Teairra Marí
Photo: Getty Images

CULVER CITY, California — She may be dubbed the Princess of the Roc, but don't let that sweet moniker fool you. Teairra Marí is not that innocent.

Marí, who, at 16, was one of the first artists signed by new Roc-A-Fella head Jay-Z, may have an affinity for dismissing authority. With street savvy honed on the outskirts of Detroit, the sassy young R&B crooner has no qualms about speaking her mind to authority figures — even her own mother. In fact, she's already done it twice.

Marí first battled with her mom in the clip for her second single, "No Daddy," which touched upon the singer's lack of a father figure during her tumultuous upbringing — and the fact that she isn't looking for a man to fill that position now. Although the song features smoking beats, the subject matter is quite a serious turn from her lighter, funkier first single, "Make Her Feel Good" (see "Jadakiss, Bleek, Budden's Street Remixes Make Teairra Mari Feel Good").

And now Marí is butting heads with her mama on "Phone Booth," the third single from her debut album, Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí. This time, she's defending her man.

"Basically [my mother] doesn't like my boyfriend, so she tells me to leave the house, and I tell her no," the singer explained. "So I leave the house to go to the phone booth to call my boyfriend to come pick me up."

No word yet on who will helm the third clip, but Teairra says you can expect a video that doesn't stray too far from the heart of the song.

"My life ain't been through nothing but the drama/ Just had the worst fight ever with my mama/ She believes that you've got two or three on the come up/ Telling me you're loving me, but you're going home to them," a lovelorn Marí sings on the track.

Perhaps the singer can channel some of that heartache and anger into some juicy acting roles. Marí is poised to follow in the footsteps of Def Jam labelmate Rihanna, who just scored her first film role (see "Rihanna Brings On Acting Career With New 'Bring It On' Flick"). There have been a few scripts coming her way, and the singer admits that at this stage of the game, she's not worried about being picky.

"I haven't quite found the script of my dreams yet, but I'm going to try out for movies even if I don't like them," Marí said.

You can also look for the princess, who turns 18 on December 2, to explore some deeper issues on her sophomore LP, which she began working on recently. Marí believes in keeping the hotness under wraps so she's staying mum on the details, but she did admit that she would love to score producers Kanye West, Jermaine Dupri and Pharrell Williams to oversee her follow-up. And think ballads — lots and lots of ballads — to show off her vocal chops.

"I just want to be myself, and I want to grow up," she said of the direction of her next album. "You know, everyone matures and I just want to show that on this album."

• Teairra Marí

Teairra Marí
Photo: Peter Kramer/ Getty Images

Teairra Marí, the young princess of Roc-A-Fella Records, is going through that Amerie syndrome — all the boys are taking her track and making unofficial remixes of it.

Memphis Bleek, Joe Budden, the LOX's Sheek Louch and Jadakiss, and a slew of others have rapped on her "Make Her Feel Good" and put it out on mixtapes. Amerie went through a similar situation when she released her smash "1 Thing." Marí says that while there are lots of fake collaborations out there, the official remix is the one that features her fam, Jay-Z and Kanye West.

"I love them," she said of the remixes recently, not long after her debut LP, Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí, was released. "I'm actually excited about all of them because people took time to lay a verse to my song. That means they were feeling it. The Kanye one is the real one, with the track change. For me to be able to say that is silly. I can't believe I'm saying that. Kanye is like my brother. Jay is like my father."

Marí's next single, however, is going to be called "No Daddy." In the video she plays a rebellious schoolgirl who is the ringleader of a school takeover. She and some of her rowdy classmates run through the hallways locking teachers in classrooms, and can also be seen dancing on tables.

Larry B. Scott, who's best known for playing openly gay nerd Lamar Latrell in "Revenge of the Nerds," has a cameo as Marí's teacher. Clifton Powell ("Menace II Society," "Dead Presidents") also guest stars, as Marí's mother's mate.

"It's about growing up without a father and saying I don't even care," she explained of the song. "I'm going to do what I want to do. It's his loss."

• Teairra Marí

Faith Hill's <i>Fireflies</i>
Photo: Warner Bros.

It took one of country music's top earners to unseat the 19th installment in the Now That's What I Call Music! franchise from Billboard's albums-chart throne after two weeks of domination. With opening-week scans of 329,000, Faith Hill outsold the singles compilation — featuring Eminem, Gwen Stefani, Ludacris, Destiny's Child and Coldplay — by over 150,000 copies, leading the chart charge for the third time in her 12-year career.

Hill's #1 debut comes as little surprise considering the diva's imposing track record, but the next-highest debut belongs to a newcomer. Signed by L.A. Reid and approved by Jay-Z, the Detroit-born "Princess of the Roc," Teairra Marí, bows at #5 with nearly 69,000 copies of Roc-A-Fella Presents Teairra Marí scanned during its first week in stores.

With Faith Hill on top, Now 19 falls to the chart's #2 slot, earning week-three sales of more than 177,000 discs. Holding strong at #3 is Mariah Carey's comeback offering, The Emancipation of Mimi, which sold 99,000 copies during its 17th week on record-store shelves for a grand total of more than 2.8 million scans. Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy's Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 falls two spots to #4, thanks to a 50 percent second-week sales slump; more than 85,000 copies of the disc moved this past week.

The chart's #6 spot belongs to a collection of hit songs performed by a group of children dubbed the Kidz Bop Kids. The eighth edition in the Kidz Bop series achieved sales of 67,000, scoring the third-best debut on this week's chart. The record features pint-sized covers of Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved," Stefani's "Rich Girl," Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out," U2's "Vertigo," and Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

Coldplay's X&Y comes in at #7 with sales of more than 65,000, followed by Monkey Business, the latest from the Black Eyed Peas, which recorded scans of 61,000 plus to grab #8. Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway climbs two spots back into the top 10 to #9, selling over 60,000 this time out. Eclectic animated act Gorillaz take #10 with Demon Days, which netted scans of 53,000 and change during its 11th week of retail availability.

Rascal Flatts earn the chart's #11 post, selling more than 50,000 copies of their newest LP, Feels Like Today. Bow Wow's Wanted, follows at #12 with scans of nearly 50,000. Stefani's Love, Angel, Music, Baby finishes as the chart's #13 album with sales of close to 47,000, followed by TP.3 Reloaded, R. Kelly's latest offering, which falls five positions to #14 with nearly 46,000 copies scanned. Falling 11 spots is no laughing matter for comedian Dane Cook, who checks in at #15 with his disc, Retaliation; the album earned second-week sales of 44,000 and then some, a 48 percent drop.

New Zealand-born Natasha Bedingfield, a hit-maker in the U.K., invades this week's chart at #26 with her U.S. debut, Unwritten. The album achieved opening-week sales of more than 34,000, making it one of the week's biggest debuts. Melodic hardcore act Emery opens at #45 on the chart, with Question earning sales of 21,000, while Public Enemy's Power to the People and the Beats: Public Enemy's Greatest Hits, debuts at #69, moving close to 17,000 copies. Rockers Blindside return to the top 200 with Great Depression, which takes #89 with opening week scans of close to 12,000, while Alice Cooper sold nearly 6,500 copies of his latest LP, Dirty Diamonds, to open at #169.

Check out "Jay-Z Ready To Unleash Three New Roc-A-Fella Artists" to learn more about Teairra Marí. For a feature on Young Jeezy, check out "Young Jeezy: Putting His Mouth Where His Money Is."

TLC's Tele-Search Boosts Sales

Since its debut two weeks ago on UPN, the TLC-centric reality series, "R U the Girl With T-Boz & Chilli," in which the remaining members of the R&B trio search for a woman to fill the shoes of the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, has been pulling in its fair ratings share. At the same time, sales of the group's recently re-released best-of collection, Now & Forever: The Hits, seem to be rising slowly but steadily. This week the disc grabs the chart's #159 spot (up from #195 the week before), with scans of 6,700 and change; sales rose 21 percent, compared to the previous week's totals.

VMA Nominees

While Kelly Clarkson's #9-finishing Breakaway experienced a small, 7 percent sales spike after news of her dual nominations for "Since U Been Gone" (for Best Female Video and Best Pop Video) broke, two other MTV Video Music Awards nominees benefited from a slight increase in retail interest. The chart's #23 album, Green Day's American Idiot, climbed nine chart positions thanks to a 17 percent sales jump, accounting for more than 38,000 scans; the band received eight nominations, including Video of the Year, Best Group Video and Viewer's Choice. U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb rose 27 spots on the chart to #164, after sales of their disc surged 16 percent to end the week with 6,500-plus scans; the video for "Vertigo" was nominated for Best Group Video and Breakthrough Video.

Boy Falling Up, Not Out

Being in Billboard's top 20 isn't anything new for Fall Out Boy. After all, the week after the Chicago band's From Under the Cork Tree hit stores, the album debuted at #9, with sales of about 68,000. Since then, the disc has hovered in the mid-40s range, falling only as far as #54. That was three months ago, before Fall Out Boy had one of TRL's hottest videos and one of rock and pop radio's most-wanted cuts in "Sugar, We're Goin Down."

Much like genre contemporaries My Chemical Romance, whom they've passed on the chart (MCR's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge claimed up to the chart's #42 slot, but has been on record store shelves for more than a year), Fall Out Boy's been ascending the chart at a sloth's pace, and this week, with a #16 showing, inches another three chart positions closer to the top 10. Last week Cork was the chart's #19, while the week before, it checked in at #25. If the last few weeks are any indication, it's plausible Fall Out Boy could continue this upward mobility trend and return to the top 10.

• Faith Hill
• Teairra Marí
• Mariah Carey
• Young Jeezy
• Coldplay

<i>Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí</i>
Photo: Roc-A-Fella

The Princess Awakes: Detroit's Teairra Marí has melted L.A. Reid and Jay-Z alike, but it's the latter mogul who'll be giving the singer a presidential push this week with Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí. She's already made waves with "Make Her Feel Good," which samples Eric B. & Rakim and appears on this record along with two versions of "No Daddy," co-written by Sean Garrett (Destiny's Child, Beyoncé).

Yes, They're Related: New Zealand-born singer Natasha Bedingfield — sister of dance-pop artist Daniel — hopes to replicate her substantial European success with the U.S. release of her debut, Unwritten (she's only the third solo singer in U.K. history to debut at #1). The DualDisc has behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and more.

Another Blonde Gone: Faith Hill, who showed up on the cover of 2002's Cry as a tempting, sweat-drenched blonde befitted with a crucifix, now appears as a sleek, Pantene-d brunette on Fireflies. (Maybe husband Tim McGraw, who duets with her on "Like We Never Loved at All," had a few words to say this time around.) Expect a big splash from Hill's sixth record, which contains "Mississippi Girl," a song that debuted higher than any of her previous singles on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Fans can get the album signed through a limited offer on FaithHill.com.

The Prom Kings Got Game — But Where?: Funky L.A. rockers the Prom Kings have opened for Sum 41 and Papa Roach and have shipped to radio two hip-shaking cuts from their self-titled debut: "Alone" and "Birthday." Only time will tell if the Kings will crown their Game-featured golden egg, "Down," as single number three. Yes, that's the Game.

Rewriting History: Michael Penn tells a history lesson with his long-awaited fifth album, Mr. Hollywood, Jr. 1947, with wife Aimee Mann stepping in for a brief bit of bass playing and backup singing. A limited run has a bonus track, "Down by the Riverside," plus a video for "Walter Reed."

Song Titles of the Week:
"In a Lose, Lose Situation," followed by "In a Win, Win Situation" (Emery's The Question)

Other Notables:

• Alice Cooper - Dirty Diamonds

Has the Coop flown the way of Christina Aguilera ("Dirrty") and Kanye ("Diamonds")? Nope, he's just back to his bizarro ways, dishing up "Gutter Cats vs. the Jets," featuring a horn section; an obscure cover of the Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina"; and a nod to 1973's watershed Billion Dollar Babies with "Sunset Babies (All Got Rabies)."
• Deadman - Our Eternal Ghosts and D'Nell - 1st Magic (BBE)

Texans Steven and Sherilyn Collins name-check authors (William Faulkner, on "Absalom! Absalom!"), painters ("Monsters of Goya") and Native Americans ("Sad Ole' Geronimo") on their third record, which has been getting raves in the U.K. In the meantime, D'Nell, another co-ed duo (don't be fooled by the SWF on the album cover), recorded their soul-meets-hip-hop debut in a London studio apartment.
• The Greenhornes - East Grand Blues EP

The White Stripes' tour partners don't really sound bluesy at all on songs like "I'm Going Away" and "Shelter of Your Arms." Think classic-rock throwback instead.
• Maria Muldaur - Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul

Grammy-nominated Maria Muldaur tips her hat to female blues legends like Memphis Minnie on Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul, getting a boost from Taj Mahal and Alvin Youngblood. And fans won't want to miss Muldaur on peer Angela Strehli's Blue Highway, which also features longtime collaborator Stevie Ray Vaughan.
• Various artists - The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned

In case you haven't been scooping up Light in the Attic's series of 12-inches hailing lost soft-psych group the Free Design, the label presents the entire fleet of remixes, plus a few unissued tracks, as The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned. Producers include Danger Mouse, Stereolab, Super Furry Animals and members of Belle and Sebastian and the Mars Volta.
• Various artists - Generations: A Hardcore Compilation

Sinking Ships and Robot Whales bring an aquatic feel to this Revelation roundup of punk up-and-comers.

Out Tuesday, August 2:

New releases:

• Amadou & Mariam - Dimanche a Bamako (Nonesuch)
• Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (Epic)
  Buy Now: Unwritten (Epic)
• BA - Sports (Rah)
• Danny Barnes - Get Myself Together (Terminus)
• Bass Freq - Neon Skyline (Neurodisc)
• Blindside - The Great Depression (RTE/DRT)
  Buy Now: The Great Depression (RTE/DRT)
• Bliss - Quiet Letters (Quango)
• Bootcut - Hammond vs. Drums (Gadfly)
• Brazen Abbot - My Resurrection (Melodic Symphony)
• Alice Cooper - Dirty Diamonds (New West)
• D'Nell - 1st Magic (BBE)
• Deadman - Our Eternal Ghosts (One Little Indian)
• Benjamin Diamond - Out of Myself (!K7)
• Emery - The Question (Tooth & Nail)
• The Greenhornes - East Grand Blues EP (V2)
• Johnny Freeman - How Much Is Free (Southern Signal)
• Don Friedman VIP Trio - Timeless (441)
• Mitchell Froom - A Thousand Days (Inner Knot)
• Faith Hill - Fireflies (Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: Fireflies (Warner Bros.)
• Stan Hope - Put on a Happy Face (Savant)
• Houston Calls - A Collection of Short Stories (Rushmore/Drive-Thru)
• I Self Divine - Self Destruction (Rhymesayers)
• Lorene Drive - Romantic Wealth (Lobster)
• Madball - Legacy (Ferret)
• Madredeus - Faluas Do Tejo (Metro Blue)
• Teairra Marí - Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Mari (Roc-A-Fella)
  Read: "Jay-Z's Picks: Teairra Mari, Rihanna, Ne-Yo"
• Milk Inc. - Closer (Water Music)
• Mr. Del - The Future (Holy Hip Hop)
• Maria Muldaur - Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul (Stony Plain)
• Greg Osby - Channel Three (Blue Note)
• Michael Penn - Mr. Hollywood, Jr. 1947 (spinART)
  Read: "Free At Last, Michael Penn Attempts A Comeback With Mr. Hollywood Jr."
• Doug Pinnick - Emotional Animal (Magna Carta)
• Tristan Prettyman - Twentythree (Virgin)
• The Prom Kings - The Prom Kings (Geffen)
• Darryl Lee Rush - Llano Avenue (Infinity Nashville)
• Sahnas - Odyssey (Native Language)
• Sons of the Never Wrong - Nuthatch Suite (Gadfly)
• Angela Strehli - Blue Highway (MC)
• Turning Point - Matador (Native Language)
• Various artists - Dark Trance vs. Neogoth (Cleopatra)
• Various artists - Desire: Piano Tribute to U2 (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Fashion Lounge (Cleopatra)
• Various artists - Fusion for Miles (Tone Center)
• Various artists - Generations: A Hardcore Compilation (Revelation)
• Various artists - Harley Davidson: Ride (Capitol)
• Various artists - Kidz Bop, Vol. 8 (Razor & Tie)
• Various artists - Nu:Jazz Brasilia (Sunswept)
• Various artists - The Piano Tribute to Iron Maiden (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Pick Yourself Up From the Ground: Pickin' on Eric Clapton Vol. 2 (CMH)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Beck (CMH)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Franz Ferdinand (CMH)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Nickelback (CMH)
• Various artists - Prinz Myshkin: Treats From the Garden of Earthly Delights (Radikal)
• Various artists - Smooth Sounds Tribute to Mariah Carey's Greatest Hits (Tribute Sounds)
• Various artists - The String Quartet Tribute to Queens of the Stone Age, Volume 2 (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Tribute to Insane Clown Posse (Big Eye)
• Various artists - "Broken Flowers" soundtrack (Decca)
• Various artists - "Rainbow Six: Lockdown" soundtrack (Calvin) (dualdisc)
• Warren Brothers - Barely Famous Hits (BNA)
• Abigail Washburn - Song of the Traveling Daughter (Nettwerk)
• Wetton/ Downes - Icon (Frontiers)
• Reuben Wilson - Fun House (Savant)
• Madelin Zero - Gotta Know (Indecent Media)

Notable reissues:

• Johnny Cash - The Legend (Columbia) (box set)
• June Carter Cash - Keep on the Sunny Side: Her Life in Music (Columbia)
• John Coltrane - The Bethlehem Years (Shout! Factory) (two CDs)
• Bill Cosby - Inside the Mind Of (live) (Geffen)
• Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt (Kemado) (with second disc containing five unreleased bonus tracks)
• Richard Hell - Spurts: The Best of Richard Hell (Rhino)
• Marshall Tucker Band - Just Us (Shout! Factory) (with two bonus alternate takes)
• Charles Mingus - East Coasting (Shout! Factory) (with eight bonus remixes)
• Public Enemy - Power to the People and the Beats: Greatest Hits (Def Jam)
• The Rolling Stones - Forty Licks (limited-edition box set) (ABKCO/Virgin)
• Six Feet Under - 13/ Graveyard Classics, Vol. 2 (Metal Blade)
• The Slits - Live at the Gibus Club (Castle/Sanctuary)
• Various artists - The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned (Light in the Attic)
• Various artists - "Raging Bull" soundtrack (Capitol)

DVDs:

• Beulah - "A Good Band Is Easy to Kill" (Music Video Distributors)
• Impotent Sea Snakes - "Alive in Germany" (Music Video Distributors)
• Suzanne Vega - "Retrospective: The Videos of Suzanne Vega" (Universal)
• Various Artists - "Cool Runnings: The Reggae Movie" (Universal)
• Various Artists - "Give 'Em the Boot (A Film by Tim Armstrong)" (Epitaph)
• Various Artists - "The Industry" (Image Entertainment)
• Various Artists - "Poets in Hip Hop" (Music Video Distributors)
• Various Artists - "Rap Life: Behind the Scenes" (Bayside Distribution)

• Teairra Marí
• Natasha Bedingfield
• Faith Hill
• Michael Penn
• Alice Cooper

• Ne-Yo
• Teairra Marí
• Rihanna