Known as the ‘biggest urban festival in Australia’, 2011’s jam-packed Supafest line-up has finally reached Queensland for one night only. With fear that the cloudy skies of Brisbane might open, punters could not care less, as they flocked in the thousands to catch some of hip-hop and R&B’s finest.

Entering the festival, box office staff hoping to clock off early were clearly mistaken. Hundreds queued for hours to obtain their tickets rather than buy online days previous. Speaking to one of the eager fans, she assured me that this was the better option. Dumbfounded, I walked into the grounds to the sweet sounds of Keri Hilson. Minus Ne-Yo and Kanye West, the final track Knock You Down echoed throughout the surrounding laneways and streets of the Showgrounds beautifully.

Staggering into the general admission, after being shoved by burly security guards for walking past the ‘Bling Ring’ entrance, hordes of drunken youths gleefully jump the fence to be as close as possible. With DJ Nino Brown now filling the gaps between the artists, audiences were entertained by watching security guards chase the hooligans around the front section. Needless to say, the chaotic and disorganised attempts to control the general admission fans were still reminiscent of last year’s sloppy attempts.

Straight out of the blocks, the flu-ridden Bow Wow stormed the stage hard. Rocking Lil’ Wayne’s label Young Money, Snoop’s protégé demanded to see “some motherf**king twos” for the entirety of the set. Starting the daily trend of dragging innocent victims on stage, Bow Wow shirtlessly serenaded his lucky boo, to every woman’s desire/envy. I think they call it ‘puppy love’.

Up next, and ironically former puppy love sufferer, Ciara hit the stage. Rocking a rather raunchy get-up, the body hugging tights and see through black top left nothing to the imagination. Without hesitation, the vibrant and energetic R&B star flew through hits Goodies and 1,2 Step early on. Monster chart-toppers Lose Control and Ride even got the luscious superstar down on all fours, with that notorious booty dancing shake she’s known for. Closing on standout track Love, Sex, Magic, today’s crown so far belongs to Ciara.

With no introduction or backing music, British singer-songwriter Taio Cruz walked out straight after to the adoring crowd. Keeping it simple, Taio broke all the girl’s hearts from the get-go, as he opened his set with the number one single Break Your Heart. Watching the swarms of people parade to the field, it made me wonder if a later set time would have been better suited. With such recent commercial success, and a third album on the way, this Pom did not deserve the afternoon boiler set. Dirty Picture, Higher and Dynamite were surefire hits, all getting the audience screaming every lyric as loud as possible.

Tattooed L.A legend The Game arrived next, and instantly welcomed the waiting Brisbane fans. Turning the entire Showgrounds into a choir during tracks Hate It or Love It and Lose My Mind, the vicious verbal attack and spitfire of rhymes flowed the entire set. Randomly sampling Black and Yellow and California Love, G-Unit classic This Is How We Do forced every punter to cripwalk in time to this ferocious rap. My only problem: next time play Can A Drummer Get Some.

The Autotuned king of monotone T-Pain is back in Australia for a round of greatest hits. Appearing just last year at Winterbeatz, T-Pain painfully ended almost every song early. For most part of his set, T-Premature danced rather than sung, with a backing track looping behind him. Another rendition of Wiz Khalifa’s Black and Yellow, followed by tracks Low and Kanye’s The Good Life were played to the large audience. Unfortunately, for all the males in attendance, his raunchy track Take Ya Shirt Off was not played. Oh how the women rioted.

In his prime, Busta Rhymes could spit up to 300 words per minute. Entering to the 20th Century Fox theme, the imposing rapper easily claimed his position as one of the fastest in the business. Mostly inaudible, Busta’s lyrics were more of show and talent than that of content and substance. Creating his own remixes of Michael Jackson’s Wanna Be Starting Something and a rather amusing Seven Nation Army remake, classics Break Yo Neck and Touch It were the big crowd-pleasers.

Nelly hit the stage next, appropriately dressed in an AC/DC singlet. Joined by his friendly St. Lunatics, the St. Louis rapper smashed through a medley of hits including Batter Up, Dilemma and Shake Yo Tail Feather early on. Sadly, this annoyed fans as he hurried through some of his most well-known tracks. Hits such as Country Grammar, EI and Hot in Here even got the ‘one verse and a chorus’ treatment, a common trend of the day.

An unneeded and pointless tribute to AC/DC followed as Thunderstruck and You Shook Me All Night Long only begged the question, ‘Why?’. Thankfully his most recent track Just A Dream closed the high energy set. No matter how rushed it may have been, Nelly’s performance channeled my inner grade-nine self, and I could not have wished for anything more.

After a lengthy wait, in which DJs Nino Brown and Benny D attempted to woo the crowd, the final act for the night staggers out to the stage. Reserved for your royal highness, headliner Snoop Dogg greeted his loyal followers, then thanked Australia for having him.

In between documentary-styled montage videos showing Snoop at younger ages, at gigs, and doing business, hit after hit was pumped out. Doggystyle, The Next Episode and Gin & Juice fueled his older thirsty fans while recent hits Kush, Wet and Sexual Eruption got the newer lovers down and dirty. Soon after a freestyle version of House of Pain’s Jump Around, the king of hip-hop took his final Australian bow, with the entire Supafest in an emotional farewell.

Easily taking the position as the largest and best urban music festival in Australia, Supafest could rival similar festivals worldwide. Stepping up from last year’s line-up quite significantly, it will be surprising to see what future line-ups will hold. Until then, Winterbeatz is just around the corner.