Will Smith welcomes world to Philly

updated 8:37 p.m. ET July 2, 2005

PHILADELPHIA - If U2, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd and Coldplay made London the rock capital of the world on Saturday, Philly was where hip-hop represented.

Kanye West, Jay-Z, the Black-Eyed Peas and host Will Smith led the U.S. edition of the Live 8 concert series before a sun-drenched crowd that stretched a mile down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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 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.”

Carolyn Kaster / AP Singer Stevie Wonder performs with his back-up singers during the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia on Saturday.

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 final tune of the night was Wonder’s classic “Superstition.” One concertgoer, Paula Abdul, couldn’t resist the beat, dancing enthusiastically on the side of the stage and, by extension, on the jumbo screens.

“The meaning of being an artist 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.”

FREE VIDEO Rocking for a cause July 2: The eyes of more than a billion people around the world were focused on Live 8. Can star power fight global poverty? NBC’s Ron Allen reports. Nightly News

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 fervor. The combination made for one of the days 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.”

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