Common's Common Ground Foundation's benefit concert took place at the Hollywood Palladium last night (September 26), an evening full of stars that were there for a good cause. HipHopDX was at the event, one which saw the impressive roster of performers and special guests, including the surprise arrival of one of this year's most talked about rappers.

De La Soul kicked things off with classic cuts before bringing MF Doom along as a guest. The Roots followed with a couple of songs including "The Next Movement," while Black Thought stayed to perform a few impromptu freestyles with Common [click here], who acted as host and performer all night.

Ludacris' set was full of the enthusiasm he has become known for as he let the crowd pick songs from his discography including "Southern Hospitality" and "Move Bitch." Ending his set with "I Do It For Hip Hop," Nas joined him to spit his verse. After "I Do it for Hip Hop," he stayed to perform solo, starting with "One Mic." Common later joined Nasir at the tail end of his set to help with tracks off Illmatic, which they performed together, an unexpected moment met with thunderous applause as they spit "N.Y. State of Mind" together. Another surprise followed as Nas introduced Heavy D, who thanked the fans for welcoming him as he performed a few of hits including "Nuttin But Love" and "Now That We Found Love," dancing like he never lost a step.

Fans went wild as Mos Def entered the stage to begin "Respiration," and after having to start the track over, Talib Kweli joined Com and Mos for the rest of the cut. Black Star was not originally supposed to perform, as Common later announced, but the surprise was met with praise from fans as Mos sang "Umi Says" and Kweli stormed through "Get By." After Black Star, Common announced the most surprising performance of the night.

At first Com told fans that Kanye West was supposed to be a special guest for the evening. However he said he could not make it due to the backlash he's received from his VMA interruption of Taylor Swift, adding that Ye sent his love. A few second later, Kanye emerged from the back telling fans to "Get Em High," greeted by the loudest welcome of the night. Members of the audience jumped and shouted in surprise and awe as West performed his verses off "Make Her Say" and "Run This Town," with Common, Mos Def and Talib Kweli backing him up. By the time he got to "Good Life" and "Flashing Lights," Queen Latifah took the stage to share in the moment.

When Queen Latifah began her set, West stayed to support her along with Mos, Common and Kweli. Latifah ended the evening's event with a few songs from her catalog including "U.N.I.T.Y." and "People." At one point, she embraced Kanye West and Talib Kweli who sang along to her hits, acting as hype men for the set. As the entire crew exchanged hand daps and hugs, it was the clear that the show was wrapping up.  

To close the curtains, Common reintroduced Jodie Blum of the Common Ground Foundation and presented her with a gift, saying the event was largely put together as a result of her hard work. With that, Common and Friends said good night to all who were in attendance, marking the end of Common's 2nd Annual benefit show for his foundation. For more on his Common Ground foundation, visit http://www.commongroundfoundation.org.

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