The second largest Canadian music festival, Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) just finished off Day Two of a full twelve-day festival that will go until July 14th. Today was a special day for us at The Travel Addict because this was the day we have been waiting for to see and photograph 50 Cent for the first time ever.
We were able to catch all of the acts on the main Bell Stage, starting off with Connaisseur Ticaso. This songwriter and rapper from Montreal brought his underground gangsta rap energy to the stage. As a surprise, Ticaso brought out Québec natives Simon Valiquette (B-Ice) and Frédéric Auger (T-Mo) of fellow rap group Taktika.
Connaisseur Ticaso came out in a striped Polo shirt, white Ralph Lauren shorts, and a New York Yankees hat. T-Mo represented his group by showing off his South Side Taktika shirt to the crowd. The trio delivered some smooth French rap lyrics that encompassed what it means to be some of the leading rappers of the underground gangsta rap movement in Canada.
Switching it up a bit was Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike from hip-hop duo Run The Jewels. This rapper is different from the rest not only because he’s American, but in his spare time he is a social and political activist. Mike and his back-up singers all wore white, with the rapper accenting his outfit with his signature gold chain with photos of his mother and grandmother. Mike played several songs off his Grammy winning album “Michael” and even paid tribute to his Mom during the set. He also told the crowd how he loved Canada for being so progressive about the legalization of marijuana ahead of the US. Killer Mike’s band and back-up singers supported his fast-moving rhymes as the crowd started to grow for the night’s headliner, 50 Cent.
After decades of photographing famous musicians around the world, we still hadn’t had the chance to see the legendary rapper 50 Cent. Not only was it our first time seeing 50 Cent, it was his first time performing in the city of Québec.
50 Cent emerged from a cloud of smoke to a cheering crowd as he got right into his set of a whopping 25 songs. 50 and his crew wore some slick all black outfits, all sporting New York Yankee hats. The energy between 50 and the crowd was spectacular, making 50 Cent break out into a smile many times during his performance.
Fans sang along to some of 50 Cent’s most popular rap tunes like “P.I.M.P.,” “Candy Shop,” “In Da Club,” and “21 Questions.” The lyrics “Go shortie, it’s your birthday” really sang true to 50 Cent as he’ll celebrate his 49th birthday on July 6th. The set was accompanied by fireworks, pyrotechnics, back-up dancers, and turned the Plains of Abraham into a New York nightclub to end night two of FEQ.
Check out our next update on Day Three of Festival d’été de Québec, and the many more days of music to come.
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan and Amy Harris @thetraveladdictig