Mingling freely with school children in Nairobi's Kibera slums, a delighted Curtis James Jackson III aka 50 Cent wore no pride of the international showbiz icon he is known to be.
He joked with the young fans, laughed and even sung with them before making his humanitarian charity donations.
It was nothing close to the G-Unit pomp and bravado. In a pair of black jeans, white shirt and his trademark headgear, the celebrated star kept his cool under the scorching sun as dust blew across as if to usher him to the bitter realities of the third world.
Yesterday’s Kibera tour was the first undertaking on his second day of charity mission in Africa under the auspices of World Food Programme (WFP). He also visited Somalia on Wednesday.
Upon his arrival on Tuesday, the rapper spent over two hours at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi as he tried to dodge a battery of paparazzi that had flooded the airport on Tuesday night.
The celebrated hip-hop star and business mogul landed at the airport at 9pm via British Airways. Kenyan media had gone to the airport to cover the return of Vivian Cheruiyot after she was feted the Sportswoman of the Year Award in London when journalists got wind of 50 Cent’s arrival.
According to sources from the agency in charge of his Kenyan itinerary, the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ rapper and his entourage asked to remain at the International arrivals VIP lobby where he leisurely enjoyed drinks with his team.
“He was in a very good mood in and outside the airport. He really wanted his visit to remain a top secret and that is why he had to wait for the press to leave the airport,” our source at JKIA said.
The rapper and his entourage left the airport via five Capital Limos cars before sneaking into the five-star Sankara Nairobi Hotel, Westlands where 50 Cent had been booked.
Even though the Sankara management kept details of the rapper’s stay at the hotel under wraps, Pulse established that 50 Cent used the hotel’s VIP-Presidential suite.
Pulse established that the star who is on the Board of Directors of the G-Unity Foundation — which provides grants to non-profit organisations that work to improve the quality of life for low-income and under-served communities — was in Africa on a charity mission.
The well-mastered tour, which had his team of over 15 people camping in Kenya since last week, was an expansive mission — which saw 50 Cent visit a number of refugee centres across the region.
“He has been working closely with a team from the United Nations in Kenya which helped to fund the projects he has been undertaking,” a source from the United Nations headquarters told Pulse on Thursday.
On Wednesday, his contingent flew to Somali on a private chopper where they are reported to have visited a refugee camp.
The group landed back at Wilson Airport at 4.15pm where a 25-seater van was waiting to take them to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust — a haven of elephants and rhinos at the outskirts of Nairobi city.
Special guest
“Usually, visitors touring the sanctuary visit between 11am and 1pm. But a special arrangement had to be made for the rapper and his team as he wanted to remain incognito,” a source running his itinerary told Pulse.
However, 50 Cent, who was reportedly tired, opted to go back to his hotel. As a team of paparazzi chased him down the busy Ngong Road, he changed his car, boarding a UN red plate Pajero at Adams Arcade.
Pulse caught-up with the rapper in Kibera slums where he had been for another charity event.
In October, Twitter was abuzz with news that the rapper is a friend to an American based Kenyan dancer Grace of Nabtry Dancers.
Though he would later struggle with the nature of his fame as well as market expectations, 50 Cent endured substantial obstacles throughout his young yet remarkably dramatic life before becoming the most discussed figure in rap since 2003.
Following an unsuccessful late1990s run at mainstream success (foiled by an attempt on his life in 2000) and a successful run on the New York mixtape circuit, Eminem signed 50 Cent to a seven-figure contract in 2002 and helmed his quick rise toward crossover success in 2003.
Born Curtis James Jackson III on July 6, 1975, and raised in Southside Jamaica, Queens, New York City, 50 Cent grew up in a broken home. His hustler mother passed away when he was only eight, and his father departed soon after, leaving his grandmother to parent him. As a teen, he followed the lead of his mother and began hustling. The crack trade proved lucrative for 50 Cent, until he eventually encountered the law, that is, and got arrested repeatedly in 1994. It’s around this point in time that he traded crime for hip-hop.
