Hip-hop legend Nelly plays his first concert at the Iowa State Fair with Ginuwine opening

Even before Nelly took the stage or rapped a verse, the thousands gathered to see him were already singing as the backtrack for a Ludacris song blared behind an announcement that Nelly was about to appear.

When Nelly, wearing an Iowa State Fair T-shirt and his half-brother City Spud came onto the stage — awash in primary colors — the audience was quick to sing along with classics like "E.I." and "Put Your Hands Up," from the hip-hop artist's catalog.

"I want to thank each and every one of you that's coming out here tonight," Nelly told the crowd, one of many declarations of appreciation for his fans over the course of the night.

"No matter what it was that turned you on to Nelly, I want to thank all of Iowa one more time!"

On Saturday night, Nelly — the artist responsible for the classic hip-hop "Country Grammar" as well as songs such as "Hot in Herre" and "Just a Dream" — performed his first Iowa State Fair show to a crowd of 13,231 people.

More: What are the top-selling musical performances at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand so far?

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, this wasn't the performer's first time playing in the Hawkeye State. Nelly brought his sound and style to Iowa as recently as last year when he played the Horizon Events Center in Clive, where local performer B. Well opened for him.

Ginuwine — an R&B artist with an even longer solo performance career than Nelly — opened.

Though the Grandstand was still filling up when Ginuwine strutted onto the stage while performing "Hell Yeah," red rose in hand, he was quick to energize the crowd.

"Thank you all for coming to see your boy, Ginuwine! ... All those people who've been following me since ’96, I'm gonna see if you know this song right here. Let's go!" Ginuwine said to a cheering crowd as he moved in front of and off the stage to perform "I Need A Girl (Pt. 2)."

Ginuwine, whose debut album "Ginuwine... the Bachelor" turns 26 in October, is also a member of TGT with fellow performers Tyrese Gibson and Tank.

For his final song on stage, Ginuwine performed "Pony," throwing handfuls of red roses to audience members over the course of the song before leaving the stage in a blaze of red and white lights.

More: 'Fast & Furious' star Ludacris books a summer show in Iowa. Find out how to see the hip-hop star

Nelly paid tribute hip-hop artists who died including the late-Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs of Digital Underground and the late-Biz Markie.

"Now listen, I really think that .... that we can spend 2022 together," Nelly said. "We go through the same horse s--- that you all go through and we've lost people along the way that can't be here today."

With their memory in mind, Nelly performed Markie's "Just a Friend" and Digital Underground's "Humpty Dance." He cited both Markie and Jacobs as artists who "inspired Nelly to be Nelly."

For the final performance of the Grandstand that night, Nelly and City Spud treated audiences to "Just a Dream."

As the song came to an end, Nelly threw his hat into the audience as red and yellow lights mixed with flashes of purple and the rappers stepped off stage as the night's fireworks began.

More: Off Hours: Some of the coolest things to see and do at the Iowa State Fair

Isaac Hamlet covers arts, entertainment and culture at the Des Moines Register. Reach him at ihamlet@gannett.com or 319-600-2124, follow him on Twitter @IsaacHamlet.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Nelly performs at the 2022 Iowa State Grandstand in concert