Young Jeezy attends his <i>Vibe</i> magazine cover debute party in New York City on Tuesday
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — It seems to be all good between Young Jeezy and Vibe magazine once again. Last week, the ATL Trap Star turned hoodspeak guru said the publication misquoted him in his current cover story, but that's all water under the bridge now.

On Tuesday night, the Vibe helped Young put on for New York City, hosting a party commemorating the "Real Rap" issue that featured the Snowman on the very front. T.I. and various members of his Grand Hustle family, in addition to Nas, Swizz Beatz, Jermaine Dupri, Irv Gotti and Fabolous, turned out at Manhattan's Hotel Gansevoort.

"This is real big right now," Jeezy said in the VIP area as bottles were passed around. Midway through the night, Young, Fabolous and Loso's brother Paul Cain shared a toast. Later Nas and Swizz Beatz had what seemed to be a deep conversation, while the likes of Queen Pen and Vibe editor in chief Danyel Smith congratulated the man of honor.

Gotti hung out just footsteps away from Dupri, while Bad Boy president Harve Pierre laughed with his staff. Although the DJ threw on popular jams such as "A Milli," Nas' "Hero" and Jeezy's "Put On," not too much dancing took place. The spot was jam-packed, but the revelers still managed to preserve their sexy mingling and drinking. With no roof on the venue (well, aside from the ones over a handful of cabanas), the summer humidity was the elephant in the room that everyone tried to keep ignore. Outside the party, you could hear the music on the city street as you walked past.

"This whole place smells like Patrón," one of the bouncers said as the place emptied out.

• Nas, Fabolous, Swizz Beatz Celebrate Young Jeezy's 'Vibe' Cover

• Young Jeezy
• T.I.
• Nas
• Swizz Beatz
• Queen Pen

Queen Pen
Photo: Motown

For Queen Pen, coming back after an almost three-year hiatus has made for a tiring, but welcome, journey. "It's hard," said the rapper, whose Conversations With Queen is scheduled to arrive May 22. "I've been doing a lot of promo stuff and been in the studio. I had six and a half weeks to finish the body of my album. Between all of this ripping and running, I still got to come back and take care of my kids." Pen's family has much to do with why we haven't heard much from her in the past few years. In 1997 she debuted on Blackstreet's hit "No Diggity" and dropped her first LP, My Melody. Produced mostly by Teddy Riley, the LP spawned the hit "All My Love" and her signature cut "A Party Ain't a Party," which is still popular in clubs today. Yet after she became pregnant with her third child, the Brooklyn MC decided that raising her kids outweighed the pursuit of superstardom.

"Family comes first," the single mother of three explained. "That's why I took a break. I wanted my daughter to know who I was. I ain't want to just push out a baby and start working immediately, hitting the road and putting in a lot of hours, and then not have that bond with my child." Even so, "I miss the stage," she said. "I miss performing." The Queen's hiatus was almost longer than she wanted it to be. Signed to Teddy Riley's imprint Lil' Man, her contract became property of parent company Interscope once Lil' Man folded. "[Riley] was telling me, 'You leave [Interscope] and I'll sign you to my new situation,' " Pen, 28, said. "Me being a family-orientated person, I got off and signed with Teddy. Then he decided not to do his new [label] deal. I was left out in the cold." With no recording home, Pen went back to square one and began shopping a deal. "This industry is so tricky and these people are so funny, I didn't know what to expect," she said. "But I always knew if push came to shove, I probably would end up with Teddy. I would've waited for him to get a deal. But it's hard when you got kids. I got bills.

"I was stressed," she continued. "But before making records, I was surviving with no job. I found a way. I would just had to go back to my survival tactics if I didn't have a deal." Lucky for Pen, she has friends in high places. She was offered a contract by her pal Kedar Massenburg, who happens to be the head of Motown.

"[Motown] was willing to give me another chance," the performer said. "I grew up with Kedar, and we have a good relationship. It's not a lot of artists that have a relationship with the CEO of their label where the CEO sits up in the studio with you all night. Where I could just walk in his office and tell him about a problem. " The resulting Conversations With Queen has a much rougher edge than My Melody. "Baby's Daddy" finds her putting an ex in check, and she exchanges verses with Prodigy and Cam'ron on "I Rep." "This trip around, I was able to show a side of me they didn't get the first time," she says. "People knew I was [hardcore] as a person, but they ain't know me for that on record." On the album's first single, "I Got Cha," Pen spits venom at perpetrating females, but she denies any assumptions that her lyrics are directed toward Foxy Brown. (The two were rumored to have had an altercation at a music convention.) "That was a few years ago. Nothing's up between us," Pen said. "I ain't seen her. If something was up, then you would hear about it. People know me. I don't do battles on record; you make a record about me, I make a record about you. Sooner or later I'm going to have to punch you in your face. If it was really something, they would hear about us scrapping in the streets." Like many of her peers, Pen hopes to segue from music to acting. Later this year she'll appear in the independent films "Murda Muzik" (starring Mobb Deep), the comedy "Family Reunion" and the action flick "Ladies Night." The rapper also will have a collection of her short stories, which she described as "ghetto Harlequin romances," released this summer. The book is being published by Massenburg, who has already optioned movie rights.

• Queen Pen

Now it's the ladies turn.

After Mase scored a hit with the single "24 Hours To Live," some high profile ladies of hip-hop are prepared to try their hand at it.

An all-female version of that track is currently in the works, with Queen Pen having already laid down her vocal, and Li'l Kim, Foxy Brown, and Missy Elliot all slated to participate.

There's no word yet on when that track might surface.

Pen, by the way, has also recently worked with Wyclef Jean on a remix of "All The Girls" which is due out this summer.

• Missy Elliott
• Foxy Brown
• Lil' Kim
• Mase
• Queen Pen

Following up the success of their Grammy Award-Winning sophomore album, "Another Level," Blackstreet is back in the studio to record some new material for their new record.

In the meantime, Blackstreet founder Teddy Riley has been busy re-mixing Janet Jackson's "I Get Lonely," as well as contributing a song, "Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" -- featuring Lamenga Kafi and Beverly Crowder, to the upcoming "Hav Plenty" soundtrack.

But as Riley prepares to reassemble Blackstreet, he's already tapped Queen Pen, who appeared on the group's smash single "No Diggity," [2MB QuickTime] to sing on at least one track.

"We're getting ready to do this song," Queen Pen said in a recent interview with the MTV Radio Network, "it's like another Blackstreet meets Queen Pen song like 'No Diggity.' Teddy is ready, he's done it again with this one. The group is working on the new album and Teddy is putting a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this new Blackstreet album."

Look for the as-yet-untitled third album from Blackstreet to arrive in stores this fall.

• Blackstreet
• Queen Pen

Queen Pen would like none other than No Doubt's Gwen Stefani to sing on a remix of "True," a track off of Pen's debut album "My Melody."

"I love No Doubt," Queen Pen recently told our friends in the MTV Radio Network. "I love her voice. So we were juggling between her and Bush, so we're still juggling. Gwen if you're watching, please do it." [2MB Quicktime]

No Doubt, which happens to share record labels with Queen Pen, is working on tracks for its next album right now, and spokespeople say that the idea is just that, an idea, at this point. Stefani has been in a collaborative mood lately, and she recently teamed with Brian Setzer to record a cover of the old Elvis Presley/Ann-Margret song "You're The Boss."

As for Queen Pen, she's also just recorded her part in an all female version of "24 Hours To Live," originally recorded by Mase, the Lox, and DMX. There's no word yet on who will join Pen on the track.

• No Doubt
• Queen Pen

The history of women in hip-hop, from Roxanne Shante through Queen Latifah and beyond, is celebrated in a new 3-disc set from the reissue kings at Rhino Records, entitled "Fat Beats and Bra Straps."

As we previously reported (see "Female Hip-Hop Pioneers Featured In New Collection"), the album includes classic cuts, battle rhymes and even tracks from new female artists. Someone who could end up on a future edition of "Fat Beats and Bra Straps" is Queen Pen, who's one of the hottest rappers on the scene right now with her song, "Party Ain't a Party." [800k QuickTime]

The single is from her debut album, "My Melody," which was issued on the label run by her producer, Teddy Riley of Blackstreet, and Pen recently discussed the inspiration for the song with MTV News.

"The party is not over until you run through the club," Pen said, "until you get that last little bit of liquor before they call last call and you run through the club... [500k QuickTime] I don't care what time it is when I get to the club, I'm gonna run through the whole party since it's not over, cause I'll be the last one walking out."

• Queen Pen

Queen Pen, a prot&eamp;g&eamp; of New Jack Swing pioneer Teddy Riley, is making some noise of her own with her debut album, "My Melody," and single "Party Ain't A Party" [800k QuickTime].

But life hasn't been all that easy for Pen, who's been a single mother since she was 16. Now, nine years later, the rapper looks back in wonder at how she managed to overcome the dangers of street life and the friends she lost along the way.

"I just really can't believe it yet," Pen told MTV News. "I went from struggling in the streets as a single mother, from struggling and cashing in food stamps, and hustling to put food on the table, to this [900k QuickTime]. I look back and say, man so many of my friends that was with me down that line are not here no more. It's like, I'm like one of the last ones standing."

On "My Melody," Pen doesn't stand alone, and artists such as Me'Shell NdegéOcello, the Lost Boys and Phil Collins all make guest appearances on the record, while the unlikely duo of boxer Mike Tyson and comedian Steve Harvey have cameos in the video for "Party."

Queen Pen just finished up a tour with a concert last weekend at North Carolina State University.

• Queen Pen

Riley has produced Queen Pen's debut album called "My Melody," which has guest appearances by Me'Shell NdegéOcello, Mr. Cheeks of the Lost Boyz, and Phil Collins. The first video is for "All My Love," 750k QuickTime] a track written by Queen Pen's Brooklyn buddy, Jay-Z.

Queen Pen recently took a few moments to explain the story behind the single to MTV News.

"'All My Love' is about the first guy -- it's a true story -- the first guy that I liked when I lived in Brownsville projects.

"Like I said, I can only explain my stories a certain way 'cuz I'm from the ghetto, but I pick topics that everyone can understand. And everybody, I don't care how old you are or how young you are, but everyone had their person that they really, really liked." [850k QuickTime]

• Blackstreet
• Jay-Z
• Queen Pen

September 4 [13:00 EDT] -- According to the MTV Radio Network, Teddy Riley has nearly finalized his deal with Interscope Records for his own label imprint, Lil' Man Records.

Once the ink is dry, Lil' Man will release the debut album by Teddy's, protégé Queen Pen. The Queen-Riley connection goes back to the Blackstreet hit "No Diggity," which showcased Queen's talents.

Queen will say "thank you" to Riley on her first single, "Man Behind The Music," which should arrive in late September. Teddy worked very closely with Queen on the album, but according to her, he also let her do her own thing.

"If he really disagrees with something, he'll tell me, but he really gives me freedom with my writing," Queen told MTV Radio.

Other contributors to the album include Jay Z. and a number of big surprise guests. Riley and Pen are currently in the Virginia Beach area finishing up the album, and should wrap it up in two weeks. It should hit stores in November.

• Blackstreet
• Queen Pen