The biggest Minnesota State Fair concert of the season turned the Grandstand into one massive party Saturday night.
Four acts that blended R&B and hip hop around the turn of the century to great success — Nelly, Ja Rule, Mya and the Ying Yang Twins — filled the Grandstand to absolute capacity with a wildly diverse crowd of 14,018 people ready to dance the night away. (And, yup, plenty were drinking and more than a few indulged in weed.)
What made it all such a blast was that the acts returned to the original spirit of hip hop, which was music for celebration. Everyone on stage radiated good vibes and, in the case of Ja Rule and Nelly, performed their hits one after the other, giving it the feel of a particularly jumping DJ set.
The crowd was so invested in the music, most were in their seats by the end of Mya’s set. A grinning Ja Rule took the stage as the sun had gone down and the sky pulsed with a purple hue. Ja Rule took the opportunity to shout out his “Brother Prince,” who he said was watching down over all of us.
Ja tore through plenty of his own hits — “I Cry,” “New York,” “Livin’ it Up” and the set-ending “Always on Time” — and got just as much love from the audience for his collaborations with Jay-Z (“Can I Get A …”) and Jennifer Lopez (“Ain’t it Funny,” “I’m Real”). Now 49, he’s kept up his famous physique as well and earned some lusty screams when he hoisted his Outkast T-shirt up to reveal his abs.
As for Nelly, who was just in town in July for a well-received postgame concert for the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, he’s one of those guys who was much bigger than you might remember. His 2000 debut album “Country Grammar” topped 10 million in sales, and that was back when that meant paying $15-plus for physical CDs.
So it wasn’t a surprise to hear plenty of those early hits that established Nelly as a star, including “Country Grammar,” “Ride wit Me” and, of course, his signature number, “Hot in Herre.” And, of course, he pulled out 2012’s “Cruise,” the Florida Georgia Line hit that got even bigger when Nelly stepped in for a remix. It’s one of the best-selling country songs of all time and was an early example of the now-common crossovers between country and hip hop. (For better or worse, it also helped spark the bro country revolution that’s still lingering in Nashville circles.)
Nelly wrapped with “Dilemma” and “Just a Dream” and left the crowd buzzing as fireworks blasted above them.
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