“It’s big for hip hop for us to be coming out on the same day, but Kanye West doesn’t stand a chance,” said 50 Cent on BET’s “106 and Park”.

So far Kanye’s album sales are blowing 50 Cent’s out of the water.

Still, while plugging his hip hop pal’s new release, Def Jam Record’s president Jay-Z let everyone in the sold-out House of Blues crowd know why he is still the undisputed “King of the Rap Scene” as he aggressively unleashed tracks from his brand new Gangster. With fury and top-notch showmanship, the 37-year-old Jay-Z held nothing back, performing as though that single show was to make or break his career.

Not disappointing his fans, Jay-Z performed a nice assortment of hits from his 1996 debut release Reasonable Doubt to his current Gangster CD including “Pray”, No Hook” ,”Show Me What You Got”, “Encore” and “Good Life”. The story of Jay-Z’s life was told that night; the story of an unlikely success and rise to power despite the diversity of his youth filled with the rigors of being raised in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects and the lifestyle that often stems from such an environment, including drug dealing.

The snazzy vested 13-piece band, complete with a horn section, was a classy touch, giving the performance a real iconic feel. Jay-Z also added fuel to the fiery performance when he brought out Def Jam artists Freeway and Memphis Bleek to assist him in a handful of numbers.

After the multi-artist jams, Jay-Z continued to bring down the house until, surprise, out came another guest star – Chicago native, Kanye West. The two hip hoppers traded lines and backed each other up with genuine admiration for each other and with the apparent realization that for yet another night, they were holding the bar so high, only God himself could touch it.