A CONTROVERSIAL US rap superstar who survived being shot three times is to perform at the opening of a North-East nightspot next month.

50 Cent has agreed to play at the £1.5m Glass Spider, in Green Terrace, Sunderland, on Saturday, February 26, and the venue's owners are claiming it will be "the biggest night" the city has seen.

In 2004, the artist won a Grammy for his breakthrough single, In Da Club.

50 Cent, who hails from a tough district of New York and is one of the most commercially successful Gangsta rappers, agreed to the Sunderland performance after appearing at a Birmingham gig with a DJ from one of the Glass Spider's owners' other clubs.

In 2000, the rapper, who has been criticised for his explicit lyrics, was shot at nine times while sitting with a friend in a car. He was hit by three bullets, in the legs and in the jaw.

The UK Advertising Standards Authority yesterday criticised the poster for his album and film Get Rich or Die Tryin'. The poster was withdrawn by the film's US distributor after complaints.

The authority said the advert, which shows the rapper holding a gun and a baby, could be seen as condoning the use of weapons. Universal Music maintains it depicts his fight to escape the ghetto.

Dave Burke, senior pastor of the Bethany City Church in Sunderland, said last night: "People need to make a decision on whether we are against guns in our culture or not. If we don't approve of guns, people should make decisions based on that and not go along because it is fun or because he is famous.

"As a society, we should be saying that the language that glorifies violence isn't acceptable either.''

Anthony Griffiths, director of Wylam Leisure, the nightspot's owners, said: "This is going to be like nothing that's happened in any Sunderland pub before.

"It's going to be the biggest and best night the city has ever seen. It will definitely put Sunderland on the map.''

The Glass Spider will hold a VIP night on Wednesday, February 15, and open to the public the following night.

Ticket details for the 50 Cent concert will be announced soon.