1 / 12

Praise Ye - Kanye West helped create the biggest buzz in Austin when he hit the stage with Jay Z on Wednesday night. The rap gods resurrected their Watch the Throne tour for one night as part of the Samsung Galaxy presents JAY Z and Kanye West at SXSW show.(Photo: Rick Kern/Getty Images for Samsung)

Photo By Photo: Rick Kern/Getty Images for Samsung

2 / 12

Light Up - Somewhere in America, Austin, Texas, to be exact, fans were clamoring for the opportunity to watch Jay Z and Kanye West make a special one-night appearance at SXSW. A long line of concert goers flooded the streets to catch Hov under the bright lights.(Photo: Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for Samsung)

3 / 12

Stakes Is High - The rivalry between Samsung and Apple ran deep on Wednesday night. While Jay Z and Kanye West were repping Samsung, Apple hosted a show with its own big-name crowd favorite. Kendrick Lamar performed at the iTunes Festival at the Moody Theater.(Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

4 / 12

Illmatic in Austin - With the 20th anniversary of his seminal debut album, Illmatic, a month away, Nas performed songs from the LP at various spots during SXSW. Here he rocked the stage at the A-GRADE showcase, where actor Ashton Kutcher was in attendance.(Photo: Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for AGRADE)

5 / 12

Crowd Pleaser - Before all the drama, Tyler, the Creator performed at Red Bull Sound Select at the Belmont alongside Odd Future mate Earl Sweatshirt.(Photo: Rahav Segev/Getty Images)

6 / 12

Life Is Good - With his debut album, My Krazy Life, set for release this Tuesday (March 18), YG was everywhere at SXSW. From the Def Jam Records 30th Anniversary showcase to the Fader Fort, the Compton, Calif., rapper performed throughout the week. His billboards were hard to miss, too — they were plastered throughout Austin.(Photo: Roger Kisby/Getty Images)

7 / 12

Blackout! - Mr. Mef and the Funk Doc treated fans at the Def Jam 30 showcase with a trip that took the crowd all the way back to their 1999 debut. That's some high-quality ginkgo biloba.(Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

8 / 12

Lifting Spirits - It never rains when Southern California crooner Aloe Blacc is on the mic. He performed several showcases, showing off his new song, "The Man," from his third studio album, Lift Your Spirit.(Photo: Travis P Ball/Getty Images for SXSW)

9 / 12

King Push - His name is his name, and his shows are astounding. Pusha T, another artist who hustled his music on various stages at the annual festival, rep'd repeatedly — for G.O.O.D. Music at the G.O.O.D. Music showcase, for Def Jam at the Def Jam 30 event, and at the SPIN magazine/House of Vans daytime event, for example.(Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

10 / 12

A Milli Surprises - Among the many surprise performaces, Lil Wayne's may have cause the most shock. Weezy took over the introduction to the MTV Woodie awards ceremony with a performance of "A Milli" and a freestyle. By the end of the night, his Cash Money protégé Drake had taken home the top award.(Photo: Splash News)

11 / 12

Snoop Monster - Uncle Snoop brought out the Dogg for some classic cuts at the Monster headphones bash.(Photo: Arnold Wells/WENN)

Photo By Photo: Arnold Wells/WENN

12 / 12

His Time - 2 Chainz, who was also on hand for the Def Jam 30th anniversary event, helped to close out the final weekend of festivities with some of his earlier work (circa 2012), cuts like, "I'm Different," "No Lie" and "Birthday Song," for the Yahoo Beer and Taco takeover Saturday (March 15).(Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)