De la Soul’s Dave
Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images

NEW YORK — It's that time of year again: The weather is getting colder, days are becoming shorter and legends of hip-hop are being honored.

The 2008 VH1 Hip Hop Honors premieres Monday at 10 p.m. ET, and rehearsals were held Wednesday and Thursday at the Hammerstein Ballroom to make sure the honorees were recognized in style.

Those being honored this year include Slick Rick, the late Isaac Hayes, Too Short, De la Soul, Cypress Hill and Naughty by Nature. This is the fifth class of legends to be nominated; past honorees include Snoop Dogg, the Wu-Tang Clan, Run-DMC and Rakim.

Fellow hip-hop heavyweights Big Boi, Wyclef Jean and Public Enemy came out to rehearse alongside newcomers like Estelle and the Gym Class Heroes.

"We're here to be a part of something historical," Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy told MTV News. "It's like the all-star game of hip-hop."

The group practiced their tribute to Cypress Hill with Mack 10, Jim Jones and Fat Joe. The West Coast collective is notable for being the first mainstream Latino hip-hop group.

Another West Coast act being honored is Too Short, whose career has been anything but. The MC has been in the game for more than 20 years, spawning hits such as "Short Dog the Pimp" in the late '80s and a guest spot on Snoop Dogg's "Life of Da Party" earlier this year.

"Short to Oakland is like Jay-Z to Brooklyn," Mistah F.A.B. said.

A video was played during the rehearsal in which Naughty by Nature recalled being accosted by New York crowds early on in their career because they were from New Jersey. They eventually grew to be loved, no matter where they performed.

"They're the anthem kings," Big Boi said of Naughty by Nature. "From 'O.P.P.' to 'Hip-Hop Hooray' — every time they put out a song, they had an anthem that the whole globe was singing, man."

While Slick Rick and De la Soul rehearsed their sets, Wale, Busta Rhymes, Spliff Starr, ?uestlove, Bun B and Biz Markie mixed and mingled. The ballroom was more like a family reunion then a rehearsal.

The only non-rap artist being celebrated is Isaac Hayes, and while the late musician never spit a bar, his work helped inspire many MCs. From the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Warning" to the Geto Boys' "Mind Playing Tricks on Me," Black Moses had a lasting effect on hip-hop.

While Biz Markie played a sample of one of Hayes' songs, a cipher featuring Mos Def, Busta Rhymes and others broke out. The Biz playfully stopped the beat, interrupting the freestyle session causing participants to yell, "Yo, keep playing that!"

• Honoring Hip-Hop's Heroes

• Stars Descend On The VH1 Hip Hop Honors Red Carpet

• Isaac Hayes
• Slick Rick
• De La Soul

Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes in "Soul Men"
Photo: Dimension Films

Bernie Mac, who died this past weekend from complications due to pneumonia, was remembered by friends and colleagues as a "comic master" and "ferociously funny," praise that was evident to anyone who had ever seen him in films like "Ocean's Eleven" or "The Original Kings of Comedy." But was he really also, as "Soul Men" director Malcolm D. Lee said in an interview with E! Online, an amazing singer as well?

Judge for yourself with four clips from "Soul Men," two of which show the 50-year-old actor singing and dancing with co-star Samuel L. Jackson.

Opening November 14, the film follows Mac and Jackson as feuding former friends who agree to reunite to perform their old act in honor of their recently deceased band leader.

"They do their own singing and their own dancing in the film," Lee told E! "You get the opportunity to see both of these guys go for it in a real way that's fun and energetic. [Mac] definitely can carry a tune. He does a great falsetto in the movie and a baritone and alto as well. He has a range. He plays a range of emotions in the film as well as octaves."

In one of the clips, you can also see the late Isaac Hayes, who died shortly after Mac from an apparent stroke, meeting the characters played by Mac and Jackson in their dressing room. Hayes, who really was a soul and R&B legend, plays himself in the film.

"He was written into the script as himself," Lee told the site. "When I came on, they asked, 'Do you want him in the movie?' and I was like, 'Of course.' Not to include him in the movie would have been sacrilege. I had to have Isaac in the film."

The last clip might be the most characteristic of Mac as most know him, as he engages in playful and sarcastic banter with Jackson before a performance. "We sure are lucky I kept these threads," he says in the clip, gazing into a mirror. "We look good!"

Lee, of course, aims to keep it that way, he told E!

"When I went to shake his hand and tell him how much I loved him and what a great job he did, he hugged me back and looked me in the eye and said, 'Make a great film, man,' " Lee remembered of a conversation with Mac on the last day of shooting. "I promised him that I would."

According to Lee, Mac and Jackson will be featured on five songs on the "Soul Men" soundtrack: one original and five covers.

Check out everything we've got on "Soul Men."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

• Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes
Photo: Amanda Edwards/ Getty Images

Investigators have determined that soul icon Isaac Hayes, who died Sunday at the age of 65, was likely the victim of a stroke related to high blood pressure. Authorities revealed the cause of death on Tuesday, according to Reuters, based on the "Shaft" singer's health prior to his passing.

Shelby County Medical Examiner Dr. David Kraus reached the conclusion based on the fact that Hayes was being treated for high blood pressure and had suffered a nonfatal, but reportedly serious stroke last year. Hayes was found unconscious next to a running treadmill in his Memphis home on Sunday, and Kraus said there was no evidence that Hayes, who had once described himself as a "health fanatic," hit his head or suffered any trauma prior to his death.

"The Hayes family is comfortable with Dr. Kraus' recommendation to not conduct an autopsy," read a statement from the Shelby County sheriff. According to The Associated Press, no autopsy was performed. A public memorial service will be held August 18 at the Hope Presbyterian Church in Cordova, Tennessee.

"We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of support and love from Isaac's dear friends, colleagues and fans from every corner of the world, and we thank each and every one of them for their kind thoughts and prayers," the family said in a statement on the singer's Web site. "While he was an iconic figure to many, to us he was husband, father and friend. We will ever miss his love, wisdom, humor and the familiar comfort of his voice."

• Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes in 1998
Photo: MTV News

It's fitting that a talent as outsized and legendary as soul giant Isaac Hayes would inspire similarly large tributes from some of his fellow icons.

Hayes, 65, who died Sunday of yet-undetermined causes, is best known to younger audiences for his work as the voice of Chef on "South Park," but over the course of his 40-year career as a singer, songwriter, producer and musician, Hayes left a substantial mark on the funk and soul music of that era.

Before he turned into the chrome-domed, baritone-voiced icon associated with his Oscar-winning soundtrack to the blaxploitation flick "Shaft," Hayes was part of a songwriting duo with David Porter that cranked out career-defining hits for soul duo Sam & Dave, including their signature tunes "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'." Asked by MTV News to comment about his old friend on Monday (August 11), surviving member Sam Moore laughed and said, "Ah, you're talking about my bubba!"

Moore said it used to bother him that Hayes didn't seem to get the proper respect he deserved for his work as a writer and producer. "Not like the writers and producers at Motown or Quincy Jones — but he was [on that level], in my opinion," Moore said. "He gave me my voice. He taught me, showed me and nurtured my voice. He didn't teach me how to sing, he taught me how to be a better singer. That was Isaac."

Once Hayes went on to become a performer in his own right, Moore said he worried that his old friend didn't understand what it took to command a stage. "He didn't have a choreographer, he didn't have a show," Moore recalled. But he needn't have worried. "Isaac would just get up there and sit down and become one with the song he was doing ... and you would look out and [the women] would be hanging on every word. It made me wish my voice was that deep!"

Bootsy Collins, the former P-Funk and James Brown bassist — whose outfits were often even more outrageous than Hayes' — told MTV News that Hayes' death was like "another pillar out of the building" removed in order to build a new structure he called the "skyway of love."

Collins said he'd spoken with Hayes just last week about a project the pair were working on for BET, and he was finding it hard to believe his friend was gone. "I met Isaac Hayes when I was on the road with James Brown in the '70s," he recalled, "We played a few festivals together. In my later years, I got to know the man behind the music. He was the first official black man to be known as a real rapper, [and he] had nothing but praise for his queens and women of the world."

Another legendary musician who praised Hayes' spirit and song was fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Aretha Franklin, who said in a statement, "[Hayes was] so musically advanced and timeless in his compositions. He was loved and appreciated by so many. He was an enduring symbol of the struggle of the African-American man and was a shining example of soul at its best." R&B diva Patti LaBelle reminisced about the last time she saw Hayes, at a concert they both played in Washington, D.C. "Although he was under the weather, he was still performing," she said. "He was the man — he had 'the show must go on' spirit. In his absence, he will be remembered through his great music. He will forever be in our hearts and souls."

A tribute also came in from the Reverend Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network and longtime civil-rights leader. "I am deeply saddened by the loss of Isaac Hayes, a true historic world music figure," said Sharpton said in a statement. "Isaac Hayes was the first African-American to win an Oscar for a music score but never lost sight of his commitment to his community and the betterment of mankind. He was more than an artist — he was a trailblazer, he was an innovator." Sharpton was slated to dedicate his evening show on New York's KISS-FM show to Hayes, who was a morning DJ at the station in the late 1990s.

Over the years, MTV News spoke with Hayes on a number of occasions, and each time the man with the legendarily deep and booming voice came off as a music fan first and foremost. Talking about the re-recording of his most famous song for the 2000 "Shaft" remake, Hayes said somewhere "back in my history I did the right thing," speaking of the success he had with the song the first time around.

"I tried to be as real as I possibly could," he said. "And I keyed in on the character, Shaft, the character himself. That was through the suggestion of Gordon Parks, the original director. He said, 'You got to depict the personality of this guy. You got to stick with him.' "

And for a man who Sam Moore said had untouchable skills when it came to wooing the opposite sex, in 1998 Hayes complained that some of today's soul singers were laying it on way too thick in their musical come-ons.

"I think the songs out there today, when the kids talk about romance, I think they're too blatant, they don't leave enough for the imagination," said Hayes. "I like to use metaphors — that's right — and take it slow and easy and then build. ... It's kind of like foreplay. You don't want to get there too soon, else it's all over. It's like eating candy, just gobbling it down and then, 'I want some more,' and it's gone. You have to savor it."

He then offered some advice that could have come straight from Chef, the character he voiced on "South Park."

"When you're talking to a woman, you got to take it very slowly and build," he said. "Anticipation. And by the time you get to the payoff, it's all good."

• Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes, circa 1970
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Isaac Hayes — a legendary soul singer, songwriter, musician and producer whose career spanned four decades and who achieved unexpected fame later in life as the voice of "South Park" character Chef — died Sunday afternoon (August 10), a spokesperson for the Shelby County, Tennessee, sheriff's department told WMC-TV in Memphis.

A relative found Hayes unconscious on the floor near a treadmill inside his home, according to the station's Web site. Hayes was taken to Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, where he was pronounced dead at 2:08 p.m.

Deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff's Department are continuing their investigation into Hayes' death, but they believe no foul play was involved, the report said.

Hayes was about to begin work on a new album for Stax Records, the legendary soul label with which he had a long association. He had recently completed work on a movie called ''Soul Men,'' in which he appears as himself. The film stars Samuel Jackson and Bernie Mac, who died on Saturday.

Born in Covington, Tennessee, in 1942, Hayes was a key figure in the development of the 1960s Southern soul sound before going on to a successful solo career.

He made his public singing debut in church at the age of 5, and taught himself piano and saxophone before relocating to Memphis and performing with groups there, according to All-Music Guide. In 1964 he began playing with the Mar-Keys, which led to his long stint as a musician, songwriter and producer for Stax, where he worked with Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and many others.

Over the following years, Hayes and songwriting partner David Porter wrote a reported 200 songs, including such soul classics as Sam & Dave's "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'," Carla Thomas' "B-A-B-Y," and Johnnie Taylor's "I Had a Dream."

Hayes released his debut solo album in 1967, but his breakthrough came two years later with the classic Hot Buttered Soul, which featured lush, ambitious arrangements and an innovative structure, and exerted a profound influence on many soul albums to come — not least Marvin Gaye's What's Going On.

In 1971 Hayes reached the peak of his musical popularity with the single and album Shaft, the score from the film. The song not only was an archetypal slice of funk that garnered Hayes a #1 single and Grammy and Academy Awards, the talk-singing style he employed on it had a huge influence on rap music.

After the strong albums Black Moses and Joy, Hayes' popularity waned in the coming years, exacerbated by a legal battle with Stax over royalties. He filed for bankruptcy in 1976.

Hayes continued to perform and record over the following years, but he didn't reappear on the mainstream radar until 1997, when he provided the voice for the "South Park" character Jerome "Chef" McElroy. Originally intended to be a one-off appearance, Hayes' character quickly became extremely popular, providing the show's young characters with advice and often breaking into comical R&B love songs that parody some of the songs Hayes had written in the first place. Hayes sang the notorious "Chocolate Salty Balls" on the "South Park" album Chief Aid.

A Scientologist since the mid 1990s, Hayes parted company with the show after a 2005 episode that skewered the religion. A press release announcing his separation from Comedy Central, which airs "South Park," was issued in March 2006. Hayes reportedly suffered a stroke in early 2006, and was occasionally unsteady in public appearances thereafter.

Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

The following statement was issued Sunday by the Soulsville Foundation:

"The Soulsville Foundation, which operates the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Stax Music Academy and the Soulsville Charter School, is so deeply saddened by the passing of Isaac Hayes that we are in state of shock. Isaac is one of the most beloved members of the Stax family and we all cherish him. He will be missed not only by us, but also by the entire world and the millions of people who love him as much as we do.

"Marc Willis, CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, said, 'Isaac was unique and an inspiration to us all. His accomplishments as a musician are unparalleled. But more than that, he was a very dear friend and great supporter of the Soulsville Foundation mission, particularly the work we do with children. We will miss him and his wonderful presence more than we can convey at this time.' "

• Isaac Hayes

Chef from "South Park"
Photo: Comedy Central

It's been an interesting two weeks for everyone involved with "South Park."

On March 13, Isaac Hayes — who had provided the hot-buttered baritone of Chef, the show's resident loverman since its 1997 premiere — announced that he wanted out of his contract with the program, citing its "growing insensitivity towards personal spiritual beliefs."

"South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker dismissed Hayes' claim as having little to do with insensitivity and everything to do with the legendary soul singer's association with Scientology, the religion that the show parodied last year in an episode called "Trapped in the Closet" (see "Isaac Hayes Wants Out Of 'South Park' Due To Religious Jokes").

Coincidentally, the "Trapped" episode was scheduled to re-air on March 15, but at the last minute Comedy Central pulled the episode, replacing it with another Chef-heavy (and controversial) ep, "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls." The move sent "South Park" message boards ablaze with reports that Tom Cruise — himself a Scientologist and a target of mockery in the "Closet" episode — had leaned on Paramount Pictures (the studio owned by Viacom, which also owns Comedy Central and MTV and has the Cruise-starring "Mission: Impossible III" coming out this spring) to have the episode yanked from broadcast.

Despite a spokesperson for Cruise denying the reports, Stone and Parker saw it as a personal affront to their show, and pledged to keep their struggle against Scientology alive. They also announced plans to prominently feature Chef in the season 10 premiere of "South Park," using snippets of dialogue Hayes had recorded over the years (see " 'South Park' Cooks Up Plan For Chef In Season Premiere".)

Adding another wrinkle to the situation, on Monday FoxNews.com reported that Hayes had no intention of quitting "South Park," but someone had quit in his name. The report, which cited various "sources," claimed that Hayes was unable to quit the show because he was recovering from a stroke he had suffered on January 17, and stated that "it's ... ridiculous to think Hayes ... would suddenly turn against the show because they were poking fun at Scientology."

Amy Harnell, a spokesperson for Hayes, told MTV News the Fox News report was "definitely not true" and that Hayes' decision to quit was "his and his alone." She added that Hayes was never hospitalized with a stroke, but rather "spent a few days in a hospital because of a high blood-pressure condition with medical complications."

As the story became more and more bizarre, media around the world began to run with it, and when "The Return of Chef!" premiered on Wednesday, more than 3.5 million viewers tuned in to watch — the largest season-premiere audience for "South Park" since 2002.

The episode saw Chef return to the town of South Park, Colorado, after being brainwashed by an organization of child molesters called the "Super Adventure Club." Concerned, Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny take Chef to see a psychiatrist — a move frowned upon by Scientologists — though it is just one twist in a series of events that end with Chef suffering a horrible series of accidents, including being shot, struck by lightning, impaled and being eaten by a grizzly bear.

And while it's not totally clear if Chef is really dead (at the end of the episode, he's seen being resurrected, Darth-Vader style), Hayes' spokesperson wants it to be known that the musician is "100-percent" finished with "South Park."

"He's finished talking about it. Basically, his feeling is, if [Stone and Parker] felt the need to do episodes like this one, then that's fine," Harnell said. "He's done with it, and he's already turning his attention to a series of upcoming commercial projects."

• Isaac Hayes

"South Park" 's Chef, voiced by Isaac Hayes since the series' inception
Photo: Comedy Central

Much like Salisbury steak and sloppy joes, Chef will remain on the menu at South Park Elementary. For at least one week, anyway.

Despite a very public spat between musician Isaac Hayes — who's voiced sage cafeteria worker Chef on "South Park" since the show's inception in 1997 — and creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker over the show's religion-skewering humor (see "Isaac Hayes Wants Out Of 'South Park' Due To Religious Jokes"), "South Park" will kick off its 10th season Wednesday with an episode called "The Return of Chef."

Details on the episode were scarce as of press time — Chef returns to town, but his erratic behavior worries Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny — though Comedy Central did confirm that contrary to previous reports, Hayes will provide the voice for Chef, however all his lines will be taken from previously recorded material.

Stone and Parker were unavailable for comment, a network spokesperson said, since they were still working on the episode.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Hayes said the singer was aware of the show's intentions to use his voice in the episode, and that he had no further comment on the matter.

"Isaac did ask to leave his contract early, so there's not much he can do," Hayes' spokesperson said. "He was under contract when he recorded the vocals, so they can do anything they want with them. He's really done with the whole situation. He's already stated what he's stated, and he's sticking by it."

Hayes' original statement, in which he asked to be released from his contract because of the show's "bigotry towards religious beliefs of others," was greeted with pessimism from Stone and Parker, who said the singer's decision had little to do with bigotry and "everything to do with the fact that Isaac Hayes is a Scientologist."

In its ninth season, "South Park" prominently mocked Scientology in an episode called "Trapped in the Closet." Comedy Central had originally planned on re-airing the episode last week but mysteriously pulled it in favor of one of the show's most popular episodes, "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls."

Soon, rumors began circulating that the network had pulled "Trapped" after noted Scientologist (and "Trapped" co-star) Tom Cruise threatened to not promote his upcoming "Mission: Impossible 3," the big summer release from Paramount Pictures, which is owned by Viacom, the parent company of Comedy Central and MTV. A spokesperson for Cruise denied that he had ever made such a threat.

Stone and Parker are refusing to let the whole thing go, issuing a statement to Daily Variety that pokes fun not only at Hayes and Cruise, but Scientology as a whole.

"So, Scientology, you may have won this battle, but the million-year war for Earth has just begun!" the statement read. "Temporarily anozinizing our episode will not stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!"

• Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes
Photo: Dave M. Benett/Getty Images

Soul legend Isaac Hayes checked into a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital on Tuesday night due to exhaustion. His longtime songwriting partner, David Porter, told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that the 63-year-old singer had simply been working too hard lately. "He's just overworked and had been in Atlantic City performing, the D.C. area performing, and in Tunica a couple of nights ago. He was just overworked. That's it in a nutshell," Porter told paper. "He's much better. He's doing much better."

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer, best known for his #1 1971 hit "Theme From Shaft" and for supplying the signature low, rumbling voice of Chef on "South Park," played a two-night stand at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Friday and Saturday and a gig at the Bluesville Nightclub in Tunica, Mississippi, on Sunday night. He's scheduled to perform at the House of Blues in New Orleans this coming Friday; it was unknown at press time if the singer would be able to make that gig.

Calls to Hayes' spokesperson were not returned by press time.

Hayes is just the latest in a long list of stars — including Eminem, Lindsay Lohan, Colin Farrell, Dave Chappelle, Gwen Stefani and Ashlee Simpson — who have succumbed to exhaustion recently (see "The 'Exhaustion' Epidemic").

• Isaac Hayes

Justin Timberlake (file)
Photo: Jive

The day after Independence Day is when the fireworks will really be popping in Memphis, Tennessee.

As part of the city's festivities surrounding the 50th anniversary of the birth of rock and roll, Justin Timberlake, funk pioneer Isaac Hayes, Elvis guitarist Scotty Moore, actor/singer Billy Bob Thornton and others will gather at the legendary Sun Studios on July 5 — 50 years to the day after Elvis Presley's "That's All Right" was recorded there in 1954. The bluesy, up-tempo song — which featured Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass — is widely considered to have started the rock revolution.

Timberlake, who was born in Memphis, has often credited Elvis as one of his main influences. At noon on the 5th, he, Moore, Hayes and "Wooly Bully" author Sam the Sham will take part in the "Global Moment in Time," during which radio stations across the world have agreed to play "That's All Right." Organizers hope they will set a record for the most simultaneous airplay for a single song.

The Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau will host a daylong event that will feature performances and speeches. "We are thrilled that Justin is coming home to join us as we celebrate this musical milestone," Bureau president Kevin Kane said. "He is already a world-renowned artist, and his work continues to extend Memphis' musical influence to the next generation."

• Justin Timberlake
• Isaac Hayes
• Elvis Presley

RZA
Photo: Jason Campbell

With their mutual admiration of all things kung fu, Wu-Tang's RZA and Quentin Tarantino were destined to hook up. The chop-socky-loving odd couple have collaborated on the soundtrack to Tarantino's long-awaited new film, "Kill Bill: Volume 1."

The 17-track album to Tarantino's fourth feature — the first part of which hits theaters on October 10 — will feature an original RZA song alongside the usual mix of Tarantino-picked musical obsessions and oddities when it hits stores September 23, according to the project's publicist.

Kill Bill: Volume 1 mixes Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)," which plays over the opening credits, with cuts by soul legend Isaac Hayes ("Run Fay Run"), honky tonker Charlie Feathers ("That Certain Female"), soundtrack legend Bernard Herrmann ("Twisted Nerve") and Japanese surf-punk band the 5.6.7.8's ("Woo Hoo"). RZA contributes the original spoken/rapped piece "Ode to Oren Ishii," in which he lays out the plot of the film.

Electronic music forefathers Neu! ("Super 16") are also on the eclectic collection, which revives an old Quincy Jones number ("Ironside") amid several snippets of dialogue and a number of sound-effects tracks that re-create the movie's fight scenes. And, believe it or not, trash culture obsessive Tarantino has also tossed in a song from the master of the pan flute, Zamfir ("The Lonely Shepherd"), which RZA stumbled upon while dining at a Thai restaurant.

RZA's hookup with Tarantino seems a natural fit, considering the Wu-Tang master sharpened his scoring teeth on Jim Jarmusch's 1999 martial arts flick, "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai." Many of the songs on the soundtrack have previously appeared in classic kung fu flicks, though Tarantino discovered the 5.6.7.8's while browsing in a clothing store in Hong Kong several years ago. Smitten with the band's sound — so smitten, in fact, that they have a cameo in the film — he insisted the clerk sell him the store's copy of the album on the spot.

The film stars Uma Thurman as a former assassin betrayed by her boss, Bill, played by David Carradine. Thurman returns four years after taking a bullet in the head to get revenge on Bill and his arsenal of assassins, including Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen and Darryl Hannah (see "Quentin Tarantino Makes Uma Thurman Dress Like Bruce Lee").

The always high-energy Tarantino, who has not released a film since 1997's "Jackie Brown," wrote a nearly 200-page script for "Kill Bill" and ended up shooting so much footage that he and Miramax head Harvey Weinstein decided to cut the movie in half and release it in two parts (see "Instant Sequel: Tarantino's 'Kill Bill' Chopped Into Two Parts"). The second installment of the film is expected to hit theaters two to six months after "Part 1." The spokesperson said it is not yet clear if there will be a soundtrack album from the film's second part.

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich was working with RZA on the score (see "Metallica's Ulrich Asked To Work With RZA On Tarantino Score"), but his contributions are not expected to appear on the album, according to the spokesperson.

Track listing for Kill Bill: Volume 1:

• Nancy Sinatra - "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"
• Charlie Feathers - "That Certain Female"
• Luis Bacalov - "The Grand Duel - (Parte Prima)"
• Bernard Herrmann - "Twisted Nerve"
• "Queen of the Crime Council" - dialogue excerpt from film featuring Lucy Liu and Julie Dreyfus
• RZA - "Ode to Oren Ishii"
• Isaac Hayes - "Run Fay Run"
• Al Hirt - "Green Hornet"
• Tomoyasu Hotei - "Battle Without Honor or Humanity"
• Santa Esmeralda - "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
• The 5.6.7.8's - "Woo Hoo"
• RZA/Charles Bernstein - "Crane"/"White Lightning"
• Meiko Kaji - "The Flower of Carnage"
• Zamfir - "The Lonely Shepherd"
• "You're My Wicked Life" - dialogue excerpt from film featuring David Carradine, Julie Dreyfus and Uma Thurman
• Quincy Jones - "Ironside" excerpt
• Neu! - "Super 16" excerpt

• RZA
• Isaac Hayes
• Nancy Sinatra