Updated: March 31, 2015 at 11:09 p.m.

Grammy-nominated rapper 50 Cent will headline University Union’s annual Block Party event on April 24 in the Carrier Dome, UU announced on Twitter Tuesday night.

G-Unit, Norwegian electronic dance music artist and record producer Kygo and hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd will also perform at the show. Kygo is best known for his remix of the song “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran. Block Party will take place Friday, April 24 in the Carrier Dome, and doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

“Normally we go down the route of choosing performers who are up and coming, about to break or at the peak of their career,” said Jeremy Martin, UU vice president. “But we decided we wanted to bring in someone we all recognize, who has an icon status, and it’s almost a nice throwback because 50 Cent is someone a lot of us grew up with.”

Martin said UU chose 50 Cent a few months ago, but had to wait to formally announce the show until contracts were signed as a precaution.

“A lot of people think we like to keep it a secret, but we’re really just waiting for all contracts to come in before we announce,” Martin said.

Martin said UU decided to bring rap and EDM artists partially because they are less expensive compared to bands, which often bring a lot of production costs. He added that UU reached out to a few bands, but many were touring and unable to make Block Party.

He added that UU will be announcing its MayFest lineup soon, and the organization is looking forward to adding some diversity to the EDM and rap artists performing at Block Party.

Tickets for Block Party will go on sale online at Ticketmaster.com this Wednesday and a student presale for full-time Syracuse University and State University New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students will run from Wednesday, April 1 at 10 a.m. to Friday at 3 p.m. The public sale will start Saturday, April 4 at 10 a.m.

The student price is $25 for general admission dance floor access, and $20 for first level general admission and second level reserved seating. The general public price is $30. Students can order a maximum of two tickets at the special student prices, down from four in previous years.

Last year, tickets to see Zedd and 2 Chainz went on sale at 10 a.m., and floor seats were sold out by 10:02 a.m., Martin said.

“We realized a lot of students were angry that they were on the website at 10 a.m. and kept refreshing page but couldn’t buy tickets,” he added.

Martin also said some people were buying four tickets when they only needed one or two, and then reselling them at higher prices.

“It’s unfair that some students didn’t have the opportunity to buy tickets, or had to buy them from someone who was selling them for the double the price,” Martin said. “We wanted to give students more of an opportunity to get floor tickets.”

50 Cent’s 2003 commercial debut album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” earned him critical acclaim and a best new artist nomination at the 46th Grammy Awards.

His album “Street King Immortal” will be his sixth studio album and will be released in 2015 by G-Unit Records, Caroline Records and Capitol Records.

Published on March 31, 2015 at 8:18 pm

Contact Lydia: lawilson@syr.edu