concerts earlier this year did not end up playing here.

In March, DMX cancelled shows in Winnipeg and Calgary because he couldn't make it across the Canadian border.

That debacle was followed by the collapse of a Ja Rule tour which was supposed to stop in Winnipeg July 27.

A number of factors will prevent 50 Cent from suffering from a similar case of cancellitis, Donnelly said.

"He plays Fargo the night before, so this is an actual, routed tour. We have an experienced concert promoter in House of Blues, not somebody new to the business with fewer contacts.

"And for those who doubt his admissibility into the country, he's already played Toronto, on June 30. He's been to Canada and he's going to be back. He's sold 12,000 tickets for a show in Montreal on Aug. 18.

"We have every confidence that this will be as great as this is supposed to be. He's the biggest rap star on the planet after Eminem."

In several American markets, the Detroit rapper has been known to jump on stage at 50 Cent shows. While the chance of that happening in Winnipeg is close to the likelihood of J.Lo buying into the Sals chain, it's nice to know the city finally has one other major concert tour this summer, in addition to the July 31 Crosby, Stills & Nash show.

* * *

One more music note: The next deadline for Manitoba Film & Sound demo grant and album loan applications has been extended from July 25 to Aug. 8.

That means Manitoba musicians looking for a little financial help have a couple of extra weeks to get their act together. Here's some free advice: A detailed marketing and distribution plan goes a lot further than a snazzy bio and a list of places you've performed.

PHOTO

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 19, 2003 $sourceSection$sourcePage

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