Damian Marley's fierce, no-nonsense set was a bit deep for the night's party mood. But Marley, the youngest son of late reggae great Bob Marley, highlighted his intricate rhymes and political sensibility on songs from his latest disc, ''Welcome to Jamrock," including the title track, with its slinky chorus, ''Out in the streets, they call it murder." Bigwig-producer-turned rapper Jermaine Dupri filled the stage, bantering and showing off his tight rhymes, even delivering old favorites such as ''Welcome to Atlanta." The crowd went wild during reggaeton star Don Omar's dance party of a set -- which found his backing dancers delivering suggestive moves as the crowd sang along in Spanish to hits including ''Dile."
Tony Yayo and nearly two dozen friends, including his G-Unit crew and fellow rapper Lloyd Banks, unleashed a taut, rhyme-driven set featuring numbers such as ''Pimpin." Meanwhile, R&B singer Bobby Valentino crooned and threw roses but seemed to have trouble holding the crowd's attention. He finally got people moving during ''Slow Down" and fared better on a spirited rendition of Ludacris's ''Pimpin' All Over the World" during the rapper's headlining set. Ludacris teasingly tested his fans to see how schooled they were in his early material and pitted the two sides of the crowd against each other. Looking trim and boyish in an oversize red jersey and jean shorts, Ludacris oozed charisma and deft wordplay. His DJ nimbly mixed samples and beats and skipped between songs, working his way from the throbbing beat of ''The Potion," from 2004's ''The Red Light District," back to old favorites including ''What's Your Fantasy," from 2000's ''Incognegro," and ending the night on a high note.
