PHILADELPHIA (AP) - If U2, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd and Coldplay made London the rock capital of the world on Saturday, Philadelphia was where hip-hop was represented. Kanye West, Jay-Z, the Black-Eyed Peas and host Will Smith led the US edition of the Live 8 concert series before a sun-drenched crowd.

Will Smith

After British rockers the Kaiser Chiefs kicked things off with their hit I Predict a Riot, hometown boy Smith took the stage to begin hosting duties.

"Right now you're watching the biggest concert event in the history of the world," Smith said. Pleading for leaders of the G-8 summit to "end this daily tragedy" of African poverty, Smith was beamed around the world by satellite as he led the global audience in snapping their fingers every three seconds, signifying the child death rate in Africa.

"Today, we are here to declare our interdependence," said Smith in the city where the US Declaration of Independence was signed. "Today we hold this truth to be self-evident: We are all in this together."

Later, the rapper-turned-movie star returned for the most theatrical performance of the day. He was carried onto the stage on a throne, with women spreading rose petals in his path. The theme from Rocky played just yards from the steps that Sylvester Stallone famously climbed in Rocky.

That segued into a repeated sample of "the champ is here!" line that Smith delivered in the movie Ali. Smith then introduced his old sidekick, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and they performed Gettin' Jiggy Wit It before launching down memory lane with the theme from Smith's early '90s sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and his classic hit Summertime.

Smith's star power was only matched by Stevie Wonder, who closed the show by effectively turning Smith's finger snaps into handclaps. Backed by a dapper 11-piece band, Wonder proved he wasn't too old for a good funk groove on Higher Ground and What the Fuss - which had the blind singer strutting out in front of his keyboards.

"The meaning of being an artiste is to really do these kinds of things," Wonder said backstage. "We cannot stop now. The only way we can end this is to give more love."

Earlier, Kanye West performed Jesus Walks in front of an all-female string section outfitted in black skirts and dark stripe-like masks over their eyes. He delivered some of the harshest words of the day, lamenting "politicians who drive home in their Bentleys every night and watch thousands of Africans die."

Backstage, he told The Associated Press, "I'm not into politics, I'm into people. I know that these people are dying. My people. This is an event that will go down in history."

After Linkin Park started their set, Jay-Z came out for a mash-up with the rock-rap group. Jigga had the crowd chanting Hova, his smooth cool in sharp contrast to Linkin Park's vein-popping fervour.

The combination made for one of the day's most popular performances, especially on Jay-Z's Big Pimpin'.

One of the first acts, the Black-Eyed Peas, took the stage with their usual energy and frenetic weaving, performing Let's Get it Started. The rap group also pulled out a Bob Marley classic as they sang with obvious symbolism, "Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight."

Of course, there was much more than hip-hop.
Dave Matthews, who hails from South Africa, began his performance by thanking organiser Bob Geldof "for throwing a party to make a better world".

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