In 2003, the Quad-Cities got the biggest rap show in its history. 

It beat Biggie. It beat Beastie Boys. It beat Eminem. It probably had a case as the most star-studded lineup, from top to bottom, ever assembled in town, regardless of genre.

The bill for the "Roc The Mic" tour: Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Sean Paul, Fabolous.

It's impossible to overstate how huge this was.

To put it in perspective, the five rappers who played at The Mark on July 15, 2003, combined for 17 of the 80 best-selling songs of the year in 2003. At the time of the show, they had four of the six biggest songs on the radio, led by Jay-Z's collaboration with Beyoncé, "Crazy in Love." 

The most popular song of 2003 was 50 Cent's "In Da Club," which sat on the most popular album of 2003, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." All three headliners were nominated for Best Rap Song at the Grammy Awards the next year.

Hip-hop, in 2003, hit its tipping point. The genre's upper class was in the midst of a pivot from the grittiness of the gangsta rap '90s, and the early-millennium mixtape era, to a more palatable radio-friendly sound.

R&B-rap blenders like Nelly and Ja Rule crashed the Billboard charts and appeared for shows at The Mark, too.

Today, hip-hop's hold on the radio hasn't let up.

But shows like the "Rock The Mic" tour don't happen as often. And if they do — like with Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott's "DAMN." tour, or Drake and Future's "Summer Sixteen" tour — they don't come to the Quad-Cities anymore. 

That makes this gig, with three of the most important rappers of all-time, an enigma.

A real life 'Mitchapaloosa'

Tickets for the show sold for $45 each, and it kicked off at 6:30 p.m. By then, music critics already knew they were witnessing history. 

"Nearly all the acts on the massive scale tour could headline a show on their own," wrote Shane Brown, in his review for the Moline Dispatch. "And the crowd seemed to respect that they were witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime ensemble." 

The first artist up was Fabolous, then known for his hit single "Into You." His set was a brief 20 minutes, as fans still filed in from traffic outside. 

Following him was Sean Paul, a Jamaican songwriter who claimed a perch as the face of reggae rap. His hit "Temperature" wouldn't come out for another two years, but Sean Paul was already a household name with songs like "Get Busy," which hit No. 1 a month before the Moline gig. 

The real thick of the show started when Snoop Dogg took the stage. By now, reviewers called Snoop a veteran. His breakout record "Doggystyle" came out ten years earlier. And alongside rapper-producer Dr. Dre, he helped shape the freewheeling west coast rap style.

But during his set, Snoop put coastal allegiances aside. He paid homage by freestyling over both 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. beats. He finished the set with smash single "Gin & Juice." 

He also smoked. A lot. In his review, Brown joked there was a "noticeable depreciation of air quality" in the arena. At one point, Snoop ribbed the crowd about it. 

"Y'all know I stopped smokin' weed, right?" he asked, immediately following with "Sike!" and earning the roar of the 10,000-fan crowd. 

50 Cent took the stage in an Indiana Pacers jersey and bulletproof vest. He changed outfits multiple times throughout the set, Sean Moeller wrote in a review for the Quad-City Times, donning baseball caps, a fedora and two more jerseys.

He played "In Da Club" and "If I Can't," and at one point, Snoop joined 50 to perform "P.I.M.P." 

The closer was Jay-Z, who speedily wove snippets of his already massive hit catalog. Dressed in dog tags and backed by combat-geared dancers, Brown said that Jay-Z performed with "military precision." 

"It's tough to deny that Jay-Z's the most powerful name in rap right now, and his set echoed his reputation," Brown wrote. 

On the hit list: "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," "Hard Knock Life," "Give It To Me," and just a taste of "Crazy in Love."

With an "appreciative and receptive" audience, Moeller compared the "Rock The Mic" tour energy to "Mitchapaloosa," the fictional frat party in 2003 comedy "Old School."

In the film, Snoop's appearance is a surprise. With 20 years of hindsight, it's just as much of a shock that he, Jay-Z and 50 Cent were in our backyard. 

From The Mark to the Super Bowl

With the cultural footprint of these rappers, you probably already know the "where are they now?" answers. 

Snoop is a pop cultural stalwart. He's appeared on movie screens, wine bottles, professional wrestling matches, cooking shows and countless TV commercials. This summer, he became a coach on the TV singing competition "The Voice." He has 17 Grammy nominations under his belt. 

50 Cent had a falling-out with Jay-Z not long after The Mark show.

The rapper has jabbed at Jay and Beyonce, and the two emcees have not apparently reconciled. As recently as March, 50 Cent poked at Jay on social media, after a long list of assault allegations came out against his longtime collaborator and business partner Sean "Diddy" Combs. 

50 Cent has not released an album since 2014. 

Jay-Z, on the other hand, announced a retirement with "The Black Album" at the end of 2003. But that was short-lived, as he returned three years later with "The Blueprint" album series, all of which were global smashes. 

In total, Jay-Z has won 24 Grammy Awards. He's been nominated 88 times, tied with his wife Beyonce for the most ever. Many regard him as the most influential rapper ever.

That's because, beyond his own discography, Jay-Z introduced the world to rappers like J. Cole and Jay's prodigal producer-protege, Kanye West. Jay and Kanye teamed up as super-duo "The Throne" in 2011, and Kanye's 2008 show at The Mark had a lineup that rivaled even "Roc The Mic."   

Jay-Z's also been influential as an entrepreneur.

After starting his career rapping about street sales, Jay-Z became rap's first-ever billionaire in 2019. He is the former CEO of Def Jam Recordings and part-owner of the Brooklyn Nets.

He still owns Roc Nation, an entertainment company with its hands in sports representation, artist management, fashion and more. In 2020, Roc Nation became the live entertainment partner of the NFL, giving them the responsibility of planning each year's Super Bowl Halftime Show.

The game got its first all-hip-hop halftime in 2022, with Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent reuniting for the performance. Many hoped that Jay would take the stage himself, but it didn't happen.

At least the Quad-Cities gets to say that, here, it did.