Performing for the U.S. troops in Iraq 2004 has had a lasting impression for elite rapper 50 Cent. An impression, so strong, that he’s carried the memories of the soldiers he met that day with him ever since.

“It was eye-opening. It was like, ‘You think you’ve had a tough time? … These people have a tough time.’ They’re in this environment that’s more intense than anything you could imagine,” 50 told MTV News.

As a result, it was not even an offer to contemplate when 50 was approached to appear at the “A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the BRAVE”, as 50 donned the stage Friday night for an audience of Veteran soldiers.

However, not only because he had met the troops himself, but also because he has become quite aware of the challenges those troops have faced when returning home.

“I don’t think there’s any way you can understand it unless you’ve been there and seen it,” he said. “When they come back and realize that everyone went on with their lives, you know? People went to work, did their thing, and the troops come home and it’s tough for them to realize it, man. They have it tough, and that’s part of the reason I did ‘Home of the Brave’ [the 2006 film in which 50 played an vet returning home from Iraq], to try and tell that story to people.”

And for 50, after having played for audiences all over the world, performing for the Vets, is definitely something else.

“They’ve got an energy. You gotta come hard, you know? These guys are tougher than the tough guys from my neighborhood, ’cause they went over there willingly,” he laughed. “I know I wouldn’t want to put myself in that position. There are some tough guys in the crowd out there tonight.”






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