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50 Cent Brings Together N.Y. Rap Elite, Taking 'Thisis50' Fest To L.A. and Atlanta

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by Mariel Concepcion, N.Y.  |   October 09, 2009 5:20 EDT

50 Cent held his first annual "ThisIs50" Fest at New York's Governor's Island last weekend, and considering his career has been tarnished with a number of hip hop feuds, the Queens rapper managed to bring together some of New York rap's elite for the event.

On the bill were Slaughterhouse, Uncle Murda, Maino, Corey Gunz, Young Trav, D-Block, Red Café, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, Papoose, Ron Browz, Al Be Back and 50 Cent's own G-Unit crew. Additionally, Kid Cudi, Wale, Wyclef Jean and the two surviving members of 90s R&B group Intro took the stage as well.

"I had to touch base with everyone and everybody saw how it made sense to get together and make some real money. And then artists influenced other artists to join," 50 Cent told Billboard about how the concert came about. "A lot of the artists out here tonight deserve to be on a regular Summer Jam bill, but we have to make our own Summer Jam because they [radio stations] are not recognizing their [new rappers'] material."

50 also revealed he plans to take 50 Fest on the road, with scheduled stops in L.A. and Atlanta next. "Once they see us all here together at the same time with no issues, no incidents and no problems, they'll let us do it wherever we want," he said. "After Hot 97 [New York radio station that supported '50' fest], we're going to step to Power 106 in L.A. and then Atlanta and we'll continue moving around until we load the whole map up."

In the past, 50 Cent has had public disputes with rappers like Ja Rule, Fat Joe, The Game and most recently, Rick Ross, among others. Still, 50 assures fans can see him collaborate more closely with other artists, especially those from his hometown, moving forward. "In the future, don't be surprised when you see all of us collaborating and working together on different projects -- not necessarily a song, but something bigger," he says.

50 Cent's upcoming album, the oft-delayed "Before I Self Destruct," is now slated to be released on November 17th via G-Unit/Shady Records/Aftermath/Interscope Records.

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