Photos by Daniel DeSlover

Now 15 years removed from his more than 14-times platinum “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’” debut, 50 Cent may not be flying as high as he did alongside Dr. Dre or Eminem back then, but when the seldom touring rapper made his Ravinia debut, the considerable crowd was right there in their G-Unit shirts raring to remember how he became a major hip-hop heavy player. And while the historic venue that serves as the annual residency of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with a heritage spanning Luciano Pavarotti, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin and Tony Bennett didn’t seem like an obvious location for his “Best Of 50 Cent” revue (based off 2017’s compilation of the same name), the North Shore hot spot also hosted the soulful hip-hop likes of Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott and The Roots this year alone, following equally noteworthy appearances from Lauryn Hill, John Legend and Common as of late.

50 Cent and company commanded “let’s light this b**** up” to prompt a sea of cellphones surrounding “Many Men (Wish Death),” popped off several smokestacks throughout an extended edition of “I’m The Man,” had all of Ravinia on fire by “Just A Lil Bit” and “Candy Shop,” while blowing the cork so far off the figurative champagne bottle come “In Da Club” it would’ve landed in the back corner pocket of the lawn.

In other words, 50 Cent wound up being in excellent company and was enthusiastically received when descending from a staircase with his name aglow on the giant screen that frequently broadcast video clips interspersed with live footage. Along with a four-piece band, a DJ and two emcees, the man born Curtis James Jackson III tossed out one roof raiser after the next, from the earlier “Movin’ On Up” to the current “Get The Strap” and mounds more in either complete or abbreviated versions.

An entire thesis could probably be penned on the political incorrectness of “P.I.M.P.” (not to be confused with “Pimpin’, Pt. 2”) or “UP! (Beat The Pussy Up),” but the 50 Cent of today emoted a vibe of having no agenda whatsoever other than to entertain. And that’s exactly what he did for about an hour, which read more like a festival set (similar to say LL Cool’s mega-medley at Lollapalooza) or perhaps what he intended to perform during a previously announced run supporting Chris Brown that never materialized.

In spite of its brevity, 50 Cent and company commanded “let’s light this b**** up” to prompt a sea of cellphones surrounding “Many Men (Wish Death),” popped off several smokestacks throughout an extended edition of “I’m The Man,” had all of Ravinia on fire by “Just A Lil Bit” and “Candy Shop,” while blowing the cork so far off the figurative champagne bottle come “In Da Club” it would’ve landed in the back corner pocket of the lawn. He probably should’ve saved at least a couple of those for the finale rather than going the anticlimactic route of selecting a few personal favorites that didn’t strike as high on the charts, but make no mistake, this East Coast trendsetter came back to the game in a grand way and will hopefully consider letting the party linger a little longer from now on.

For additional information on 50 Cent, visit ThisIs50.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at Ravinia include Yes featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman (Sept. 7); Tony Bennett (Sept. 8); Gipsy Kings (Sept. 14); Johnny Rivers and Jimmy Webb (Sept. 15) and Los Tigres del Norte (Sept. 16). For additional details, visit Ravinia.org.

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