By Jeanine Budd

If you love yourself, you were at last Saturday night’s Springfest concert, said hip hop artist O’Neal McKnight. McKnight opened for Toots and the Maytals, The Roots and Ludacris, the performers at the concert.

“Every performer had a great set and everyone had a great time,” said Jeff Maimon, chair of the Council for University Programs (CUP), which organized the event. “In every aspect, some might say it was more successful than last year, but I’m going to say that they’re both pretty equal.”

Hip hop also dominated last year’s Springfest. The lineup included Nas, Gym Class Heros, RJD2 and Lupe Fiasco.

When McKnight took the stage, sporting an all-silver tracksuit and white sunglasses, Matthews Arena was far from full. He was introduced under the banner: “Hip-hop has brought the world together. It’s the new rock ‘n’ roll.”

The lack of a dancing crowd didn’t seem to faze McKnight as he ran around the stage, entertaining the audience with what he describes on his Myspace as “rap, hip hop and electro.”

At one point, whether it was a statement conscience of headliner Ludacris’ lyrical content, he said, “They say it’s a man’s world, but I see all the ladies with all the jobs, all the cars, all the houses and all the businesses.”

Out of the roughly 4,000 tickets sold, 98 percent were picked up Maimon said.

After McKnight, Toots and the Maytals took the stage. Whatever energy the crowd was lacking, Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, at older than 60 years old, used his energetic dancing and singing to make up for. With 10 people on stage, positive lyrics and a fast-paced, energetic rendition of “Louis Louis,” Toots and the Maytals eventually drew a standing ovation from a crowd that had been sitting for a majority of the set.

At one point, Toots said of himself, “I am the inventor of reggae. I am also called ‘the teacher.'”

“I’m surprised that there aren’t more people here yet,” said Alisha Conant, a sophomore history major. “I’m here to see The Roots, because I don’t really listen to much rap. But I thought Toots was really good.”

As The Roots were setting up, ticket holders began to pack into the arena. When the lights went out, what sounded like “boos,” but were actually chants of “Roots!,” began to echo through Matthews.

When they took the stage, the group was all smiles, dancing and running around as they filled Matthews with an array of sounds and flashing lights.

During their set, each instrument – the electric guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and tuba – all had a chance in the spotlight with a solo. Whenever a certain instrument didn’t have a part in a song, the band members made up for their instrumental inaction by energetically dancing around the stage.

Brian Correia, a sophomore computer science major, said he came for Toots and the Maytals and The Roots, but had to miss the first of the two acts because he had work.

“I’m just really glad that the show lived up to my expectations,” he said. “They played a lot of old hits and stuff off their new album. It was all really tight.”

Audience members were fully on their feet by the time Ludacris came out to chants of “Lu-da! Lu-da!”

But the crowd wasn’t graced with his presence without complications. Before he came out, his DJ encountered some sound issues when no noise would project from the turntables.

“You know, you expect stuff like that,” Maimon said. “Each artist comes with a [list of demands] saying they want this for sound, and Ludacris brings his own sound guy and he says, ‘No it’s not going to be like this, it’s going to be like that,’ and you don’t argue, you don’t pout. You just deal with it. That’s the nature of live events.”

As could be expected, if you were a lady during Saturday night’s show, especially a single one, just about every song in Ludacris’ set was dedicated to you.

From his dedication, – “All the ladies in the house, if your pussy’s clean, let me hear you” – to his simply put question – “Guess what I got in the 617?”- Ludacris performed songs new and old, and didn’t forget to dedicate songs to his “real fans,” as well as to the drug users.

Brittney Brailsford, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said that while she thought the show was good, it seemed to drag on.

“I thought the whole concert in general felt long. People will have different opinions, but I feel like [Ludacris] was supposed to be the main act and the first two acts before him were just too long,” she said.

Matt Hollyer, a middler mechanical engineering major said that Ludacris’ performance was one of the best shows he had ever seen.

“Of course, it helped that I was five feet from the stage,” he said. “I thought he was really good at getting the crowd back in the show.”