If there’s a singular take-away point from Sunday’s Rock the Bells show, it’s that hip-hop has built up enough cache over the years to warrant a day-long concert attended by folks ranging from their teens to those with gray hairs in their goatees, at near capacity levels. That’s impressive.

Even more impressive might’ve been the main stage’s power lineup: Rakim, De La Soul, Mos Def, The Pharcyde, Nas, Method Man & Redman, Raekwon & Ghostface, and A Tribe Called Quest. Serving almost like the little kids’ table at Thanksgiving’s Day dinner, with the exception of Afrika Bambataa, was the second stage where up-and-comers The Cool Kids and B.o.B. performed. For the sake of brevity, I’ll spotlight some of the more memorable performances of the day.

Supernatural: It’s been some years since Supernatural first got attention for, and won, an epic freestyle battle with MC Juice. As the show’s hype man, he and Scratch, of The Roots fame, provided more than adequate filler in between sets. He asked people to give him objects to incorporate in his freestyle. Whether it was a Geico ad, phone, or Obama pin, Supernat made it work. Quite frankly, it was amazing to see how quickly his mind worked.

Rakim: He’s on just about everyone’s top 10 list of best emcees, if not #1. Although there were acts before him, The God was the real kickoff. The crowd volume and rap-a-longs increased immensely the second he hit the stage. Whether it was “I Ain’t No Joke“, “Paid In Full”, or “Juice“, he came with a force that would put most other rappers to shame.