Turner on upcoming Thanksgiving parade: 'We are thrilled to host this wonderful tradition downtown again'

A multi-decorated New York City born and raised rapper who now calls Houston home will play a huge role in the 73rd Annual H-E-B Thanksgiving Day Parade next month.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said on Thursday that 50 Cent has been tabbed as the parade’s Grand Marshal for 2022, per reports from Houston-based media outlets. 

50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson III, will be accompanied by Turner and last year’s Grand Marshal, Dr. Peter Hotez, on what’s arguably the centerpiece of the event, the Tom Turkey Float.

This is the second post-COVID-19 parade to be held, with the 2021 parade called off because of inclement weather and the 2020 event cancelled due to the pandemic.

“This year’s Thanksgiving Day parade will highlight some of the most incredible talent, floats and marching bands in the history of the parade,” Turner said, Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported. “We are thrilled to host this wonderful tradition downtown again, and I look forward to seeing smiles on the faces of children and adults enjoying the parade made possible by our wonderful sponsors.”

The 47-year-old 50 Cent, under the tutelage of popular hip-hop artists Eminem and Dr. Dre, burst onto the scene in 2003 with his chart-topping debut single, “In da Club.”

The song, along with subsequent singles “21 Questions” and “P.I.M.P.”, propelled his first album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”, to platinum-selling levels and turned 50 Cent into a high-profile act.

Houston FOX affiliate KRIV reported that the Emmy Award and Grammy Award-winning rapper moved to the Bayou City last year, immersing himself in the community by performing numerous philanthropic and charitable acts.

The dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Hotez helped lead the Houston medical community's fight against COVID-19, Houston Daily reported.

He and fellow physician and researcher Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi were nominees for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, their names submitted by U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston), per the publication.

KPRC reported that the parade is slated for Nov. 24 at 9 a.m. in Downtown Houston.

It’ll feature 20 balloons and 14 floats, as well as performances from local rapper Bun B; the cast of “Mary Poppins,” which will come to Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) in December; and the Apache Belles from Tyler Junior College (TJC) in East Texas, who’ll mark more than a quarter-century participating in the event, per the station.