Live Review: 50 Cent, A.B. Original, Baker Boy

Australia is producing some amazing talent of late and Baker Boy is no exception.

The rapper/dancer is a wonderful performer who dazzles with songs alternating between English and his native Yolngu Matha tongue. Joined by his crew of dancers, Baker Boy puts on an infectious showcase that has even the predominately muscle-bound male crowd nodding along. While his frequent requests to get people dancing fall on deaf ears, triple j favourite Marryuna does at least elicit a positive response. Baker Boy is one Australian artist sure to have a massive impact in 2018.

If Baker Boy is the face of the new breed of Australian rappers taking the scene by storm, then AB Original are the approving stalwarts of the genre. As solo artists, Trials and Briggs are outstanding, but together they form a potent one-two punch of hard-hitting political and socially conscious lyrics over slamming beats. The duo execute a number of tracks from their moving debut Reclaim Australia - including the call-to-arms 2 Black 2 Strong - before leaving the stage and allowing the legendary DJ Total Eclipse to entertain with a mixture of popular hip hop tracks. On returning, AB Original introduce vocalist Caiti Baker who joins the two for Dead In A Minute and Sorry. Next up is the esteemed Dan Sultan, who seems a tad unimpressed despite the raucous crowd. He and AB Original perform their cover of Paul Kelly's Dumb Things before Trials expresses his joy about tonight's line-up, which is all black and contains two Indigenous supports. Change the date anthem January 26 rounds things out as Briggs drapes himself in the Aboriginal flag.

It's been 15 years since 50 Cent hit the big time with his classic debut Get Rich Or Die Tryin' and in that time the hip hop landscape has changed drastically. But somehow Curtis Jackson has managed to stay relevant, or at least in the spotlight. Arriving back in Australia after an 11-year absence, 50 Cent is greeted like a superstar by the adoring masses. Wearing flashing glasses and looking relaxed in a black tracksuit, 50 Cent is joined on stage by G-Unit (or what's left of the hip hop collective). There's no Lloyd Banks or Young Buck, only Tony Yayo and Uncle Murda. It's the equivalent of ordering Uber Eats and getting the wrong order. You're not happy, but you eat it anyway.

Going Crazy is an interesting choice to open with and Still Think I'm Nothing is an even weirder follow-up. Both are new tracks and the crowd seems a little perplexed. But that all changes when 50 Cent ditches the tacky glasses and jacket as the sound of a coin drops, signalling the Get Rich Or Die Tryin' opening track What Up Gangsta. From here on, it's a mixture of chart-toppers and fan-favourites as a stacked-looking 50 Cent and G-Unit keep the momentum going. I Get Money and PIMP turn the front of stage into a mass of heaving, sweaty bodies bouncing their hands up and down to the beat. Yayo calls for everyone to hold up their phones for I'm The Man, illuminating the entire outside area.

As well as a DJ spinning beats, 50 Cent has a live band playing over the top, which ensures the percussion is crisp. There's also a number of extended guitar solos and this adds to the overall stage production. 50 Cent cheekily raps his verses from The Game's How We Do and Hate It Or Love It before Just A Lil Bit causes a couple of excited lads to whip their shirts off and dance about with drinks in hand. Candy Shop, Disco Inferno and the futuristic Ayo Technology are crowd-pleasers before a massive brawl breaks out during 21 Questions. Window Shopper is another example of 50 Cent's knack for writing chart-toppers before confetti showers the crowd during main-set closer In Da Club.

The encore is a strange event. Yayo and Uncle Murda come back out on stage smoking weed while Bob Marley's Could You Be Loved plays. 50 Cent finally arrives to the sound of G-Unit and is about to spit his verse when the DJ accidentally changes the record. 50 Cent immediately turns to his DJ with a look that could kill. "Look at the setlist," he angrily demands. "This n****r gotta go. He retarded." 50 Cent spends the next 15 minutes asking his DJ, "What you got?" and, depending on the crowd reaction, raps the first verse or tells the DJ to play something else. It's a bizarre scene. Ne-Yo collab Baby By Me, Chris Brown feat No Romeo No Juliet, Hustler's Ambition, Poor Lil Rich, In Da Hood and aggressive I'll Whip Ya Head Boy are just a handful of tunes 50 Cent serenades the crowd with. Mixtape cut Put A Hole In Yo Back is the last tune of the night, with 50 Cent going a cappella before thanking the crowd and walking off stage.

It's an anti-climatic end to a highly entertaining evening of hip hop. 50 Cent might not be much of a talker, but lets the music speak for itself to remind everyone why he was once the King Of New York hip hop in the early '00s.