Well, it certainly was hot in the Bryce Jorrrdan Center last night. And there were plenty of "uh ohhh"s. But don't worry -- nothing was wrong.

Pop-rap superstar and playful thug Nelly presented a lecture in "country grammar" for a moderate crowd at the center last night. Along with no less than 10 vocalist representatives from his Derrty Ent squad, the St. Louis native provided a singable, danceable and bounce-able set of universally appealing party music.

It wouldn't have been an official hip-hop show without a healthy dose of relatively unknown openers to pump up the crowd before the Sweat/Suit man himself took the stage, though.

After an ominous, off-stage voice commanded Penn State to "make some noise" and asked all the "sexy ladies" to identify themselves, a series of rotating emcees provided a few verses of what could very well be the next big thing to blast out of car windows on College Avenue.

The hour-long round robin included highlights from duo King Jacob and Prentiss Church, who had excellent chemistry and crowd control, and female rapper Chocolate Tai, whose flow was only interrupted by the fact that her name sounds like a joke from an In Living Color skit. Many of these artists' catchy, carefree tunes clicked with the animated audience and hinted at future sets that might connect even better once we all are familiar with the hooks and can sing along.

But no amount of warming up, no matter how derrty, could have prepared concertgoers for the emergence of Nelly himself, who seemed to materialize at the top of an onstage staircase amidst a cloud of presumably artificial smoke. Although he looked slightly uncomfortable but slick with his white jacket and massive belt buckle, Cornell Haynes Jr. wasn't faking it when he began his set with "Heart of a Champion" from Sweat, his latest release.

By the time he had us all bobbing in unison to "E.I." two songs later, Nelly was looking way more at ease in a Penn State basketball jersey. The song's memorable chorus, almost five years old at this point, still managed to elicit a better sing-along than a Penn State football game rendition of the alma mater and got more hands thrown up than plastic bottles after a home team touchdown at the same game. I still can't figure out what those initials stand for, though.

Interestingly, Nelly was hardly the stage-commanding, self-absorbed star that one might have expected him to be. Instead, his set was more of a massive get-together of mutually respected vocalists having fun with each other, and the euphoric, partying audience was clearly drawn into it. Nelly even left or sat out for a few songs, allowing the spotlight to focus on fellow artists Avery Storm, Ali and, of course, Murphy Lee.

"We appreciate you all so much, we're gonna bring St. Louis to you right now," Lee said before one of the rapper's tributes to his hometown.

But it was the huge hits, such as the moderately suggestive "Flap Your Wings" and "Shake Ya Tailfeather," that reminded the crowd that Nelly's fun, non-threatening, No-Coast brand of accessible rap all comes back to the man whose name was on the marquee. As the lights turned a menacing red for the immediately recognizable intro to "Hot in Herre" and the song's first downbeat hit, the sexy ladies were still going nuts for the man with the mic.

Hey, must be the money.