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Page 1
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Eminem gets calls about injured loved ones, makes calls about hot hip-hop beats ...
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Page 2
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D12's Proof tries to steal a car, woo a woman with promises of chicken noodle soup ...
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Page 3
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Olivia zeroes in on the 'meat,' and Em and 50 spy on each other from backstage ...
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As Tony Yayo strolls the smoke-filled hallways he comes across a sign on a door that reads, "Pyro — No Smoking." "Who follows the rules anyway?" he wonders aloud.
That would be Olivia, the only member of G-Unit besides 50 who has her own dressing room. Inside, the self-described first lady of G-Unit — wearing a "One martini, two martini, three martini, floor" T-shirt — sips on tea and nibbles on an Oreo.
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"None of the other guys are allowed on [my] bus." -- Olivia
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"I prefer serenity," she says. "Even on my bus, it's very quiet. ... None of the other guys are allowed on the bus."
Olivia enjoys doing girly things, like shopping (she just spent $15,000 in 30 minutes in Paris), but she also spends time with the guys, playing spades, going to the gym or shooting hoops.
"It's like we're in school in the lunchroom or something," she says. "Nothing changes just 'cause I'm the only girl in the group. They treat me with respect. When I walk in and they're telling a story or something, they'll stop cursing, but they'll continue the story without the curses."
Olivia says each of the bad boys has his sweet and sensitive moments, especially Yayo, whom she calls a sweetheart.
"Whenever he walks into a room, everybody just smiles automatically," she says. "It's just crazy for him 'cause he's not used to this. He was away [in prison] while everything in G-Unit was happening, so he came back in the midst of the success. He's still that same raw Tony Yayo before he went away, and that energy is just great for everybody."
50 likes to say Olivia brings class to the tour, and she repays the compliment by calling him a great boss.
"He basically is the meat that holds all of us together," she explains. "When the other guys are making trouble, he just does this little stern yell and everybody sits down and gets quiet. It's the funniest thing. But he definitely keeps everything in control and you like that. He's not really bossy, so that's another good thing. And he takes very good care of all of us."
On his way to check out the venue's gym/arcade, where Obie Trice is playing "Centipede," 50 says his rules are simple.
"Do what you do, just don't let the police come get us for nothing that you did," he explains. "And try not to bring people from one city to the next. Put that bitch on a train back to where she came from. And that's it — I'm happy."
"Thrilled" might be the operative word when describing 50 on tour. The rapper had just one day off in between shooting his debut movie, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," and starting Anger Management 3, but it didn't matter. He loves it here.
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"I don't think people know my intentions, they get to see me embracing even more artists, introducing them to the world."
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"I'm excited about having a full set in front of Em," he says. "I don't think people know my intentions, [and with Anger Management] they get to see me embracing even more artists, introducing them to the world."
Each member of G-Unit is featured on at least two songs during 50's set, including his latest signings, veteran acts Mobb Deep and M.O.P. "They've always been making great music, it's just not been promoted properly," he says. "Well, they know 50 is gonna market and promote the sh-- out of your project. I'm expecting both to sell more than a million. I haven't had anything that hasn't yet."
The tour "allows my crew to be in front of 30,000 people every night instead of a nightclub with 2,000 people," he continues. "So it allows them to grow at a faster pace."
50, a perfectionist who harshly critiques his own show at the end of each night, is also tickled to be opening for his mentor. He watches Eminem's show routinely from a monitor he requests in his dressing room.
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"There's things in his set that, creatively, you can't really compete with it."
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"I learn from him," he says. "There's things in his set that, creatively, you can't really compete with it, so you gotta go in another direction. If you try to do something similar, it's not going to work. So I try to go in a whole other direction with the show, tempowise, and just smash through my hit records."
Eminem, it turns out, also has a monitor in his dressing room.
"50 Cent is perfect," he says, back in the empty venue with the rapper. "You're looking at a man in his prime, the pinnacle of his career."
And here they go again.
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Photo: MTV News
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