Concert Review - “The Final Lap” Tour by 50 Cent with Busta Rhymes and Jeremih

50 Cent’s The final lap tour with Busta Rhymes and Jeremih

I remember the first time I witnessed 50 Cent live. It was on Eminem’s “Anger Management 3” tour and, to this day, ranks in the top five concerts I’ve ever attended. What was witnessed back then exceeded expectations on the “Final Lap Tour.” 

One thing about 50 is he will give us a show, and he did just that last night at the Pine Knob Music Theater. 50 Cent is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin, and a celebration was had. 

The production of the show had me locked in. You don’t expect this type of production from a rap artist. Jeremih opened the show and performed his hit singles, including “birthday sex,” which he performed twice, one earlier during his set and later during 50 Cent’s set while playing the piano.

Busta Rhymes followed, and I thought his performance was fun. I loved how he played with the crowd. My favorite part of his set was when he performed “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See.” Swift, his hype man, would put his hand next to Busta's mic, imaginarily turning it as if he was turning down a speaker. The soundboard turned his mic all the way down, but you could clearly see he was still rapping on the stage. Swift put his hand back up to the mic to signal to turn on, and the mic volume followed as Busta was still rapping right in the spot he was supposed to be. 

What a fun way to show that Busta was rapping with the track live and no backup. Busta left the stage with a tease of “Pass the Courvoisier.''

50 blessed the stage, exiting a cube that revealed him with smoke and fire fanfare to follow as he rapped the intro of his set with “I’m on some s-t” The platform had blue lighting across an LED screen behind him

Then we got straight into the hits. From “What Up Gangsta” joined alongside Tony Yayo and Uncle Murder as hype men, “I Get Money,” “Hate it or Love It,” and “If I Can’t “ to follow. With amazing backdrops across the LED towers for each song, it made you feel like you were in Queens, New York. 

One backdrop consisted of a liquor store, barbershop, cleaners, and others had us riding through the hood. By the time we got to “If I Can’t,” the backdrop was neighborhood houses, lifting to reveal a five-piece band as if they were playing their instruments on the second level of the house. I thought this was dope.

Now y’all know how I feel about live bands. I LOVE THEM. Nothing is better than live music. The band gave me goosebumps, especially my guy on the electric guitar. 

As I mentioned, 50 gave us a show, and in addition to the band and the backdrops, dancers joined the stage throughout the night. There were multiple outfit changes by 50(one even on stage as if it were a magic trick), and I can’t forget all the special guests.

50 brung out Detroit native rappers to perform, such as Icewear Vezzo, Kash Doll, and Peezy! However, nothing had the crowd amped up more than when 50 performed “Patiently Waiting,” with the anticipation arising as Eminem's verse crept upon us. Sure enough, Em hits the stage, and the crowd goes bonkers. The two performed “Crack a Bottle.” 

This performance was Em’s second cameo this year. We last saw him on stage with Ed Sheeran in July when the surprise wasn’t as expected. Eminem said, “Detroit, don’t act like you didn’t know I was gonna f-kin be here.” When Em hits the stage, it’s always an iconic moment. This happened not even halfway through the show, and it kept us on a high as the night went on. 

50 performed “In the Club,” which was presented as the last song of the night. However, 50 came back on stage, and streamers popped into the crowd and ended the song with confetti over us. While he thanked the fans, little did we know, he had a few more hits in his bag, giving us more highlights of the Get Rich or Die Tryin album, going from one to another, “Wanksta”, “Poor Little Rich” “ Back Down” “South Side'' and ended the night with “I’ll Whoop Your head Boy,” with fire blasting from the stage.

For me, this is a no-skip album. So I was for it all! He gave us all the hits we know and love, almost two hours with over 30 songs and an energetic and animated performance. If this was truly 50s final lap, he did it with a bang!