HIP HOP AINT DEAD! JAY Z & EMINEM ROCKED THE BX WITH THEIR PERFORMANCES IN YANKEE STADIUM!

Hip hop had a homecoming Monday night.

The genre's two biggest stars - Jay-Z and Eminem - headlined Yankee Stadium in the borough that gave birth to this whole revolution in sound and style more than 30 years ago.

The triumphant performance in the Bronx, followed by a twin event Tuesday night, will put the stars in front of roughly 100,000 fans, perhaps the largest audience New York has ever hosted for a hip-hop show.

The concerts also represent the first at the Yankees' new perch. The dates at the Stadium, in Jay-Z's hometown, follow two equally gigantic shows that took place 10 days ago in Em's lair: Detroit. Not bad for an art form purists love to pronounce dead.

All of these supersize happenings arrive at a time when the stars are far from kids - Jay is 40, Em will soon be 38 - yet neither has ever sounded more agile or spry.

Eminem took the stage first as a video intro reiterated his return from drug addiction and five years off the stage.

Tellingly, he opened with a number ("Won't Back Down") from his latest smash CD, "Recovery." The disk unveils a more mature Eminem, although he didn't skimp on material from his snotnosed days. He proved he could still make his murderous alter ego Slim Shady both steely and witty. Most songs arrived in more terse versions than on CD and with a rock scale that felt downright grand.

Guests peppered the event, from D12 to 50 Cent to Dr. Dre. Throughout, Eminem showed his bracing talent for balancing a fleet flow with rhymes that land like a punch to the gut.

Jay-Z's set had a more celebratory tone, but his rhythms and raps proved just as smart and dense. Like Em, he has benefited from the more brutal crunch of a full-rocking band, as well as from guest stars like Kanye West on "Run This Town."

Sterling sound lifted it all to the next level. Purists may still find reasons to carp, but, as delivered Monday night, hip hop never sounded more monumental.