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JANET ZINKThe rapper, scheduled to perform at 8 p.m., takes the stage closer to 10:30 p.m. Sunday night at the State Fairgrounds.
TAMPA - More than 1,400 people turned out Sunday for a Mother's Day concert by the nation's top selling musical artist, 50 Cent, but were left waiting for more than two hours when the rapper failed to show up on time.
The show was supposed to start at 8 p.m. at the Florida State Fairgrounds off U.S. 301. But by 9 p.m. security guards were telling concertgoers 50 cent was stuck in traffic on his way from Miami, and might not appear until 10:30 p.m.
Some demanded their money back, but most sat patiently. At 10:25, he took the stage to enthusiastic applause.
Tampa resident Leah Mizerak, 21, sat outside the Fairgrounds Expo Hall at 9:30 p.m., waiting. She'd heard that 50 Cent was often late.
"I wanted to come because I thought this time it might be different," she said.
The show was advertised as the bay area's biggest Mother's Day concert, and many people came with $27.50 tickets given to them as gifts.
50 Cent, aka Curtis Jackson, is a red hot rapper from New York. His album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', sold a record 1.5-million copies in the week and a half after its Feb. 6 release, the highest ever for a debut.
It has sold a total of 4.5-million copies so far and was the No. 1 selling album last week, according to music sales tracker SoundScan. His latest hit, 21 Questions sits at the top of the music and video charts, and he partners with the saucy Li'l Kim on her new release, Magic Stick.
Despite the meteoric rise to fame, problems have plagued the rapper.
He has earned a reputation for showing up late for scheduled appearances if he shows up at all.
50 Cent arrived hours late for a March concert at Coachman Park in Clearwater.
Oddly, he might end up paying a pretty penny for his performance in Tampa.
He was originally scheduled to perform Sunday night in Boise, Idaho, but told the promoter he didn't have enough time between concerts to appear as promised.
Solomon Hatcher, the concert's promoter, is seeking $5-million from the rapper for canceling the show.
The rapper returned the $50,000 contract payment, but Hatcher's lawyer said his client deserves more due to the damage to his reputation.
50 Cent was also booked for a May 9 show at the Sound Factory in New York. That concert didn't happen either, but not because of the rapper. Show promoters who booked the event were fooled by a man who pretended to be the rapper's booking agent and then ran off with a $12,000 deposit, according to the MTV network.
Now, the rapper is being sued for $32,000 in unpaid medical bills by a New York doctor who operated on him after 50 Cent was shot nine times in May 2000, MTV reported.
Fans, perhaps, should expect to wait a little for 50 Cent to take the stage. The third track on his most recent CD is called Patiently Waiting.