Rapping, rocking but not totally rolling

The union of rock and rap isn’t exactly revolutionary anymore, but it hasn’t lost its tempestuousness or its exultant power. And though the Projekt Revolution Tour didn’t live up to its name at the Hyundai Pavilion on Saturday, it did at least prove that much.

Organized by the reigning kings of howl ‘n’ rage, Linkin Park, the all-day affair brought together such disparate styles as the horn-charged hard-core of Less Than Jake with the screamo scoffing of the Used on the main stage, as well as a procession of similarly disparate acts on a secondary stage earlier in the day. .

The atmosphere didn’t really limber up until hip-hop’s coolest, Snoop Dogg, took the stage in bizarre fashion, arguing offstage with police officers over his open mike as his band waited onstage. “Give me my pipe,” the rapper was heard to say, adding that this is the only city on the tour where he’s been “hassled.”

If it was all just a setup for a dramatic entrance, it fell flat, but either way his disdain for the uniformed officers standing at the sides of the venue seemed genuine. He led the crowd in a popular anti-police rant by N.W.A and declared that if the cops weren’t going to let him smoke on stage, he’d drink as he pleased, sipping from his bejeweled chalice during the hit “Gin and Juice.”

Drama aside, Snoop’s set was uneven, and his attempt at a more rockin’ vibe was mostly chaotic. Only when he slowed down the groove on hits such as “P.I.M.P.” and “Nothin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” did the dog show any bite.

Korn was far more successful at melding rock aggression with rap attitude. The band’s version of Cameo’s “Word Up” was a highlight and a potent example of how funkiness and ferocity can complement each other.

Still, nobody funnels hip-hop hell-raising into punk angst like headliners Linkin Park. Fusing vibrant DJ scratch-attacks, pitch-perfect vocals and well-timed rants of isolation and fury on hits such as “Numb” and “Crawling,” Linkin Park proved that rhymes and wails, as well as riffs and turntable beats, can deftly be melded into one rhythmically intense package.

And they didn’t need a whole festival to do it.