ROME, N.Y. — It was inevitable: Rap found its way to Woodstock on Friday evening (July 23).

Three decades after the word "Woodstock" entered popular culture, hip-hop hit the outdoor festival with a vengeance. It happened on the west stage about 6:30 p.m., when the Roots took the stage. Not long after came Insane Clown Posse.

The similarities were evident, but the contrast was palpable.

Both are rappers. But the Roots are an African-American group from south Philadelphia whose members play their own instruments. The Insane Clown Posse are two white guys from Detroit who wear silly clown make-up and take pride in profanity and excessive stage antics.

Yet the audience, by now at least in the tens of thousands, screamed through both sets with similar fervor.

The Roots began by playing percussion instruments in unison to form a multirhythmic African drum swirl before segueing into "Table of Contents (Parts I & II)."

The band — drummer ?uestlove (born Ahmir Khalib Thompson), keyboardist Kamal (born Scott Storch), bassist Leon Hubbard, beatbox artist DJ Scratch and rapper Black Thought (born Tariq Trotter) — wrapped themselves in a Miles Davis-style jazz arrangement for "Without a Doubt."

Jeff Gil, a 21-year-old Springfield, Mass., DJ, said he admired the band's sense of adventure. "Every time I see them, they get better," he said.

Black Thought perspired and seemed agitated by how loud his microphone was throughout the show. He also expressed displeasure when the audience cheered louder for a hot-air balloon flying overhead than for the band.

Yet the MC got the crowd to chant with him several times, once on the chorus to "Adrenaline," once on the mantra "I shall proceed and continue to rock the mic."

On the other end of the airstrip that is Woodstock, hardcore rapper DMX was carving his own place in Woodstock history.

The Roots set climaxed as R&B singer Erykah Badu joined the group onstage for "You Got Me" (RealAudio excerpt), on which the yellow-clad and head-wrapped Badu sang the hook and Black Thought rhymed about relationships gone good and bad. The song gave ?uestlove and Hubbard the chance to solo, the latter paying tribute to late guitarist Jimi Hendrix.

In contrast, ICP are not as athletic or as graceful musically, nor do they pretend to be. Their cartoonish and over-the-top performance proved that.

Rhyming partners Violent J (born Joe Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (born Joey Utsler) sprayed their obligatory Faygo soda on themselves and on the audience. They threw $100 bills attached to rubber balls at the crowd. They pretended to beat up a faux police officer using wrestling moves.

They even invited guys dressed as red aliens onstage to dance.

The two rapped to profanity-laced numbers such as "Another Love Song," a mockery of ballads, and "Fuck the World," both from their new album The Amazing Jeckel Brothers.

The red-headed Violent J, the bigger of the two men, encouraged the crowd to be as goofy and as free as possible.

"This is for police or anyone else who tries to stop us from having fun at Woodstock," Violent J said as he stuck his middle finger in the air.

The fans followed suit, storming the stage to dance and scream with the group.

Joe Dunn, 23, of Maryland was among the enthusiasts who took the security-escorted journey to the stage. "They're f---ing insane. That's to be expected. With them, anything goes," Dunn said.

It was energy that ?uestlove said he feared in some respects backstage after the show.

"The audience was into it. Of course, it's kind of hard going on before ICP in a bunch of black-and-white faces," the drummer said (RealAudio excerpt of interview).