Wow, talk about a show to end all shows. Tonite, Madison Square Garden saw a legendary moment….

At the Screamfest (of all friggin’ places!?!), during T.I.’s final set, he performed his hits like “Rubberband Man” and “Bring ‘Em Out,” but then….in the words of my homie for life, Shaheem Reid from MTV News…

“Tip started another cut from his album, “Watch What You Say.” After the first verse, a banner of Jay-Z’s hands throwing up the dynasty sign rolled down the back of the stage.

Jay-Z then began to stroll down a long runway, to the main stage, in the middle of the Garden. The crowd must not have believe its eyes, because there was no reaction at first…The audience went wild.

After “Watch What You Say,” … As Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” started to play, ‘Ye himself walked slowly from the runway to the main stage. During all this, 50 ran to the stage from another part of the venue — seemingly unplanned, because Jay and T.I. both looked a little surprised.

But there were no incidents and no signs of rivalries — as Kanye rapped, 50 ran around the stage like he was doing a victory lap, stopping along the way to bump shoulders and say what’s up to Tip, ‘Ye and Jay. Then, out of nowhere, Diddy ran up and got onstage with them. Although the audience was rocking to West, the spectacle of seeing everybody together onstage — especially the two guys who have been hyping their September 11 in-store showdown — on one stage at the same time took precedence They were all smiling and dancing and genuinely enjoying the camaraderie.”

Wowza.

Just when you start wondering if these stars are missing the point, they surprise you by showing that they get it. They work for you. The fans. Merry Christmas

I love how at the end of the show, 50 still made sure to yell out “I run New York” before leaving the stage. Just had to get the last word in, right? And yes, he did perform with Ciara earlier in the show. Also, big up to Kanye for showing love to 50 despite the rumors that he’s dropping a diss song before Sept11th. Thats being the bigger man. Diddy had absolutely no reason to be there but, hey, he was only hip hop artist big enough to handle MSG ten years ago, so he probably still has time left on his stage pass. Also, Swizz followed up the moment by coming on to rock “Money in the Bank,” which kept the crowd’s high going.

Make sure you check out Shaheem’s evocative account of the history-making night at mtvnews.com, and also check out Walik Gorshon’s flicks. Up top and below are some favorites….

PS: somewhere, out there, tonite, Bowwow is in a corner, rocking back in forth, in a fetal position. His tour and his girl? Cruel cruel world.

UPDATE:
Yay, thank you DAT for sending me your youtube video from the concert. If anyone else has one, please pass it on. Much love!

UPDATE #2: wait a minute, lol…..according to my girl Nema, 50 made the “off-with-your-head” sign with his hand onstage and pointed to Kanye, hahaha. And looking at this very jumpy footage that Nahright linked to, does it look like 50 was doing laps around the stage while Kanye was performing with Hov, to distract from them? Thoughts?

Also, Sandra Rose spotted more great pics and review details from the show at Killedthat.com