stage

It was just before 9 p.m. Sunday night at Atlanta’s Piedmont Park. Tyler, The Creator, stood on the side of the stage, rapping along word-for-word to one of his favorite MCs as if he were the headliner himself.

Packing the grounds with throngs of devotees was the One Musicfest’s top-billed performer, Ludacris, who rose from local DJ to global fame with hits like ”Money Maker” and ”Southern Hospitality,” and established himself as a top Hollywood draw with the Fast franchise and the Oscar-winning Crash.

As tenured record executive Rich Nice pulled out his phone and started scrolling through Cris’ setlist on his text messages, Tyler tried to sneak a peek.

“When does ‘Move Bi**h’ come on?” Tyler inquired politely. Nice smiled and told him, “Oh, you have a little while before he gets to it.” A few feet away, Busta Rhymes was grinning with pride, elated to see his friend tear the proverbial house down.

Throughout the night, a host of celebrities would join in on an uproarious 25th-anniversary celebration, among them: Jermaine Dupri, Jadakiss, Jeezy, Shawna, I-20, Chingy, Fergie, Usher, and LL Cool J, each giving Cris his flowers as one of hip-hop’s most beloved and talented MCs.

Fergie, whose musical history with Cris goes back to 2007, flew in from Los Angeles, made a rare return to the stage to deliver a one-two punch of hits.

Dupri helped Cris kick off the show with “Welcome to Atlanta,” both sporting the Atlanta Braves’ navy blue and red for a crowd that had braved the cold and rain to see the weekend’s headliner.

After “Act a Fool,” Cris went into his bag and dropped one of his biggest signature hits, “Southern Hospitality,” which helped put him on the map in the year 2000.

Later, Cris was assisted on “Area Codes” and his featured rhyme on Ciara’s “Oh” by a collective he called the “Trap Choir,” who hit harmonies and background vocals while he rapped over a band’s live instrumentation.

Chingy, a former signee on Cris’ Disturbing Tha Peace Records, was the next surprise, coming out for “Holidae In” and his mega-hit “Right Thurr.”

Fellow DTP alum Bobby Valentino showed up for “Pimpin’ All Over the World” and “Slow Down,” while Jadakiss and Jeezy brought their street-entrenched lyricism later in the set at separate times.

Cris, who changed to black and yellow colors while Jeezy was holding court with “Put On,” went from heralded hood hierarchy to pop royalty as his show progressed, bringing out “The Dutchess” herself, Fergie — whose only other performance in close to a decade was in 2022 as part of Jack Harlow’s MTV VMAs set.

Fergie appeared to the crowd via a riser housed on a platform where the band played center stage. She began singing “Glamorous,” carefully descending a staircase while Cris held her hand.

“We got Fergie out the muthafu**in’ house! Can y’all please make some noise?” Cris commanded, much to the audience’s delight. “She ain’t perform in over seven years and she came to Atlanta, Georgia!”

Fergie didn’t come all the way from L.A. to perform just one song, Cris cracked. Sure enough, she teased, “They ain’t ready for this,” and dove into “London Bridge (Oh Shit).” That song’s producer and fellow ATL native Polow Da Don, who also worked on “Glamorous,” came out to the stage to help her with ad-libs.

“Thank you so much for being here for me every single time. Everyone give it up for Luuuuuuuuuuudah!” Fergie said after the performance. The energy got even more electric when Usher came out for “Lovers and Friends” and “Yeah” delivered back-to-back.

But just as Cris had surprised the crowd the entire night, he got to witness a performance that even he wasn’t clued in to. His team surprised him by bringing out the man who inspired him to rap — LL Cool J — for “Loungin’” and “I’m Bad.”

True to Rich Nice’s word, Tyler, the Creator did have to wait a while for “Move Bitch.” The fan favorite closed out the set, incorporating drones that lit up the sky with dancing figures.

Afterward, Cris hosted a celebratory dinner at a restaurant called Retreat, where his manager and Chaka Zulu each captained a team in a friendly but rambunctious game of spades, while guests ate and took pictures.

“That was my favorite show ever,” Cris said. “It’s so dope to see hip-hop coming together from all walks, different generations, and [fans] just appreciating the art of what we’ve done —changing our lives. I’ve done a lot of shows over the last 25 years of my life, but I’m going to go ahead and put this one at the top, man.

“The way that it flowed, the love from the city, the friends that came out, all the multiple guest appearances that I’ve done, how we curated the show list, the drone show, the trap choir — man, the surprises! It’s blowing my mind. It’s going to take me a week to process, bro.”

The rapper and actor was still basking in the glow of LL Cool J. “I don’t even know if I have words for that — I feel like a little kid, man,” he beamed.

“That was one of those moments that was just… I feel so blessed that this man got asked to come do this. He showed up for my Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. So, in my eyes, he’s already done more than what he was supposed to do… I’m just appreciative.”

Among the other performers at One Musicfest on Saturday and Sunday were Busta, with Mary J. Blige, Havoc from Mobb Deep and The Roots, Jazmine Sullivan, Jagged Edge and Lloyd, D-Nice, a reunion of the Dungeon Family, and Future.

Watch Fergie’s performance with Ludacris below.