Why is 50 Cent making an appearance at a grocery store in suburban Wisconsin?

If it is surprising to hear that 50 Cent will be hanging out and signing vodka bottles at a grocery store in suburban Wisconsin, the grocery store wouldn’t disagree with you.

“Yep,” Woodman’s marketing director Dustin Wales told Fusion, when asked if he was surprised when he first heard of the promotion that is going to bring the famous rapper to their store on July 29th for a promotional event.

Apparently, Effen Vodka — a company 50 Cent invests in — approached Woodman’s and asked to host two vodka bottle signings, one in Oak Creek, and one in Sun Prarie. The Effen Vodka camp, one store manager told me, was particular about the set-up, telling them that the rapper would only be singing Effen Vodka bottles and doing nothing else.

The grocery story appearance appears to be part of a promotional tour 50 Cent is embarking on across the United States. There was this appearance in the Bronx on April 2nd; this one in South Attleboro, Massachusetts on April 16th; this one in Abington, Massachusetts on June 16th; and this one in Warwick, Rhode Island on June 25th.

The signings proved to be successful — at the Abington signing, over 1,500 people showed up, according to The Enterprise. And at an appearance in Syracuse in late April, The Post-Standard reported that he helped the store sell 277 gallons of vodka.

“We sell a lot more vodka if he’s sitting there,” a Woodman’s store manager told Fusion.