Jay-Z performs at the Warner Theatre in Washington D.C. on Monday
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With George W. Bush all packed up and out of the White House, and Barack Obama ready to move in, hip-hop has never felt more patriotic. And the huge theme for Obama's inauguration weekend has been Young Jeezy's "My President." On Monday night, in the town nicknamed "Chocolate City," Jay-Z drove his audience wild with his new verse for the song's remix.

The show at the Warner Theatre was billed as the "Concert on the Eve of Change," but the crowd welcomed a very familiar Hov game-plan: knock 'em with his own hits and those of his big-name guests.

After "Brooklyn Go Hard," Jay informed D.C. that he was ready for a long night.

"I really wanted to do the show to party with y'all," said Jay, who wore a black T-shirt with Abraham Lincoln's face on it. "I feel fantastic. ... I hope y'all brought your lunch pails, 'cause I can go three, four hours — nine, 10 hours."

The Jigga Man also said that he brought extra clothes with him and could rhyme all the way until it was time to go the inauguration.

With a live band, dynamic light show and can't-miss-the-action screens, Jay got on a roll that never really stopped all night. Most of the audience was on their feet for the duration.

"Can I Live," "Dead Presidents" and "Swagga Like Us," incited the onlookers to drown the venue with the scream of "Hohhhhhhhhh-vahhhhhhhhh!" "Blue Magic" came and so did its derogatory reference to the 43rd president, George W. Bush.

Young Jeezy arrived onstage moments later for "My President."

"Bush robbed all of us; does that make him a criminal?" the Snowman asked rhetorically. Images of newspaper front pages made up the montage on the screens, while the MCs recited the current hip-hop national anthem: "My president's black, my Lambo's blue."

Jay then rapped the verse for the remix he'd performed the previous night with Jeezy: "My president's black, but his house is all white." Immediately the cheers drowned out his next few words. Major props for a rap sicker than salmonella poisoning.

"Red, white and blue flag, wave for me baby," Jay added. "I was hot before Barack, so imagine what I'm gonna do ... / No more white lies, my president is black."

In the minutes following, Jay went to the well for one of his hits off the Black Album, but didn't like the music that was being brought in.

"Hold up," Jay said. "The president was brushing his shoulders off to that sh--, you just don't throw that on." Of course "Dirt Off Your Shoulders" was the next selection.

Later, one of Jay's most heralded partners in crime, Mary J. Blige, danced out for the ageless "Can't Knock the Hustle."

"I know y'all feel real good right now. Can we have some fun?" she asked going into "Real Love." Jay rapped the lyrics of his homie, the Notorious B.I.G. that laced the remix.

"Are y'all looking at what's happening right now, what's taking place?" the mighty Queen of Hip-Hop Soul asked. MJB also declared that Tuesday's ceremony marked the end of bad times.

"Everybody is here tonight for Barack Obama, and Michelle," the singer boasted. "Is it getting better, or do you feel the same?"

Jay's other surprise (not counting an unannounced Memphis Bleek, who's usually at all his friend's concerts) put the show in official he-shut-it-down-again territory: Beyoncé.

B came from behind a skinny screen that lit her silhouette. As she walked to the front of the stage, "Single Ladies," rang out, signaling a full-on performance by Mrs. Carter. No background dancers — she was captivating enough on her own.

In the crowd, watching along with the screaming fans, were Jay's longtime friends Bun B (Hov gave Pimp C a special tribute during "Big Pimpin' ") and D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty.

"You know its a new day, when mayors are at rap concerts," Jay laughed. "I might stay here a month."

"Encore" ended the night and Jay had no problem with the audience replacing their chants of "Hohhhhh-vah! Hohhhhhhh-vah!" with "O-baaa-ma! O-baaa-ma!"

"Look forward to a beautiful tomorrow, a beautiful eight years," the mic icon advised.

And what better way to celebrate hope than with a champagne toast? Jay's staff brought out a bottle of Ace of Spades the size of small toddler. They passed out glasses and let the crowd pass the bottle among themselves.

Watch "Be the Change: Live From the Inaugural" online now, and come back Thursday for the full performances from Kanye West, Kid Rock and Fall Out Boy. Stick with us for wall-to-wall coverage of the inauguration and of the scenes in Washington, D.C., New Orleans and Kenya.

• Inauguration Celebrations Fill D.C. With Music
• Jay-Z On The Eve Of The Inauguration: MTV News RAW

• Jay-Z's 'Concert On The Eve Of Change'

• Jay-Z
• Young Jeezy
• Beyoncé
• Mary J. Blige
• Memphis Bleek

Kareem "Biggs" Burke, Jay-Z and Dame Dash
Photo: Roc-A-Fella

NEW YORK — Dame Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke laughed on Monday (October 15) when they came up with a new crew name on the spot: "Block-A-Fella." The "Block" in question refers to their new social-networking Web site, BlockSavvy.com, which has also served as a platform for Dame to blog and, maybe most significantly, resurrect Roc-A-Fella Records material from when Dash and Burke were tight with Jay-Z.

They were so tight that a few years ago, Dame wanted to pay tribute to his onetime inseparable buddy by having several artists on the label remake some of Hov's tunes from his various albums. The project was called Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.

"We made this a while ago when [we still co-owned] Roc-A-Fella," said Dame, who later formed the Dame Dash Music Group with Burke after the three principal players sold their remaining 50 percent stake of the label to its parent label, Island Def Jam, in December 2004.

"We got Juelz [Santana] ... Young Gunz ... Rell, Jimmy Jones, Kanye West, Beanie [Sigel]," Biggs added of the Beyond a Reasonable Doubt collection.

(Hear the tribute tracks for yourself! Check out reworked versions of the Reasonable Doubt cuts "Politics as Usual," "Regrets" and "Can I Live," as well as a new rendition of the In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 song "You Must Love Me.")

"At the time, I was looking for platforms to showcase the artists," Dash chimed in. "This was my [mental] state three, four years ago. I was always looking for projects to showcase the artists and move as a team. We had the talent. Cam'ron did a record too. Everybody did renditions of Jay songs. Some from Reasonable Doubt, some from other records."

The entire project was sparked by the original Reasonable reaching a milestone, its 10th anniversary, last year.

"Honestly, Reasonable Doubt was very important to us — despite the fact that people are paying homage to it without us, and I'm seeing stuff on television," Dash said, referring to the "VH1 Classic Albums" episode that broke down the making of the classic Jigga debut. "[But] we're not getting interviewed, which is cool.

"It's a piece of us. It's the only thing we still own that has anything to do with Roc-A-Fella," he continued. "So back then, and being a part of the DNA of Roc-A-Fella, I was always trying to figure out a way to celebrate it. I knew the 10th anniversary was coming up. I said, 'Let's do an album with all the relevant artists doing a rendition of Jay records.' But Jay said he didn't like it, so we scrapped it. ... You know what it was, he said the best record was Jimmy's, so he didn't want to put it out."

Although there aren't any current plans to release the album conventionally in stores, the duo have posted the project up on their Web site.

"We felt like we might as well, why not?" Dame shrugged. "I don't know, I'm living more on the virtual/digital side."

When he thinks back a decade, to the making of Hov's first LP, Dame tells the story of how a couple of decisions and maybe one or two missed studio sessions could have changed history.

"Nas and AZ was supposed to be on 'Bring It On,' they kept not showing up," Dash recalled. "That's when we wanted to put out the Firm. They didn't show up. We was meeting and they was saying, 'Yeah,' but they wasn't showing up. We would be waiting and we would be getting offended. So we brought Sauce [Money] and [Big] Jaz on the song."

"Jay didn't want to rap over that beat," Biggs offered of "Can't Knock the Hustle," "but I called him and said he should rap over the beat, because it would come out hot regardless."

"He didn't want to do it, so I had to get Mary J. [Blige], and [I] gave her 10 grand out of a paper bag," Dash added. "She did it for us. I knew her when she was young."

Some of the tracks on Beyond a Reasonable Doubt feature Cam'ron rapping over "Show You How" — which appeared on The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse — while another has Beanie Sigel redoing In My Lifetime, Vol. 1's "Where I'm From" and Freeway taking on "Politics as Usual."

"It was so ill, because he was talking about struggles in the street," Biggs said about the Jay-Z original. "We did that song before Jacob [the Jeweler] was out. Remember the line, 'to Tito in the district'? When we really started buying jewelry, we would go to Tito. Everything about Reasonable Doubt was [the] reverse of what you think. Like 'Can't Knock the Hustle' — he wasn't talking about hustling, he was talking about the music business [being] the hustle. He was talking to everybody else like, 'Don't knock us.' 'Cause that's the new hustle. That's why it's so funny — people don't understand the genesis. It was representation of us and our life together. 'Regrets' was my favorite song on the album. I liked 'Regrets' and 'Cashmere Thoughts.' He wasn't gonna put 'Cashmere Thoughts' on there — he only put it on there 'cause it was my favorite."

" 'Dead Presidents II' was mine," Biggs said of his favorite Reasonable Doubt track.

Biggs and Dash's post-Roc life, as you know, has also involved fashion and films. Their most current project is "Mr. Untouchable," an upcoming documentary on the life of Harlem, New York, drug kingpin Nicky Barnes that arrives in theaters October 26.

But as far as music goes, it's still up in the air how many more albums Biggs and Dash will put out. They don't see the biz being lucrative anymore.

"We got heat. Nicole Wray's album [Lovechild] is hot, ODB's album [A Son Unique] is hot," Dash said of the label's two LPs, which have been kicking around for quite some time but haven't been officially released. "Everybody acts like they doing us a favor by putting it out.

"We got deals everywhere," he added when asked about a recent deal he struck with Koch Records to distribute his music. "It's not about the deal, it's about the frustration and hassle. We turned into real business men. We're here to make money, and it seems like the money ain't there."

You can hear the entire Beyond a Reasonable Doubt LP on www.BlockSavvy.com.

• Jay-Z
• Freeway
• Jim Jones
• Juelz Santana
• Memphis Bleek

• Snoop Dogg
• Memphis Bleek
• Dr. Dre

Memphis Bleek
Photo: Ray Tamarra/ Getty Images

If your friend declared in front of the world that he was going to make sure you'd be a millionaire for the rest of your life, you, like most people, might be content to just fall back and sit on all that money. Memphis Bleek, however, wants to step out on his own. It's time for Bleek to be like his benefactor, Jay-Z, and think beyond rap.

"Who would have thought? I ain't see this vision last year," M Extra Money said recently in New York while sitting at a desk in his office. Yes, his office — as part owner of the clothing line I.M.I., Bleek finally has a nine-to-five (well, he usually gets in at 11 a.m., but you get the point) that he goes to every day.

Bleek, who signed to Roc-A-Fella over a decade ago at the age of 16, stumbled into doing a clothing line. Through a mutual friend, he came across the original I.M.I. owners, who also worked with Jay-Z and Dame Dash to help get Rocawear off the ground several years ago. Since the relationship was already there, Bleek worked out a deal to come aboard as a shot-caller for the line.

"I said, 'If you really want to set it off and put it where it needs to be, put me as a partner,' " Bleek explained.

Jay-Z did check into the situation and made sure everything was on the up-and-up before Bleek signed on. But Jay has no dealings with the company — Bleek is doing it on his own.

"Jay basically tells me, 'Make sure you go over the paperwork, the invoice sheets, the sheets going to the store,' " Bleek said of the advice he gets from S. Carter. "[He tells me] to have meetings with the buyers. I used to go to Dr. Jay's [clothing store] just to get sneakers, now I talk to the manager like, 'I need my line to get in front of the store.'

"My whole life, everything I did was dedicated to Jay," Bleek said. "Jay do Roc-A-Fella, I was there. Jay does S. Carters, I wear them all the time. If I don't have that on my feet, the only thing you gonna see is Air Force Ones or Timbs. I feel maybe if I would have took a little bit of time to care a little bit about something on my own, I could have been bigger than this. But hey, everything happens for a reason. But I'm gonna still be 100 percent behind all Jay's companies."

So far Bleek has signed boxer Zab Judah, basketball players Jameer Nelson and Jamal Crawford, and NFL star Larry Fitzgerald to do endorsement deals.

Bleek is still focused on music, though. He says that when he leaves the I.M.I. offices each day he then goes over to Def Jam. Bleek wants to put his next album out this year and is getting ready to begin recording soon. He admits that he's been performing below expectations.

"I want to do an album that's through the roof," he said about his next project, which he's thinking about naming The Inauguration. "I want to do a classic album. I feel that if this album I'm not recording is a classic, I'm not even gonna put it out. I have to do it bigger than anybody has ever done it. I have to make a good record this time, not just talking-junk records. It has to be deep. I want people to pick my album up and learn something."

Diddy and singer Gerald Levert both have told Bleek that they have hits waiting for him. Memphis also wants to work with Swizz Beatz, Kanye West and Just Blaze.

• Memphis Bleek
• Jay-Z

Memphis Bleek
Photo: Getty Images

NEW YORK— Memphis Bleek says it's time to fade to black once again — he's hitting the battlefield with Jay-Z.

Last week Hov went on New York radio station Power 105.1 and said he was declaring war on some rappers who have been sending jabs his way and would address them during an October 27 concert (see " 'I Declare War!' Jay-Z Says He's Going To Air Some Rappers Out Onstage"). On Monday Bleek said he would be right there beside Roc-A-Fella's general.

"Yeah, it's war," said Bleek, wearing a baby-blue shirt and matching cap. "This is the last day you gonna see me in something colorful. From here on out it's all black. They think we ain't got the Smack DVD, the [On the Come Up at the Source Awards] DVD. Remember, Jay is in the president's seat, Bleek is in the streets. We see everything. When I see it, he sees it. We're coming. Like Jay said, 'Be our friend.' "

Memph was tight-lipped about which artists Jay is planning to air out at the upcoming concert, but he said other rap factions throw barbs at the Roc out of jealousy.

"I think it's because people try and try so long to outdo us instead of just doing them," he said. "Maybe if they just try to do them, they would be bigger than us. They gotta understand this is not a fad here. We ain't going nowhere. No matter how much the game changes, I am the game. I change with it. You see certain artists, when the game changes, they outta there. You know what that is: The lies run out and so does their career."

Bleek is already taking the next step in his own career, working on a new album. His 534 dropped earlier this year (see " 'Retired' Jay-Z Releasing New Track Via Memphis Bleek LP"), coming and going with just one single and meager sales. Bleek says it was because he didn't fully express himself.

"I really didn't get my point across on the grit and the grain," he said. "I ain't express [myself]."

"The music is still aggressive," he said of his next album, which he wants to drop in early 2006. "I had to take it back to the old Bleek. I ain't gonna lie: They had me confused for a minute. I had my smooth face — I had my game face on for the ladies. Now I gotta thug them out too."

Bleek just recorded a bevy of freestyles and has handed them out to DJs Clue and Kay Slay. Jay-Z's "I Declare War" show will be held at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

• Memphis Bleek

Dave Chappelle at the Heal the Hood benefit concert Monday
Photo: Ray Tamarra/Getty Images

NEW YORK — It was brief, rare, to the point and for a righteous cause: Dave Chappelle got onstage at B.B. King's at around 2 a.m. Tuesday and encouraged fans to support the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"Thank you, everybody," he said after one of the event's organizers, Dead Prez's M-1, introduced him as a comrade. "I just want to tell you guys real quick: I got back from Mississippi today. All these images you see on the news — don't let it desensitize you. Things are real. These people are real. Don't forget why we are here. We love the music, but we love these people. Don't forget them, because they're gonna be suffering for a long time unless you do something."

The comedian, who has made very few public appearances in recent months, was in town before picking up his fall tour (see "Dave Chappelle Is Back Onstage"). He was part of a myriad of mostly hard-core rap acts who were called upon by M-1 to perform at Monday night's concert, including David Banner, Memphis Bleek, Saigon, Styles P from the LOX, Q-Tip, Remy Ma, Dead Prez, Smiff N Wessun and the Beatnuts. All the show's proceeds will be donated to hurricane relief.

"It's only right," Bleek said. "In a time of need, the hip-hop community are the first ones there, but we the first ones who get ridiculed in the media. It's only right we show we got a heart."

"I wasn't even on the bill — they just called me 45 minutes ago," said Saigon, who has risen to a measure of mainstream popularity since his recent appearances on HBO's "Entourage." "I was in the midst of doing something else, but I made a U-turn and came right down. It helps our people. It shows that in the worst of times we're there for each other. A lot of times, people don't see that. It's sad that it takes tragedy to make it happen, but better late than never."

"We came to rock for the serious cause," Styles P said. "I said, 'Count me in.' It shows that despite everything, when it's a serious cause, people can get together and take care of their own."

Styles had an especially gripping set, highlighted by the anthem "I'm Black." Bleek stuck to his street and club bangers like "Is That Your Chick," and Remy Ma garnered "oohs and ahhs" with her freestyles.

Chappelle's stint onstage was brief. After he spoke, he stayed to watch Dead Prez perform, then hopped himself right out of the building. He had remained in his dressing room for most of the night prior to hitting the stage. Backstage was busy, though: You could see people like Lords of the Underground's Doitall shaking hands with Jeru the Damaja while David Banner took pictures with the Beatnuts.

Banner has been especially engrossed in relief efforts over the past few weeks. On Saturday in Atlanta, his Heal the Hood Foundation spearheaded a charity concert in Atlanta where acts like Young Jeezy, Nelly, T.I., Jermaine Dupri and 112 performed for 10,000 people at the Philips Arena (see "David Banner, Nelly, Busta Call On Atlanta Crowd To Heal The Hood"). Proceeds from that event go to Katrina victims as well.

"[The South] is home for me," T.I. — also known as the King of the South — said on Saturday in Atlanta. "But even more important, I felt obligated to get involved. Me being the king and putting that title on myself, I should be the first in line to do the most."

"It's more or less a unity thing," Nelly said Saturday in the ATL. "I think everybody wants to do something. Nobody knows exactly what to do, so everybody is doing a little bit of everything."

On Monday night, Banner was reflecting on his surreal experience with the hurricane-relief efforts.

"September 17 will go down as one of the proudest moments of my life. The Heal the Hood concert: 17 major artists. This is probably one of the biggest urban relief concerts of our time. Whether it was a small part or a big part, it's a blessing to be a part of it. To see all them people out there, I was losing my breath. I know people are hurting right now, but we have to be proud of ourselves. To say that we are urban artists and we pulled something together with no help from corporations — come on, that's something to be proud of."

To find out what you can do to help provide relief to victims of Katrina, head to think MTV's hurricane relief page.

• David Banner's Heal The Hood Hurricane Benefit Concert At B.B. Kings - 09.19.2005

• David Banner
• Memphis Bleek

Memphis Bleek (file)
Photo: Roc-A-Fella

A federal judge in Florida has dismissed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against Memphis Bleek and Trick Daddy that had accused the pair of lifting part of a song called "Around Here" for Bleek's "Round Here" on his M.A.D.E. album.

Judge Paul Huck wrote in his summary judgment, filed Monday, that the Ft. Lauderdale rap group Jack Boyz, who filed the suit, did not sufficiently prove that Bleek (real name Malik Cox) had copied the chorus from their "Around Here."

Bleek claimed he wrote the lyrics to the chorus and the first verse of "Round Here" in the recording studio in June 2002, releasing it in December 2003 (see "Memphis Bleek Gets Past Bleak Period, Now Has It M.A.D.E."). The song was later nominated for Single of the Year, Collaboration at the 2004 Source Awards.

Jack Boyz, who recorded their song in November 2001 but did not release it, said Bleek and Trick Daddy (real name Maurice Young) had access to the tune since it was played often during Jack Boyz shows in South Florida during the latter part of 2001 and in 2002 as well as on a pirate radio station in the area. They claim to have seen Trick Daddy at shows on five occasions when they performed the song.

According to his testimony, Trick Daddy met with Bleek on three occasions in South Florida during that time period, and the Jack Boyz claimed that the timing of those meetings allowed for the inference that when they met, they discussed the song.

Jack Boyz didn't claim infringement of the verses, rhythm, harmony or general structure of their song, focusing on the use of the words "round here" in the chorus and the structure of the chorus. The court decided, however, that the phrase is commonplace and unoriginal and therefore unprotected, just as the phrase "clap your hands" would be.

Memphis Bleek's label rep and lawyer did not return calls for comment.

• Memphis Bleek
• Trick Daddy

Jay-Z and the Roc-A-Fella fam on the cover of <i>XXL</i>
Photo: Clay Patrick McBride for XXL Magazine

Peedi Crakk is wearing a suit like Tom Brokaw's, he's got an ultra-proper inflection in his voice reminiscent of Ted Koppel's, and he's holding an MTV News microphone with all the on-camera swagger of Tavis Smiley. Ron Burgundy's got nothing on him.

"We're live on MTV News at the XXL photo shoot. This is your anchorman Peedi Crakk, Crakk Daddy, signing on," he says in a deep monotone as Kanye West walks in.

"Yeah, what up, Kanyeezee live!" he continues, not breaking his faux-newsman character. "Kanyeezee, ladies and gentlemen!"

Peedi and Kanye join Foxy Brown, Memphis Bleek, DJ Clue, the Young Gunz, NBA All-Star LeBron James, 17-year-old singer Teairra Mari, and the head of the family — Jay-Z — for an XXL cover shoot at a studio in New York's Chelsea Piers.

"It's the whole Roc family and a presidential theme, that's why I'm looking classy and classic," Teairra Mari, the young lady Jay has dubbed "The Princess of the Roc," said of the shoot's concept as she stood in a mock Oval Office wearing a black veil, white blouse and black skirt. "It's a very '60s-ish vibe, it's JFK and the whole cabinet. It's great."

"It's the first time we're taking the Roc's new generation — it's sort of a re-launching of the Roc," says Jay-Z, dressed in a swank blue suit. "I just wanted to show the artists, and show the reach with LeBron James."

Jay says James' inclusion in the shoot is just a show of solidarity between chums and nothing more — especially not a business relationship.

"It's absolutely no Def Jam Sports or anything like that," Jay says, quashing a rumor that he might be managing LeBron. "No tampering going on; just a good friend of mine. He's been a friend since before he was in the NBA. If you look back on the tapes, I'm there at the McDonald's High School [All-American] games, supporting him. We're just friends, we have no business dealings at all. I can't do it because I have an interest: I sit on the board of the [New Jersey] Nets. It's a conflict."

Jay also clarified that LeBron will not be signing to the Roc as a rapper or, for that matter, rhyming at all: The superstar is sticking to the court. "I want him to be the greatest," Jay says. "My job is to keep him focused, not to take him outside of his arena."

The side of the studio where Jay and company are getting dressed is hectic but loose. Freeway is walking around wearing a dress shirt, tie and his boxers; stylists are frantically scurrying over to the Gunnerz for last-minute tie changes; Kanye is playing Common's new video for LeBron on his laptop; and Memphis Bleek is searching for a cool hat to rock. Meanwhile, on the Oval Office set on the other side of the studio, you can see various members taking flicks while songs from Kanye's forthcoming Late Registration and Foxy Brown's Black Roses play at full volume (see "Kanye Previews New LP, Modestly Exclaims: 'This Is Killing Everything Out There!' " and "Jay-Z Jumps On Three Tracks For Foxy Brown's New Album")

	Click for photos of the Roc-A-Fella family

From the way Jay raps along and bobs his head to the music, it's obvious Mr. Prez gives his approval.

"Kanye is his own institution," Hova says. "He knows what he wants and he has pretty good taste. Like, when it comes to singles, he'll come and we'll discuss what should be next, but as far as music-making — if I hear something I might say, 'You should add a little bit of choir right there' — but as far as music goes, that's what he does. That's his strong point. So I just leave him alone. He does the whole thing."

No one at the Roc, with the exception of Jay himself, has gotten busier lately than Kanye West, who will be featured on the front cover of the mag along with Jay, LeBron and Foxy (the rest of the crew has been relegated to the interior of the gatefold cover).

"Ever since I got my [Roc] chain, I felt like I was in the game," Kanye says before diving into lunch. "We got this shot where it's me and Jay, it's like the famous shot where Kennedy is talking to his brother. That feels like, 'Damn, I'm right here. This is Jay, I'm right next to him.' It's an incredible feeling. It's overwhelming. I got this song, the first song on the album, that says, 'I think I died in the accident, 'cause this must be heaven.'

"Sometime I wonder, 'Damn, am I still on earth?' " West continues. " 'Is this real life I'm living?' I can make things happen. I want a video like this and it happens. I want my artists to be successful — John Legend goes platinum, Common is a success."

Shooting the cover of XXL with her entire musical family was surreal experience for Teairra as well.

"I can't believe that, this time just last year, I was looking at these people on TV," Mari, whose debut single, "Make Her Feel Good," has become a hit, marveled. "Now I'm here, and they're embracing me. It feels great."

"We're making history," says Peedi — who, since the shoot, has changed his name to Peedi Peedi — as he stands with Freeway, who is now fully dressed in a black suit, hat and shades ("I just got fresh to death," Free smiles). "This is the front cover, the new Roc-A-Fella family. Jay is controlling the whole set. We're here representing, promoting. I feel like a hip-hop hero."

The Roc issue of XXL is on some newsstands now, but hits nationally next week.

• Jay-Z
• Kanye West
• Foxy Brown
• Peedi Crakk
• Memphis Bleek

System of a Down's <I>Mezmerize</I>
Photo: Sony

On the heels of a frenzied 10-city tour, System of a Down will give rabid fans the first taste of their double album with Mezmerize, hitting stores this week.

Packed with System's patented manic, thrashing rock, the 37-minute record (see "System Of A Down Album Preview: Band Pulls No Punches With The Pummeling Mezmerize") is the first half of Mezmerize/Hypnotize, with the latter portion set for release in the fall. The first half comes on the heels of its debut single, the hotly political "B.Y.O.B."

While System make the metalheads scream, American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers will likely induce squeals and shrieks from equally frenzied pop fans. The 13-track disc features the show's top 12 contestants covering new songs and old classics including Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want to Be" performed by Bo Bice; Jessica Sierra's rendition of "Total Eclipse of the Heart," originally sung by Bonnie Tyler; and the Broadway hit "My Funny Valentine" as interpreted by Constantine Maroulis.

Jay-Z fans hungry for new material from the "retired" rapper would do well to check out Memphis Bleek's new LP, 534. The track "Dear Summer," produced by Just Blaze, is featured on the MC's follow-up to 2003's M.A.D.E.

Like the hugely successful Now That's What I Call Music! series, the 6-year-old Totally Hits set provides pop fans with a ready-made top 40 mix CD. Featured on Totally Hits 2005 are tracks including "Since U Been Gone" (Kelly Clarkson), "Bring Em Out" (T.I.) and "Shut Up!" (Simple Plan).

Juliette Lewis makes her foray into rock and roll official this week with the release of Juliette & the Licks' You're Speaking My Language, while rock veterans Def Leppard release Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection.

Insane Clown Posse drop The Calm one year after the two-part Hell's Pit, while on a somewhat mellower note, Mercury Rev release their latest album, The Secret Migration, full of symphonic and piano-driven instrumentals. Brian Jonestown Massacre release the double-disc We Are the Radio.

Also out this week are albums by Natalie (Natalie), Idiot Pilot (Strange We Should Meet Here), Junior M.A.F.I.A. (Riot Musik), Toby Keith (Honkytonk University), Van Morrison (Magic Time), Sound of Urchin (The Diamond) and Huey Lewis and the News (Live at 25).

Out Tuesday, May 17:

• Miss Angel - That's the Way I Tumble (Electro-Fi)
• Chris Beard - Live Wire (NorthernBlues)
• Breaking Point - Beautiful Disorder (Wind-Up)
• Brian Jonestown Massacre - We Are the Radio (Tee Pee)
• Clearlake - Wonder if the Snow Will Settle EP (Domino)
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  Read: " 'Retired' Jay-Z Releasing New Track Via Memphis Bleek LP"
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• Natalie - Natalie (Motown)
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• Various artists - American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers (RCA)
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May 24:

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  Read: "Cartoon Gorillaz Put A Muzzle On Danger Mouse, Damon Albarn"
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May 31:

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June 7:

• Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business (A&M)
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  Read: "Coldplay Album Preview: X&Y A Complex Stadium-Rocker"
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Jay-Z (file)
Photo: Ray Tamarra/Getty Images

Jay-Z set radio station Hot 97 on fire a couple of months ago when he debuted the rhymes for his song "Dear Summer" on the air, and now Roc-A-Fella has leaked a studio version to mixtapes and made plans for an official release.

The song's producer, Just Blaze, says if you were surprised when Jay rapped the song on the radio, you should've been there when Hov rapped the record for the first time over a year ago (see "President Jay-Z Feels 'That Artist Pain,' Readies First Release Under His Watch").

"First time I heard it was when he did the last S. Carter [mixtape]," Blaze explained. "[He was rapping] to that beat for the tennis shoe commercial Green Lantern did the beat for. When he finished the song, [engineer Young] Guru went to stop the beat and Jay was like, 'Nah, keep it going.' He started spitting that rhyme out of nowhere. So it just sat there forever and then he spit it that one day on the radio. Then he was like, 'I want to do it as a song, but I have nowhere to put it.' "

Turned out Jay had the perfect outlet in his younger homie, Memphis Bleek. Back in '98 on Jay's Vol. 2 ... Hard Knock Life, Memphis had a solo record called "Hand It Down (Intro)" that served as the intro to the album. Jay decided to return the favor by letting "Dear Summer" serve as the intro to Bleek's upcoming 534 LP.

"He's just bringing it full circle," Blaze said. "The record is so crazy we was going to put it out the day after he went to radio, but Jay was like, 'Nah, chill.' Doing that record was kinda like old times. It was nobody in the room but me, Guru and Jay. I could tell it was getting to [Jay] because he had to leave. He was sitting in the studio listening to it over and over and he said, 'I'm outta here. I know what y'all are trying to do.'

"That's the running joke," he continued. "We keep trying to get him to come back. Obviously, the artist bug is still there. If it wasn't, he wouldn't even be in the booth. It's not like he needs to do the intro to Bleek's album. When you're an artist, you're always gonna be an artist even if that's not your main job anymore."

Just said there were certain beats he would save or even tailor-make for Jay back when Jay was actively recording, but now that Hov has declared retirement, Blaze said he doesn't do that anymore — or at least not as much.

"Who knows what's gonna happen?" Just said. "When I see the artist bug coming out, all I can say is, 'I see where he's going' and hope for the best. Me, as a producer, that's my favorite artist to work with. We make really good records together."

For now, though, Just has to find a new favorite. The producer has been in the lab concentrating on the debut of Saigon, the first artist on his Fort Knox Entertainment imprint. Saigon is expected to drop the album later this year.

Besides Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek's 534 also has guest spots from the Young Gunz, M.O.P. and new singer Denim.

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