50 Cent has disclosed that his friend and fellow rapper Eminem turned down an offer to perform with him at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in a collaboration which organizers were willing to pay $9 million for.
Appearing on Big Boy’s Neighborhood on Real 92.3, the 47-year-old rapper said that Eminem, 50, declined the offer.
The If I Can’t rapper said that officials in Qatar were hoping to hire the pair after their involvement in the lauded Super Bowl halftime show last year in Los Angeles, which also featured Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, and Anderson .Paak.
‘Because of the Super Bowl, I got an inquiry about World Cup and they had a budget of $9 million,’ said the rap artist, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, adding that he ‘would’ve taken’ $1 million and the remaining $8 million ‘would have been for’ Eminem.
The Candy Shop artist said that he tried to negotiate the appearance with Eminem’s camp to no avail: ‘They’re like, “He’s not gonna do it.”‘
50 Cent said, ‘If you would do a one-off show, maybe you would do the biggest live sporting event in the world.’
Recall, the competition held in Qatar drew a number of controversies, including the country’s human rights records, discrimination against women and the LGBTQ community, and the deaths of migrant workers who built the stadiums in the competitions were held in.