Students disappointed over rapper 50 Cent's cancellation of his scheduled Penn performance will be happy to know that the artist will be in Philadelphia on April 30, a mere five days after the Penn concert was supposed to take place.
Although 50 Cent backed out of his scheduled Penn performance, he has opted to perform at neighboring Temple University. Philadelphia Eagles player Freddy Mitchell is sponsoring the event, a Temple University official said.
Temple is not actively organizing the concert, but their Liacouras Center will serve as a venue for the rapper's performance, which will be open to the public. A Temple University official said that they are not concerned that the rapper will back out this time around.
"We have a signed contract with them, so we're not really worried," he said.
Soon after canceling his scheduled Penn Relays performance in early March, 50 Cent also pulled out of a scheduled performance at the University of Delaware that was arranged by their Cultural Program Advisory Board.
According to the Office of Student Life's Fran Walker, 50 Cent's manager pulled out after Penn was listed as a stop on his college tour on 50 Cent's Web site.
Walker would not comment on why 50 Cent backed out of the Penn program.
The rapper did go through with his concert yesterday evening at Miami University of Ohio despite the urging of Jane Howington, the City Manager of Oxford, Ohio. Howington advised the university to cancel the show due to the rapper's controversial image and allegedly violent past.
"Oxford is a fairly small town," university spokeswoman Claire Wagner said. She said that Howington "was concerned about the potential for unruly visitors." In a previous concert in nearby Cincinnati, riots erupted when ticket prices were altered at the door.
However, Wagner said university officials were fairly confident that the concert, which is only open to Miami students, faculty and staff, would run smoothly.
She said that "our chief of police feels that they will have adequate safety" measures at the performance.
