Saturday, May 31, was arguably one of the “best hip-hop concerts of the summer” at to the Comcast Center, formerly known as the Tweeter Center, in Mansfield, MA.

Colby O’Donis, Kardinal Offishall, Ryan Leslie, 2 Pistols, Trey Songz, Lloyd, Ray J, The Dream, Plies, Mario, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne flooded the stage along with a special appearance by Jim Jones and a guest appearance by Birdman. However, scheduled performer Cherish was not present.

Doors opened at 3 p.m. and the show started an hour later. Ticket prices ranged from $25 to $95 without surcharges. Tickets were a must-have at this event, because it had been long sold out. Weather was not in the concert’s favor, and as it ended up down pouring halfway through, but no spirits were broken.

The beginning was enjoyable, but the crowds’ spirits boosted when 2 Pistols took the stage. They preformed their hit song “She Got It” and the crowd ate it up. From that point on, the energy was through the roof.

Young girls favored Trey Songz. When he took the stage, it was hard to hear because of the screaming teeny-boppers. The same went for Ray J and Mario.

Lloyd was another crowd favorite, however, he had a repeat performance with his song “Get it Shawty,” which he preformed at Summer Jam 2007.

Performer Plies was also a big hit, with chart-topping songs such as “Shawty,” “Bust it Baby Part 2” and “Hypnotized.”

The special guest this year was Jim Jones. Although he doesn’t have any recent hits, he did perform his smash hit “Ballin’,” which was a crowd pleaser.

Self-proclaimed “Boss,” Rick Ross was the second to last performer. His performance was not too flashy, but it was indeed full of energy. Performing “Boss,” “100 Million,” “Speeding.” and parts of “We Taking Over,” this performance was definitely one of the most long awaited act.

However, the anticipation factor of Rick Ross’s performance couldn’t hold a candle to Lil Wayne’s. The main act was by far the most wanted at the concert. He performed “I Feel Like Dying,” “Leather So Soft,” and “Lollipop” along with many other mixes. A big surprise was when Lil Wayne started the song “Stunting Like My Daddy” with Birdman, his unexpected guest, arriving on stage. Birdman also helped perform “Champaign Pop Bottles.”

The concert ended around 10 p.m. and a sea of people flooded out of the Comcast Center and either headed to their cars or to buy their annual Summer Jam t-shirt. T-shirts ranged from $20-$50, which wasn’t bad compared to the price of refreshments. Bottles of Aquafina water went for a whopping $4 a bottle.

By 10:20 p.m., the parking lots were bombarded by people searching for their cars. The end of an amazing night was not amazing in any sense of the word. While it took mere minutes to enter the Comcast Center from Route 140, it took more than two hours to exit the parking lot and make it to Route 140. With Route 495 literally seconds from the Comcast Center, it took another 20 minutes to reach the on-ramp.

With all the performers finished and the crowd thinning out, only one thing was on everyone’s mind – “I can’t wait for next year!” And, in fact, we can’t.