Pink
Photo: Jive Records

She's not afraid to take on "Stupid Girls," but when it comes to album sales, Pink is no match for the likes of country's latest darlings, Rascal Flatts. In just one week, the Flatts managed to sell nearly 722,000 copies of Me & My Gang to land at #1 on the next Billboard albums chart.

The band has hit the top before — 2004's Feels Like Today opened at #1 with 201,000 in sales and has remained in the top 40 ever since — but this time the Flatts have earned 2006's best-selling debut, beating out T.I.'s King, which sold 522,000 copies to open at #1 on the previous chart (and slips to #3 on last week's 184,000 scans).

Debuting at #2 is the 21st installment in the popular Now That's What I Call Music! compilation franchise. That disc — which features Mariah Carey, the Pussycat Dolls, Chris Brown, Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Fall Out Boy and Gorillaz — racked up close to 334,000 scans.

The top spot was a long shot for Pink, whose fourth studio outing, I'm Not Dead, hit stores last week. With sales reported at just over 126,000, the album bows at #6, behind Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: Reflected (in at #5 with week-two sales of 128,000) and the soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical," which won over an additional 181,000 fans its 13th week in stores. I'm Not Dead's #6 spot marks Pink's highest-charting opening. Try This (2003) debuted at #9 with 147,000-plus scans, and Missundaztood (2001) bowed at #8 with 220,000 sales — before going on to sell more than 5.2 million copies.

James Blunt's Back to Bedlam stays put at #7, with sales at 64,000 plus, while Shakira's Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 is down two spots to #8 with 63,000 scans. The Charm, the latest offering from Bubba Sparxxx, checks in at #9, debuting with sales of more than 51,000. Alan Jackson's Precious Memories rounds out the top 10 with 49,000 units sold.

Record stores across America were inundated with new releases last week, and many of those fresh albums strike Billboard gold after notching impressive week-one sales showings. The Flaming Lips' At War With the Mystics debuts at #11 with 48,000 scans, while Operation: Mindcrime II, the sequel to Queensrÿche's 1988 classic Operation: Mindcrime, follows at #14 with close to 44,000 copies sold. The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock, a career-spanning collection from the hair metal legends, debuts at #17 with 40,000 scans, and Disneymania, Vol. 4, a compilation featuring cuts from the Christina Aguilera, Jesse McCartney and the Cheetah Girls, opens at #21 with sales nearing 39,000.

Former Smiths frontman Morrissey's Ringleader of the Tormentors pops up at #27 with nearly 34,000 copies sold, followed by Italian metal act Lacuna Coil, who sold only six fewer copies of Karmacode to take #28. Blue October's Foiled opens at #29, bested by the Coil by only eight copies. The new one from pop-punkers Hawk Nelson, Smile, It's the End of the World, claims the #75 slot with sales of more than 14,000. R&B crooner Van Hunt's On the Jungle Floor hits the chart at #123 with 8,000 in sales. The Vines' Vision Valley debuts at #136 with 8,000 scans, and Placebo's Meds comes in at #180 after moving 6,000 copies. Massive Attack's Collected bows at #198 with more than 5,000 copies sold.

Check out "Pink: Not Dead, Not Stupid" for the singer's inside look at I'm Not Dead.

• P!nk
• Rascal Flatts
• The Flaming Lips
• Bubba Sparxxx

Pink's <i>I'm Not Dead</i>
Photo: La Face

Dead Alive: Proving she's got much more than just a pulse, Pink rails against politicians and a culture that breeds bulimia and rampant materialism on her fourth record, I'm Not Dead. The Indigo Girls sing along on "Dear Mr. President," while the singer's father appears on the hidden track "I Have Seen the Rain." Get totally Pink'd with the DualDisc, which has a promo clip and making-of segments for her single "Stupid Girls," plus interview footage and a teaser for her forthcoming "Live in Europe" DVD.

Flaming Tongues Tied: And if you don't think yours will be too, try saying track names like "It Overtakes Me/ The Stars Are So Big, I Am So Small ... Do I Stand a Chance?" or "Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung" 10 times fast. If you're looking for a longer kiss from the Lips, pick up the special edition of At War With the Mystics, which is backed with a bonus DVD featuring extra songs, videos and, feeding the outlandish band's surround-sound addiction, select mystical tracks in 5.1 stereo.

He's No Circus Clown: Morrissey looks innocent enough on the cover of his Ringleader of the Tormentors, dressed in a suit, rolling his eyes and playing the violin. But with some unusually lewd lyrics — if "There are explosive kegs between my legs" doesn't make you blush, other lines on the record will — Moz is dirtier than ever this time around. The limited deluxes have a bonus DVD with videos for "You Have Killed Me," "The Youngest Was the Most Loved" and "In the Future When All Is Well," plus additional behind-the-scenes stuff.

A Monkey Chases Its Tail: They've pulled off a virtual tour, have turned themselves into holograms and are even planning a mobile-phone adventure, but first things first, the Gorillaz have a DVD to eke out. The remarkably straightforward "Demon Days Live at the Manchester Opera House" finds the group running through last year's Demon Days track list with De La Soul and Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays, capping off the affair with the B-side "Hong Kong" and "Latin Simone," from 2001's Gorillaz.

Gorillaz's "Dare" doesn't only appear again this week on Now That's What I Call Music! 21 — Mariah, Chris Brown, Black Eyed Peas and Rihanna also crop up on that set — it also rears its head on The DFA Remixes: Chapter One. The electro-post-punk whizzes pull together that track plus their remixes of Chemical Brothers, Le Tigre, Fischerspooner and Hot Chip tunes for the comp. Chapter Two, due this summer, will feature their touch-ups on songs by N.E.R.D., Goldfrapp and Nine Inch Nails.

Speaking of which, DFA's remix of NIN's "Hand That Feeds" is tucked onto Every Day Is Exactly the Same, a single that's been beefed up to EP status. The set leads off with the title track and has a remix of the same tune by Interpol's Carlos D and Sam Fogarino, but there are two more songs on the set, both of which are presented, er, twofold: the DFA and straight mixes of "Hand That Feeds," plus retreatments of "Only" by El-P and Richard X.

Finding nice company in this wild-eyed pack are trip-hop pioneers and remix junkies Massive Attack, who, like Gorillaz, have also collaborated with Madonna recently. MA take a look back with Collected, and while fans will only find a new single on the standard release, the limited-edition version has a bonus DualDisc granting a trove of previously unissued tracks, rarities and all the collective's videos to date.

Vision Valley, the new album from the very-ape Vines, has no special adornments, and the song titles are light on cheer too: Tracks include "Nothin's Comin', " "Don't Listen to the Radio," "F--- Yeah," "Futuretarded" and "Dope Train."

Last but not least, as smooth as R&B crooner Van Hunt may be, his sophomore effort is called On the Jungle Floor and puts some rock into his repertoire. Songs include "Daredevil, Baby," "Priest or Police" and "The Thrill of This Love."

With Very Special Guest: Three artists are in pretty far-out company this week. Unicorns offshoot project Islands recruit the two guys who invented a type of video game music called Mario Paint Music Maker, plus a bass player who hails from Togo and James R. Guthrie, grandson of Woody Guthrie, for their Return to the Sea debut. Folk instrumentalist John McCutcheon has an even more esteemed guest list for his Mightier Than the Sword, roping in a U.S. poet laureate, Pulitzer Prize nominee and National Humanities Medal winner. But jam masters Umphrey's McGee might feature the most badass outside help of all on their Safety in Numbers, even if it only consists of one person: Huey Lewis.

Song Title of the Week:

"Jesus Christ R'n R" from Dir en Grey's Withering to Death

Other notables:

Bubba Sparxxx's The Charm: After being on the down low for the past few years, Bubba's Charm-ed to have shifted over to the Purple Ribbon imprint run by Outkast's Big Boi. And he's hoping for an extra boost in light of featured spots by Ying Yang Twins, Frankie J, Petey Pablo, Sleepy Brown and Killer Mike, plus production by Timbaland, Organized Noize, Big Boi and more.

The Coup's "Best Coup DVD Ever": The unapologetically political Oakland rap assemblage try to get equally radical onscreen, with videos for "Fats Cats & Bigga Fish," "Not Yet Free" and "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night." Filling out the disc are interviews with Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funkstress, plus a bonus film called "Eating Forever: A South African Hip Hop Travelog," shot during the Black August hip-hop tour.

Victory at Sea's All Your Things Are Gone and the New Orleans Social Club's Sing Me Back Home: What do veteran Boston indie-rockers and a handful of New Orleans soul legends have in common? They've both lost their homes in recent months. A fire destroyed Victory at Sea drummer Dave Norton's house, which doubles as the band's recording space. (To make matters worse, their violin player, Taro Hatanaka, has been unable to re-enter the States because of visa problems.) Closer to the equator, Ivan Neville, founding members of the Meters and other bayou greats have formed NOSC as a way to cope with the Katrina devastation. Their cover of John Fogerty's anti-war anthem "Fortunate Son" is especially poignant, while you may have already heard "Sing Me Back Home," which the Neville Brothers recorded in Austin, Texas, six weeks after Katrina.

New Releases:

• 46 Short - Truth Denied (TKO)
• 5 Browns - No Boundaries (DualDisc due also available; RCA)
• Abysmal Dawn - From Ashes (Crash)
• Aereogramme - Seclusion (Sonic Unyon)
• All-Stokz - A Bronx Tale (Paperchase/ Warlock)
• American Princes - Less and Less (Yep Roc)
• Angel Blake - Angel Black (Metal Blade)
• Daryl Anger's Republic of Strings - Generation Nation (Compass)
• Barnes - The Last Shall Be First (Sugar Water)
• Bird Show - Lightning Ghost (Kranky)
• Bitter: Sweet - The Mating Game (digipak; Quango)
• Blackmore's Night - Village Lanterne (Steamhammer/ SPV)
• Blue October - Foiled (enhanced; Universal/ Motown)

Buy Now: Foiled (Universal/ Motown)
• Erin Boheme - What Love Is (Concord)
• Danielle Bollinger - When the Broken Hearted Love Again (Esntion Silver)
• Anouar Brahem - Le Voyage de Sahar (ECM)
• Darius Brooks - My Soul (Journey)
• Francesco Cafiso Quartet - Happy Time (CAM Jazz)
• Caliban - The Undying Darkness (Abacus)

Buy Now: The Undying Darkness (Abacus)
• Concretes - In Colour (Astralwerks)
• John Corbett - John Corbett (Fun Bone)
• Carl Cox - Second Sign (Koch)

Buy Now: Second Sign (Koch)
• Guy Davis - Skunkmello (Red House)
• Dead to Fall - The Phoenix Throne (Victory)
• Bob Delevante - Columbus and the Colossal Mistake (Relay)
• Dir en Grey - Withering to Death (with bonus DVD; Warcon)
• Dirty Sanchez - Dirty Sanchez (Cleopatra)
• DJ Crucial - Test Presses and Dub Plates (F5)
• Dmitri From Paris and DJ Muro - Super Disco Friends (Headphone Heroes)
• Dog Fashion Disco - Adultery (Rotten)

Buy Now: Adultery (Rotten)
• Lila Downs - La Cantina (Narada)
• Enablers - Output Negative Space (Neurot)
• Evergrey - Monday Morning Apocalypse (Inside Out)
• Facedowninsh - NPON (Relapse)
• Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics (special edition with DVD also available; Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Flaming Lips Go To War Against Britney, Gwen On New LP"

Buy Now: At War With the Mystics (Warner Bros.)
• Flower Kings - Paradox Hotel (Inside Out)
• Radney Foster - This World We Live In (Dualtone)
• Mimi Fox - Perpetually Hip (two CDs; Favored Nations)
• Fragments of Unbecoming - Sterling Black Icon (Metal Blade)
• Moncef Genoud - Aqua (Savoy Jazz)
• Girl Authority - Girl Authority (Zöe)
• Governor Washington - Son of Pain (Atlantic)
• Gregor Samsa - 55:12 (Kora)
• G-Rod - Tha Movement (Warlock)
• Hawk Nelson - Smile, It's the End of the World (Tooth & Nail)
• Head Control System - Murder Nature (The End)
• Hell Promise - Aim for Hell (RocketStar)
• Van Hunt - On the Jungle Floor (Capitol)

Buy Now: On the Jungle Floor (Capitol)
• Irving - Death in the Garden Blood on the Flowers (Eenie Meenie)
• Islands - Return to the Sea (digipak; Equator)
• Shooter Jennings - Electric Rodeo (Universal South)
• Lacuna Coil - Karmacode (enhanced; Century Media)

Buy Now: Karmacode (Century Media)
• Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch & Fats Kaplin - Lost John Dean (Compass)
• Philip E. Karnats - Pleasesuite (Good)
• Tommy Keene - Crashing the Ether (digipak; 1130)
• Paula Kelley - Some Sucker's Life, Part 1 (Stop Pop & Roll)
• Sonya Kitchell - Words Came Back to Me (Velour)
• Tony Levin - Resonator (Narada)

Buy Now: Resonator (Narada)
• Eric Lindell - Change in the Weather (Alligator)
• Little Killers - Real Good One (Glen Blandsten)
• Charles Lloyd, Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland - Sangam (ECM)
• Jeremiah Lockwood - American Primitive (digipak; Vee-Ron)
• Nils Lofgren - Sacred Weapon (Vision Music)

Buy Now: Sacred Weapon (Vision Music)
• Lotus - The Strength of Weak Ties (Harmonized)
• Pat Martino - Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery (Blue Note)
• MC Eiht - Affiliated (enhanced; Paid in Full/ Koch)
• Donny McCaslin - Soar (Sunny Side)
• John McCutcheon - Mightier Than the Sword (Appalsongs)
• John Medeski - Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz Radio Broadcast (Jazz Alliance)
• Mellowdrone - Box (Red Ink)
• Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors (limited deluxe edition with DVD also available; Attack/ Sanctuary)

Buy Now: Ringleader of the Tormentors (Attack/ Sanctuary)
• Matt Nathanson - At the Point (digipak; High Wire)
• Nazi Dogs - Chase the Man (TKO)
• Need to Breathe - Daylight (Atlantic)
• New Orleans Social Club - Sing Me Back Home (enhanced; Burgundy)
• Nine Inch Nails - Every Day Is Exactly the Same (EP; Nothing/ Interscope)

Buy Now: Every Day Is Exactly the Same (Nothing/ Interscope)
• Northey Valenzuela - Northey Valenzuela (The Lab)
• One Man Army and the Undead Quartet - 21st Century Killing Machine (enhanced; Nuclear Blast America)
• Alan Parsons - A Valid Path (remix LP; DualDisc; Immergent)
• Pink - I'm Not Dead (DualDisc also available; La Face)
  Read: "Pink Pens An Open Letter To President Bush On New Album"

Buy Now: I'm Not Dead (La Face)
• Placebo - Meds (limited special edition also available; Astralwerks)
• Protest the Hero - Kezia (Vagrant)
• Queensrÿche - Operation Mindcrime II (Rhino)
• Rainer Maria - Catastrophe Keeps Us Together (Grunion)
• Nelson Rangell - Soul to Souls (Koch)
• Rascal Flatts - Me and My Gang (Lyric Street)

Buy Now: Me and My Gang (Lyric Street)
• Bruce Robison - Eleven Stories (Sustain)
• June Rochelle - Changing Places (Titan/ Pyramid)
• Aldo Romano - Chante (Dreyfus)
• Sanctus Real - The Face of Love (Sparrow)
• The Scarred - No Solution (Punkcore)
• Scotch Greens - Professional (DRT)
• Sinai Beach - When Breath Escapes (Victory)
• Jan Smith - 29 Dances (Landslide)
• Sonata Arctica - For the Sake of Revenge (with bonus DVD; Nuclear Blast America; two CDs)
• Soul Position - Things Go Better With RJ and Al (Rhymesayers)
• South - Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars (Young American)
• Bubba Sparxxx - The Charm (New South/ Purple Ribbon/ Virgin)

Buy Now: The Charm (New South/ Purple Ribbon/ Virgin)
• Candi Station - His Hands (Astralwerks)
• Tanakh - Ardent Fevers (Alien 8 Recordings)
• Terror 2000 - Terror for Sale (Nuclear Blast America)
• Gecko Turner - Guapapaesa! (Quango)
• Umphrey's McGee - Safety in Numbers (Sci Fidelity)
• Unearthly Trance - The Trident (Relapse)
• Ursula 1000 - Here Comes Tomorrow (ESL)
• U.S. Bombs - We Are the Problem (Sailor's Grave)
• Venom - Metal Black (Sanctuary)
• Victory at Sea - All Your Things Are Gone (Gern Bladsten)
• The Vines - Vision Valley (Capitol)

Buy Now: Vision Valley (Capitol)
• Keith Fullerton Whitman - Lisbon (EP; Kranky)
• Cassandra Wilson - Thunderbird (Blue Note)
• Various artists - Dieselboy Presents the Human Resource (two CDs; System Recordings/ HUMAN)
• Various artists - Disneymania 4 (Disney)
• Various artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 21 (UTV)
• Various artists - See You on the Moon! - Songs for Kids of All Ages (Universal)
• Various artists - Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (Yazoo)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

• Cannonball Adderley - Great Sessions (Blue Note)
• The Alarm - The Best of the Alarm (Capitol)
• Bellamy Brothers - The Lost Tracks (Bellamy Brothers)
• Boston - Boston and Don't Look Back (digipaks; Epic/ Legacy)
• Daft Punk - Musique 1: 1993-2005 (with DVD; Virgin)
• Miles Davis - Great Sessions (Blue Note)
• Rick Derringer - Live at Cheney Hall (Fieldstone)
• DFA - The DFA Remixes: Chapter One (Astralwerks)
• Ani DiFranco - Carnegie Hall 4.6.02 (Righteous Babe)
• The J. Geils Band - Best of the J. Geils Band (Capitol)
• Grand Funk Railroad - Greatest Hits (Capitol)
• Herbie Hancock - Great Sessions (Blue Note)
• Lamb of God - New American Gospel (enhanced; with bonus tracks; Prosthetic)
• John Lennon - The Plastic Ono Band - Live Peace in Toronto, 1969 (Mobile Fidelity)
• Magneta Lane - Dancing With Daggers (Paper Bag)
• Massive Attack - Collected (limited DualDisc also available; two CDs; Virgin)
• Medeski Martin & Wood - Note Bleu: Best of the Blue Note Years 1998- 2005 (deluxe edition with DVD also available; Blue Note)
• Poison - The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock (Capitol)
• Little Richard - The Best of Little Richard: The Vee-Jay Years (Metro)
• Sonny Rollins - Great Sessions (Blue Note)
• Wayne Shorter - Great Sessions (Blue Note)
• Soul Asylum - Closer to the Stars: Best of the Twin Tone Years (Rykodisc)
• Sudden Death - Unpure Burial (Locomotive)
• Uriah Heep - Different World and Raging Silence (Blue Note)
• World Party - Goodbye Jumbo and Private Revolution (enhanced; Seaview)
• Zeke - Super Sound Racing and Flat Tracker (Relapse)
• Various artists - The '80s: A Body + Soul Collection (Time Life)
• Various artists - Gangsta Party (three CDs; Thump)
• Various artists - See You on the Moon! Songs for Kids of All Ages (Paper Bag)

DVDs:

• Herb Alpert with the Jeff Lorber Band - "Live at Montreux 1996" (Eagle Vision)
• Aly & AJ - "On the Ride" (Hollywood)
• The Coup - "The Best Coup DVD Ever" (Music Video Distributors)
• Cream - "Classic Albums: Cream - Disraeli Gears" (Eagle Vision)
• Desdemona - "Live 3.0" (Music Video Distributors)
• Bob Dylan - "Rolling Thunder and the Gospel Years: A Totally Unauthorized Documentary" (Music Video Distributors)
• Marvin Gaye - "The Real Thing: In Performance 1964-1981" (Hip-O)
• Gillian - "Live Edinburgh 1980" (Music Video Distributors)
• Gorillaz - "Demon Days Live at the Manchester Opera House" (Virgin)
• Leo Kottke - "Home & Away Revisited" (Music Video Distributors)
• Gary Moore & Friends - "One Night in Dublin: A Tribute to Phil Lynott" (Eagle Vision)
• Pantera - "3 Vulgar Videos From Hell" (Rhino)
• Russell Peters - "Two Concerts ... One Ticket" (Eclectic)
• The Who - "Music in Review: The Essential Music of the Who - The Moon Years" (Icons of Rock)
• Various artists - "The Grind" (Mercury)
• Various artists - "Hip-Hop Laws of Success" (Image)
• Various artists - "In the Beginning, Vol. 1: 2006 Montreal International Reggae Festival" (Razor & Tie)

Coming Attractions:

April 11:

• Calexico - Garden Ruin (digipak; Quarterstick)

Buy Now: Garden Ruin (Quarterstick)
• Eagles of Death Metal - Death by Sexy (Downtown)
  Read: "Eagles Of Death Metal Frontman's 'Soft Boomerang Of Love' Takes Center Stage In Clip"

Buy Now: Death by Sexy (Downtown)
• LL Cool J - Todd Smith (Def Jam)

April 18:

• Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia (digipak; Roadrunner)

Buy Now: Yes, Virginia (Roadrunner)
• NOFX - Wolves in Wolves Clothing (Fat Wreck Chords)

Buy Now: Wolves in Wolves Clothing (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Various artists - "Coachella" (Epitaph)

April 25:

• Godsmack - IV (Republic)
  Read: "Godsmack Finishing Up 'Killer' Fourth LP, Working On Football Theme"

Buy Now: IV (Republic)
• Rihanna - A Girl Like Me (Def Jam)
  Read: "Rihanna Getting In Touch With Her Rock Side For Next LP"
• Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Taking Back Sunday Say Debuting At #800 Wouldn't Bother Them"

• P!nk
• Gorillaz
• The Flaming Lips
• Nine Inch Nails
• The Islands

Ludacris and Ne-Yo
Photo: Bryan Bedder/Scott Wintrow/Getty Images/Midway

Basketball video games have incorporated hip-hop for years, but a new NBA game out next week may be the most beats-and-rhymes-drenched title yet.

"NBA Ballers: Phenom" will feature 35 original tracks from rappers and R&B artists such as Bubba Sparxxx, Chingy, Mannie Fresh, Freeway and Ne-Yo.

If that's not enough of a hip-hop connection, the game forces the player to steer their hoops hopefuls down a number of forked story-line paths, taking advice from an in-game version of Detroit Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups or getting pulled toward the life of an off-court celebrity by none other than Ludacris. Will you put in more hours practicing your jump shot? Or do you raise your profile by participating in a benefit car wash with cheerleaders?

"NBA Ballers: Phenom" features an over-the-top street-balling brand of basketball that allows players to pick up one-on-one and two-on-two games against NBA pros in the hopes of making their mark and eventually getting picked #1 in the NBA draft.

Players who choose to have their phenoms build some hip-hop credibility (this would be the Ludacris path, no doubt) can enter a rap battle. According to the game's developers, lyrics for both sides of the clash were written by freestyle veteran Jin.

The game plays out as a story, a mode of play that is popping up in a number of sports games as developers reach the limits of realistically portraying the sport yet want to attract gamers. Midway did this with last year's "Blitz: The League," a non-NFL football game in which contests were connected with a story about the decadent lifestyle of pro players. Sony used a similar tactic with fall's "NBA '06," which let gamers engage their character in off-court activities such as getting endorsements and doing motion-capture moves for a video game.

"Ballers" attempts to one-up other recent story-driven sports games and test the limits of sports gamers' interest in off-court activities by letting the player walk city streets, making celebrity friends and seeking challenges. Help the local barber out and he reveals that he's Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace's dad, who gives out his son's cell phone number. The two ballers head to a playable basketball showdown at Wallace's mansion.

"NBA Ballers: Phenom" is developed and published by Midway and will be available for Xbox and PS2 next week. The first 500,000 units sold will include a bonus second disc acting as the game's soundtrack. The songs featured in the game, many of which will also be on the soundtrack, are:

• 4th World - "It's on You"
• Abstract Rude - "L.A. City"
• Ali - "Y'all Ain't Ready"
• B. Lloyd - "Take It to the Hoop"
• Basement Beats - "I'm a Baller"
• Bubba Sparxxx - "Pull Up and Pop"
• C.I. - "Put It on the Line"
• Camp Lo - "I Wanna Be"
• Chingy - "The Lifestyle of a Baller"
• Freeway - "The Only Way"
• Gena - "Just Begun"
• Goodie Mobb - "Break Bread"
• Heavy Mojo - "Got to Get It"
• Jeff Lacey - "I B-Ballin' "
• Jelly Joe - "Gimmie Dat"
• Jin the Emcee - "Choices"
• Juice - "Gotta Come Up"
• Kaine Cioffie - "Ballers"
• Kanjia - "Keep It Movin' "
• KoKo - "What It Iz"
• Mannie Fresh - "#1"
• Nappy Roots - "You Don't Want It"
• Ness Lee - "Super Star" and "The Blacktop"
• Ne-Yo - "Ballin' "
• Northern League featuring Ming + FS - "We Hot Now"
• Phife Dawg - "I Got This"
• Planet Asia - "Back 'Em Down"
• Point Game - "I'm a Playa" and "It's a Shame" (featuring Ness Lee)
• Raskal - "Raise Up"
• Rock City - "Ballin' Out"
• Shak-C - "Let's Ball"
• Smoke & Numbers - "Go Hard or Go Home"
• Ty Jilla featuring Raskal - "They Know Me"

• Ludacris
• Ne-Yo
• Bubba Sparxxx
• Chingy
• Freeway

Jennifer Lopez (file)
Photo: John Squire

Jennifer Lopez's upcoming album finally has a title and release date. The singer's fourth studio LP, Rebirth, is due out March 1 and features such guests as Fat Joe (on "Hold You Down"), Fabolous (on a remix of "Get Right") and husband Marc Anthony. Other song titles include "Step Into My World," "Still Around" and "Cherry Pie." The video for the first single, "Get Right," will debut on MTV on New Year's Eve, while a "Making the Video" for that song will premiere on January 5. ...

A concert by rapper E-40 that had been scheduled for Saturday in Medford, Oregon, was called off when organizers realized that some local police officers and township officials opposed the show, citing objections to the show's content and the possibility of gang violence. E-40 shows at the venue Vibes that occurred in 2001 and 2003 went off without incident. ... Outkast's Big Boi is stepping out on his own with his Purple Label imprint. The ATLien has recruited Bubba Sparxxx as one of the label's first signings via Virgin Records. Sparxxx was originally signed to Interscope through Timbaland's Beat Club. ...

On February 8, Wilco will embark on the musical equivalent of an author's tour, playing a string of dates in support of their new book, the imaginatively titled "The Wilco Book." The trek kicks off in Champaign, Illinois, and hits 11 cities before coming to an end on February 25 in Cleveland. ... Collective Soul have the first single off the soundtrack to Wes Craven's werewolf movie "Cursed," due out next year. Collective Soul's single "Better Now" will be released January 18, while the rest of the soundtrack, due February 8, includes Bowling for Soup (covering Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs' 1966 song "Lil' Red Riding Hood"), Smash Mouth's Steve Harwell ("You'll Never Catch Me"), Dashboard Confessional ("This Is a Forgery"), Crystal Method ("Bound Too Long") and Three Days Grace ("Are You Ready"), among others. The movie, starring Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson and Judy Greer, hits theaters February 25. ...

After five albums in nearly a decade, proto-emo quintet Snapcase are about to call it a day. The Buffalo, New York, group's last show is scheduled for January 22 in its hometown. ... The final mixing has begun on Sleater-Kinney's first album for Sub Pop Records after seven years spent on the Kill Rock Stars label. Longtime Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann helped the band complete its as-yet-untitled album in New York's Tarbox studios. The LP is expected to drop in late spring/early summer. ...

Aerosmith's Joe Perry is preparing to make his next solo flight. The guitarist plans to release his fourth album, his first since 1984's Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker, in the spring. ... Aggro-rockers Trust Company are in the final stages of work on their new album, and are eyeing a March 1 release date. The LP, called True Parallels, will be the band's first release since 2002's The Lonely Position of Neutral. On its official site, the band thanks fans for their "continued patience through this long wait. [We] think you will all be pleased with the results." ...

12.10.2004

Eminem's favorite mixtape DJ, Green Lantern, has signed on to produce a three-hour syndicated radio show on stations across the country. "The Mix Tape Show" will begin airing on January 31. ... Mobb Deep's Prodigy and producer the Alchemist have signed on with XM Radio to host their own weekly show, "Infamous Radio." The show will air on channel 66 RAW and feature hip-hop exclusives, artist interviews, live performances and more. Last week, Snoop Dogg announced his own show on XM, which will be broadcast from his California home. "Infamous Radio" debuts Saturday, December 18. ...

The Flaming Lips are making a mixtape exclusively for their British fans. In February they'll release Late Night Tales, a compilation of their favorite songs by artists including Radiohead, the White Stripes and Björk. The album, due in February, will only be available in the U.K. ... Jimmy Chamberlin, former drummer for Smashing Pumpkins and Zwan, is kicking off a showcase tour for his new project, Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, and their new album, Life Begins Again. The tour will start on January 10 at Los Angeles' Knitting Factory, with five dates announced so far and more to come. ...

Although the courts ruled in August that peer-to-peer file-sharing networks such Kazaa, Morpheus and eDonkey were legal, their demise may once again be imminent. The Supreme Court said Friday (December 10) it would hear an appeal in March of the case brought against Grokster by MGM. If the case gets overturned, P2P networks would likely be forced to close. A decision is expected in July. ...

• Jennifer Lopez
• E-40
• Big Boy
• Bubba Sparxxx
• Dashboard Confessional

Bubba Sparxxx
Photo: MTV News

Much has been said about the new generation of the Dirty South, the rappers who have benefited from the success of groups like Outkast and Goodie Mob. Now, some of them are uniting under the tutelage of super-hitmaker Timbaland to form the "new South" all-star group, New Money.

Bubba Sparxxx, Sean Paul from the Youngbloodz and Pastor Troy are hooking up for the side project, which formed last summer when Sparxxx and the Youngbloodz dropped a white label of the song of the same name for a DJ Enuff mixtape. Also in the mix are newcomers G-Walk and producer Polo.

"We've got nine songs now and hopefully we'll finish up the rest real soon," Sparxxx said. He hinted that the New Money album would come out through Interscope — where he finds his home through Timbaland's Beat Club Records — in early 2004, though a label spokesperson couldn't confirm that.

"One day Bubba told me he had a dream that we and G-Walk were in a group together," Sean Paul of the Youngbloodz said. "Then it all came together. We were out one night actin' a fool, spendin' plenty of money. We were spendin' that new money because the old money was gone."

In other Bubba Sparxxx news, it seems he and Blink-182 are becoming fast friends. Not only did the punk-pop group take Bubba on tour (see "Blink-182 Mix Maturity, Mohawks While Bubba Gets Jiggly At NYC Dollar Date"), they will remix his next single, "Back in the Mud."

"It's a big thing for them to help me out," Bubba said. "I had given up on people being genuine and really doing things with the good of their heart, and here's a situation where they told me they heard the album and fell in love with it."

• Bubba Sparxxx
• Pastor Troy
• Youngbloodz

Blink-182's Tom DeLonge performs in New York on Sunday
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — Even though their songs have always dealt with girl trouble, family angst and other teenage frustrations, Blink-182 got pegged early on as a joke band thanks to their locker-room humor and well-documented affinity for fart jokes, boobies, porno and poop. Now, the boys in Blink are turning into men.

Sunday night at Irving Plaza, Blink emphasized their new frame of mind by focusing more on their songs than their shtick. Their new tracks are their most mature yet, addressing adult issues of romantic woe, anxiety and depression. But that didn't mean Blink weren't having fun.

Guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge and bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus were all smiles as they stomped, hopped and spun around the stage, and drummer Travis Barker looked like a Mohawked Tasmanian Devil as he flailed at his kit.

(Click for exclusive photos from the show.)

Above all, Blink-182 were there to rock. They ripped through 15 songs in less than an hour and flavored the set with six new songs from their self-titled record, which comes out November 18. The angular, urgent single "Feeling This" epitomized the depth and range of the new material, starting with barking vocals and a skewed guitar line.

The other new tracks were just as compelling. "Obvious" featured a down-tuned guitar opening and a midsection of drum fills that sounded like volleys of fireworks. "Violence" sounded gritty and fraught with tension and "Down" combined a chugarrific guitar rhythm with a chorus in which Hoppus chanted, "Meow, meow, meow, meow." (Maybe they're hoping for a spot in the next Meow Mix commercial?)

Blink also proved they haven't lost their fervor for hardcore, jacking up "Go" into a blur of energy as potent as a double espresso on an empty stomach (see ).

For those hankering for the old, naughty Blink, the band obliged by starting the set with the profanity-laced "Family Reunion" before launching into the head-bobbing "What's My Age Again?"

"As a special tonight, every single person here gets oral sex as you leave," quipped DeLonge before "Down." Prior to the show closer, "Dammit," he joked, "I need Pedialyte. Or is anybody lactating? Either one, 'cause I'm thirsty."

The show was set up as part of a club jaunt preceding a larger tour. Tickets for the concerts were priced at one dollar, and select retailers are offering free tickets to fans who pre-buy the new album (see "Blink-182 To Play Shows For A Buck").

"You paid a whole dollar to get in? Wow, that's twice what we're worth," DeLonge joked, proving that no matter how serious Blink become, they still don't take themselves too seriously.

In the middle of poignant "Stay Together for the Kids," the guitarist made a major mistake, and instead of covering up as if nothing had happened, he made an exaggerated grimace and mouthed the words, "I f---ed up." After the song ended, DeLonge said, "I know it seems like the guy playing the guitar f---ed up the first half of the song." He then pleaded for the forgiveness from the band and fans and insisted, "This next one's gonna be a lot better," as Blink kicked into "All the Small Things."

The highlights of the set were two songs from band's 2001 album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, "Rock Show" and "First Date," the latter of which conveyed all the nervous energy, excitement and sexual tension of, well, a first date. Some fans may have been let down by Blink's failure to encore and their exclusion of "Don't Leave Me," "Aliens Exist" and "Adam's Song." Then again, the bandmembers are all grown up and have kids, so maybe they needed to get back to the hotel and call home.

Hillbilly rapper Bubba Sparxxx seems like an unexpected opening act, but Blink weren't just happy to take him on the road — they handpicked him. Two years ago, drummer Travis Barker discovered Bubba's Dark Days, Bright Nights and turned his bandmates on to the Timbaland-produced act, so when Blink heard Bubba had a new disc out, they asked him out.

The appreciative rapper plugged Blink-182 at every opportunity. "Those guys are for real in an industry of fakes and snakes," the hefty Southern wordsmith said. "Tonight I'm gonna make sure every one of you Blink fans leaves here a fan of Bubba, too."

Bubba may complain at times about being perceived as a Podunk redneck, yet his presentation encourages it. "I'm a country m-----f---er," boasted Bubba half way through his set, splitting no hairs. And on "Jimmy Mathis," he proudly rapped, "When I get to doin' my Hillbilly dance/ A step to the left, two steps to the right/ Take a shot of Patrón and get back to the mic."

His actions said as much as his words. A couple songs in, Bubba brought on "Slim," a beer-guzzling hick in a hat and blue overalls, and claimed the dude was his dad. Slim spent most of the show walking back and forth downing cans of Budweiser, but he picked up a guitar for "Deliverance" and strummed the main jangly riff.

Bubba was joined by knit-capped rapper Dirrty for most of his songs, and turntablist DJ Scientist provided an array of deft scratching. During his solo slot, he spun around, manipulated the records with his elbows, and stood on his hands and scratched with his feet.

But it was Bubba who was the visual highlight. On the upbeat, guitar-pumped "Back in the Mud," he waved a white towel and stepped heavily into every verse, and before "Ugly" he self-deprecatingly said, "I think it's obvious to anyone with functional eyes that I'm a sexy m-----f---er," then removed his shirt and jiggled to the beat.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• blink-182
• Bubba Sparxxx

This week DMX emerges from his Great Depression of 2001 with yet another ode to his dog Boomer, Grand Champ. In addition to more traditional hip-hop collaborations, X teams up with Patti LaBelle on "Thank You."

A Perfect Circle take their Thirteenth Step, the follow-up to 2000's Mer de Noms. The disc features ex-Marilyn Manson bassist Twiggy Ramirez, who joined the band early this year.

Country bumpkin Bubba Sparxxx's new album is named Deliverance, after the 1972 movie that had everyone squealing like a pig. Sparxxx reunites with Timbaland on the record and teams up with Justin Timberlake on "Hootnanny." Meanwhile, Erykah Badu's Worldwide Underground EP kicks off its journey to ground level with the lead single "Danger." The album includes a duet with Lenny Kravitz on "Back in the Day" as well as a collaboration with Queen Latifah, Angie Stone and Bahamadia on the reinterpretation of back-in-the-day rappers Sequence and their "Funk You Up."

KFC-lovin' neo-Guns N' Roses guitarist Buckethead serves up a return trip to his world on Bucketheadland 2, while the Darkness, a British hard rock band following in the footsteps of Spinal Tap but claiming not to be a joke, release Permission to Land.

Pearl Jam issue a five-disc live set alongside the Ying Yang Twins' Me and My Brother, featuring the single "Naggin'," and Leona Naess' self-titled album about love, love and love.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the classic "Scarface," Def Jam has compiled Music Inspired by the Movie "Scarface," featuring Jay-Z, the Notorious B.I.G., and Grand Master Flash, among others.

Following his last album, Heathen, David Bowie introduces us to his brand of Reality, featuring the single "New Killer Star" and covers of Jonathan Richman's "Pablo Picasso" and George Harrison and Ronnie Spector's "Try Some Buy Some."

And, really, doesn't that last song embody the spirit of what the new releases column is all about?

Out Tuesday, September 16:

• Erykah Badu - Worldwide Underground (EP, Motown)
  Buy Now: Worldwide Underground (EP, Motown)
  
• Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - Iridium Controversy (Cuneiform)
• Jane Birkin - Arabesque (Narada)
• Blind Boys of Alabama - Go Tell It on the Mountain (Real World)
• Bond - Remixed (Decca)
• David Bowie - Reality (ISO/Columbia)
• Buckethead - Bucketheadland 2 (Ion)
• Noam Chomsky - The Emerging Framework of World Power (Alternative Tentacles)
• Collider - WCYF (SonaBlast)
• Robert Crenshaw - Dog Dreams (Gadfly)
• Curlew - Mercury (Cuneiform)
• The Darkness - Permission to Land (Atlantic)
• Maria de Barros - Nha Mundo: Music of Cape Verde (Narada World)
• DMX - Grand Champ (Def Jam)
  Read: "DMX Declares Himself 'Grand Champ,' Makes Plans To Shoot Werewolf' "
  Buy Now: Grand Champ (Def Jam)
  
• Electric Eye - Electric Wisdom (Dirtnap)
• Eliane Elias - Brazilian Classics (Blue Note)
• Evil Beaver - Pleased to Eat You (Johann's Face)
• Aretha Franklin - So Damn Happy (Arista)
• Harkonen - Dancing (EP, Initial)
• Ima Robot - Ima Robot (Virgin)
• J Church/Storm the Tower - J Church/Storm the Tower (Broken Rekids)
• The Jupiter Affect - The Restoration of Culture After Genghis Khan (Orange Sky)
• Paula Kelley - The Trouble With Success or How You Fit Into the World (Kimchee)
• Kid Dynamite - Cheap Shots, Youth Anthems (Jade Tree)
• Little Killers - The Little Killers (Crypt)
• Patty Loveless - On Your Way Home (Epic Nashville)
• Shelby Lynne - Identity Crisis (Capitol)
• Lisa Marr Experiment - American Jitters (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
• Mates of State - Team Boo (Polyvinyl)
• Phil Miller/In Cahoots - All That (Cuneiform)
• MxPx - Before Everything & After (A&M)
  Read: "MxPx Get Promotional Help From George W. Bush, Emily Bronte"
  Buy Now: Before Everything & After (A&M)
  
• Leona Naess - Leona Naess (MCA)
• Need New Body - UFO (File 13)
• Oh Susanna - Oh Susanna (Nettwerk)
• Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen - Cool Yule: A Christmas Party With Friends (Columbia)
• Pearl Jam - "official bootleg" from July 8-9 New York shows (Epic)
• A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step (Virgin)
  Read: "A Perfect Circle Admit They're 'Weak And Powerless' On New Single"
  
• Phantom Limbs - Displacement (Alternative Tentacles)
• Harold Ray - Live in Concert (Alternative Tentacles)
• Run Run Run - Drizzle (EP, First Time)
• Saves the Day - In Reverie (DreamWorks)
  Read: "Saves The Day Attempt To Save Themselves, The World With Reverie"
  Buy Now: In Reverie (DreamWorks)
  
• Side Walk Slam - ... And We Drive (Tooth & Nail)
• The Situation - The Reece Nasty (EP, Orange Sky)
• Sloth - Dead Generation (Hollywood)
• Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance (Interscope)
  Read: "Bubba Sparxxx Softens Bumpkin Image, Teams Up With Justin For A 'Hootnanny' "
  Buy Now: Deliverance (Interscope)
  
• Joss Stone - The Soul Sessions (S-Curve)
• Story of the Year - Page Avenue (Maverick)
• Billy Talent - Billy Talent (Atlantic)
• Telecast - The Beauty of Simplicity (BEC/Tooth & Nail)
• Chalee Tennison - Parading in the Rain (DreamWorks Nashville)
• Thinking Plague - A History of Madness (Cuneiform)
• Thursday - War All the Time (Island)
  Read: "Thursday Deal With Paranoia, Women Who Want To Be Hit On New LP"
  Buy Now: War All the Time (Island)
  
• TRS-80 - Shake Hands With Danger (File 13)
• Vincebus Eruptum - Vincebus Eruptum (Load)
• Rocky Votolato - Suicide Medicine (Second Nature)
• Wayfaring Strangers - This Train (Rounder)
• Carnie Wilson - For the First Time (KMA)
• Ying Yang Twins - Me & My Brother (TVT)
• Zodiac Killers - Society Offenders (Rip Off)
• Various artists - Music Inspired by the Movie "Scarface" (Def Jam)
• Various artists - The Sound of San Francisco (Alive)
• Various artists - Version City Sessions (Asian Man)

September 23:

• Elvis Costello - North (Universal)
• Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face)
  Read: "New Outkast LP 'Like Two-For-One Lap Dance Day' "
  Buy Now: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face)
  
• The Bangles - Doll Revolution (Koch)
• 112- Hot & Wet (Def Jam)
  Read: "112 Go For The Slow-Grind Vibe On Hot And Wet"

September 30:

• Dido - Life for Rent (Arista)

October 7:

• Jin - Almost Famous (Virgin)
  Read: "Ruff Ryders' New Dog: Jin"

October 14:

• Mariah Carey - Remixes (Sony)

• DMX
• A Perfect Circle
• Bubba Sparxxx
• Buckethead
• Erykah Badu

Common
Photo: Walik Goshorn

NEW YORK — After getting the requisite questions out of the way — "Is Brooklyn in the house?" and "Where my ladies at?" — Jin, the diminutive 20-year-old Chinese rapper and the latest addition to the Ruff Ryders camp, asked a question to the crowd at B.B. King's, there to see MTV's You Hear It First Tour: "Where the f--- are my Asians at?"

Those in the crowd screamed to make their presence known. "Yeah," Jin said, "shout out to all nine of ya'll."

Jin, dressed in a white Ruff Ryders warm-up jacket with his name embroidered in green on the front said, "Hip-hop is all about interaction. I talk to you, you talk to me." And he started his set with a call-and-response song called "Oh No!" from his forthcoming debut album, Almost Famous (October 7). Shortly after that, he brought out his "big brother," fellow Ruff Ryder Drag-On. The two of them performed a freestyle, which ended with the classic hip-hop the "song's over" sound: shattering glass.

"Who's drinkin' tonight?" Jin asked as a segue into the next song, the one where Jin and Drag-On promote Drag's new material by performing "Put Your Drinks Down," the first single from his upcoming album, To Hell and Back, due on September 16. "What we gon' do is party right now. So get out your seats and put your drinks down," the two chanted.

Next up came "Peel Off" from the "2 Fast 2 Furious" soundtrack, the movie in which Jin appeared as "a fake-ass mechanic." "Who saw the movie?" he asked. The crowd applauded faintly. "Who's gonna rent it at Blockbuster?" Another lukewarm reply. "Who's gonna watch it on UPN when it comes on [on a] Saturday?" The crowd erupted into applause.

After "Peel Off," Jin took a moment to introduce himself to the crowd. This was, after all, a You Hear It First moment. So Jin gave his 30-second autobiography: "I wanted to get a record deal. No one would give it to me. So I went on [BET's] '106th and Park' [where he won the freestyle competition on Freestyle Fridays for seven straight weeks]. And I got a deal through Ruff Ryders. It's the good old-fashioned American way."

Then he urged the audience to scream "f--- you!"

Not because of the way he got a label deal, but because he was going into his next song about the "haters," "I Don't Know," which led him to his last song of the night.

"If you like Chinese food, make some f---in' noise!" he said, and the beat dropped on "Learn Chinese," the first single from Almost Famous, which features Wyclef Jean. On the song he assures us that we're "all gon' learn Chinese" and we'll even want to be Chinese.

When Jin finished his set, he said, "You know what? Ya'll gon' learn Chinese." Then, as he was leaving the stage, he joked, "but I barely speak that sh--."

Next up, as signaled by the banjo music, came a slimmed down Bubba Sparxxx, wearing, but not for long, a black button-down shirt and a white T-shirt underneath.

He opened with "We Ready" and went right into "Lovely" before talking to the crowd. After reminding everyone that he was from the backwoods of Georgia, he said he had a very special announcement to make: "My father is in town tonight. He came from a dirt road in Georgia. And he been drinkin' too!" He asked that the audience say a special chant to bring his father out: "Jimmy Mathis please come out he-ah!" "That's simple enough even for New York," Bubba cracked. When the crowd called for Johnny, an overweight, overalls-and-aviators-clad man wearing a straw hat and swilling a beer emerged from backstage and the new song "Johnny Mathis" from Bubba's upcoming album, Deliverance (September 16), began playing as Bubba's "father" roamed the stage. To prove his southern roots once again, Bubba ended his songs not with shattering glass, but with the crow of a rooster.

Then things started getting ugly. Bubba ripped off his shirts and threw them into the crowd as "Deliverance" began playing, on which he lovingly talks about his "fishing pole and bottle of 'shine" before handing the stage over to DJ Scientist, who is also a country boy and was wearing a Rolling Stones tongue-logo T-shirt. Bubba asked, "Hip-hop started in New York, right? I'm just a simple-minded country boy so I do be forgetting stuff sometimes." Then he offered a "buffalo nickel to anyone can find a better DJ."

DJ Scientist dropped the "Ruff Ryders Anthem" and cut it up into a drum-and-bass song, which got the crowd cheering and dancing immediately. The DJ did a little breakdance move and then put on the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize," to which Bubba, still shirtless, started belly dancing. Then DJ ScienTIST turned "Hypnotize" into "Mary Had a Little Lamb" with fancy fader tricks. When he put "Good Times" on by Chic, he started mixing not only with his hands, but with his feet and knees as well, while he spun around, played backwards, licked his fingers and pushed his glasses back up at the same time.

When the DJ set was over, Bubba's hype man asked the audience if the in-shape Bubba looked pretty. Bubba answered before anyone else could. "I know I'm pretty, but I sure do see a lot of ugly sons of bitches in the crowd tonight." And then Bubba's first single "Ugly," from his debut album, Dark Days, Bright Nights, kicked in with its Timbaland-produced bounce beat. When the song was over and Sparxxx ripped his set, he kindly told the crowd, "Bubba loves you."

Anthony Hamilton, the epitome of a neo-soul singer with his dreadlocked, trucker hat-clad band, and wearing his own camouflage version with the word "obey" on it, opened his show with theatrical singing by him and his three backup singers. Hamilton ran through his collaborations, which included Tupac Shakur's "Thugz Mansion" and the Nappy Roots' Grammy-nominated "Po' Folks" before moving on to his own new material. From his debut album, Coming From Where I'm From (August 26), he performed "Charlene," a song "about a relationship gone wrong." He finished the set by raising his right fist in the air and walking quietly off the stage.

Everyone was ready for the headliner, Common, by the time the hour after he was supposed to be off the stage finally rolled around.

Common got to the mic and welcomed the crowd. "We gonna party tonight like we in the basement of your mother's house ... all you see around you is family. I'm going to be your host tonight. My name is Common."

Also wearing a camouflage hat and a khaki shirt, Common, who sported a bushy beard and a diamond earring, opened the hour-long set with "Soul Power" and then moved into "Time Travelin' (A Tribute to Fela)."

At the end of "Nag Champa (Afrodisiac for the World)," Common barely spat the lyrics while doing the Robot.

"Me and Mos [Def] were on the horn [one day]," Common explained of the next song, and applause broke out when Mos' name was mentioned — either because it was a crowd of his fans or because they knew what song was coming. "He said that when you rock that sh-- in New York, you know you got to be live." Then, he said, he got call-waiting. "Ya'll know Talib Kweli?" The crowd cheered again. When he was on the phone with Kweli, also apparently getting performance advice from him, Common asked, "What do you want me to say?" His answer? The opening line to "Respiration."

At the end of the song, strobe lights came on and Common started doing the Pogo. "Scream!" he yelled as "Electric Wire Hustler Flower" began. The frenetic energy got the crowd nearly moshing and had Common thrashing about on the stage, banging the mic stand on the floor so much and so hard that it bent in half.

Then, calming down a bit and taking a page from his friends the Roots' concert playbook, Common, backed by a live band, started singing Nas' "The World Is Yours" as he began a selection of old-school rap songs. From that, he went into an initials medley: the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa," and then the Wu-Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M." From there, he went into his own early-'90s song "I Used to Love H.E.R." He then played what could be called the follow-up to that song, his collaboration with the Roots, "Act Too ... The Love of My Life." Common moved straight into Run-DMC's "Sucker MCs" and then the Pharcyde's "Passin' Me By" before Audio 2's "Top Billin.' " He concluded the trip down memory lane with his own recent hit, the collaboration with girlfriend Erykah Badu, "Love of My Life."

"We like to kick it, but we like to slow it down, too. Show a little love," Common said. "People love cars or chains or rims. But we're here to love ourselves, the Most High, and our mates as reflections of ourselves."

With that he chose a woman from the audience to come onstage to serenade for "Come Close." The woman, Kristin, knew every word to the song to sing back to Common and didn't even mind when Common, drenched in sweat, gave her a big bear hug.

Of course, it was after he escorted Kristin off the stage that Common mopped himself off and told the audience, "This is one love that I can't shake," as his shoulders twitched. "Hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop," he repeated as the lights came up and down. "The foundation of hip-hop is the DJ," he said as he introduced DJ Dummy.

DJ Dummy played Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock's "It Takes Two" as he spun with his back to the turntables, his eyes closed, and even with a woman all hugged up on him.

Common performed a freestyle rhyme with the chorus, "Girl, It's a freestyle," before going into "Funky for You," during which he jumped into the crowd and danced for fans.

He ended the show with an extended version of "The Light," so he could introduce the Electric Circus players and thank everybody for attending the basement party.

Funked-up circus music played for about 10 minutes, until Common, standing center-stage, flashed a black power fist and then a peace sign before the lights came up.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• Common
• Jin
• Bubba Sparxxx
• Anthony Hamilton

Bubba Sparxxx
Photo: MTV News

Saying Bubba Sparxxx is from the South is like saying the plus-size rapper hasn't missed many meals.

But while white gravy and sweet tea might be running through his veins, Sparxxx doesn't want you to get the wrong impression about what lies below the Mason-Dixon line. And considering that his second album is named after "Deliverance," the 1972 movie that did as much for Southern tourism as "Jaws" did for beachfront property on Amity Island in New York, the big guy has his work cut out for him.

For those not up on great '70s cinema, "Deliverance" stars Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds and Ned Beatty as three businessmen lost in the Georgia backwoods who become ensnared in a test-of-wills tribulation. And just because he borrowed the name for the follow-up to 2001's Dark Days, Bright Nights, due this fall, doesn't mean Sparxxx will be dueling banjos or, worse yet, squealing like a pig.

"When you hear the name Deliverance, you're going to think of the movie … but I would like people to think a little less on those lines, as far as the white-trash factor goes, and look at it more as what the actual word 'deliverance' means. Look at what the characters have gone through. Jon Voight's character went through so many things and rose to the challenge time after time and saved the life of Burt Reynolds' character. And Ned Beatty's character got raped, but in the end, he became the complete man he was supposed to be.

"So the album and the song 'Deliverance' are about me just really being a country boy who was totally clueless as to making it in the business. And when I was thrown into that environment, I rose to the occasion just like Jon Voight's character, and at the end of the day, I was the complete artist I feel I am today."

If he's done nothing else to shake his bumpkin stereotype, Sparxxx has certainly mastered the business-savvy skill of making friends in high places. "Hootnanny," one of Deliverance's 16 tracks, features Justin Timberlake, who returned the favor after Sparxxx lent some rhymes to Timberlake's "Right for Me" (see "Dirty South Pop: Timberlake Teams Up With Bubba Sparxxx").

"Anybody that hates on Justin is just a hater," Sparxxx said. "You really can't just hate on the kid. He's a great person. He works hard and he has a great personality. What can you say about that kid? Big shout out to Justin, he's a real great dude.

"We just went in the studio," he said of the collaboration. "Like, he sold 87 trillion records and I sold like, what, six, seven-hundred thousand? We just traded real to real. You do a verse on my album; I do a verse on yours. He came up with the hook and I came through with my most lethal verses. It's dope song."

Besides Timbaland, his new LP also boasts collaborations with newcomers Kiley Dean (see "Kiley Dean: The Next Aaliyah?") and Big Rube and Sleepy Brown of Outkast fame.

Sparxxx also said he recorded a track called "Red Light, Green Light" with Snoop Dogg for the next Limp Bizkit album (see "Snoop Dogg, Bubba Sparxxx May Appear On Limp Bizkit Album").

But of all the partnerships Sparxxx has forged, none is more fluid than his relationship with Timbaland, who produced most of Deliverance and Dark Days.

"When it came time to go back into the studio," Sparxxx recalled, "we had that bond. He understood what my vision for Bubba Sparxxx was and I understood what his vision for Bubba Sparxxx was, and we worked to mesh the two together in the most wonderful kind of way ... We have this unique chemistry — that Bubba and Timbaland chemistry. Like, when you hear that Missy and Timbaland chemistry, you know that's them. Or when you hear, God rest her soul, Aaliyah, you know that's Timbaland and Aaliyah. Now we have that Bubba and Timbaland chemistry and I'm real happy."

Sparxxx will strut his Southern stuff for four dates of MTV's You Hear It First Tour with Common, Anthony Hamilton and Jin beginning July 27 in New York (see "Common, Bubba, Kenna On Inaugural You Hear It First Tour").

Deliverance track list, according to Interscope Records:

• "Not Yet Free (Intro)"
• "Jimmy Mathis"
• "Comin' Round"
• "She Tried"
• "Deliverance"
• "Nowhere"
• "Warrant (Interlude)"
• "Warrant"
• "Take a Load Off"
• "My Tone"
• "New South"
• "Hootnanny"
• "Overcome"
• "Like It or Not"
• "Back in the Mudd"
• "We Da Sh--"

• Bubba Sparxxx

Common
Photo: MCA

Common and Bubba Sparxxx are teaming up with up-and-comers Kenna, Anthony Hamilton, Jin, the Exies and Fiction Plane to take the emerging artist showcase You Hear It First on the road.

The artists, most of whom have been featured as part of MTV News' weekly new-artist series, have signed on for the first MTV You Hear It First Tour. The trek's rock leg — featuring sets from Kenna, the Exies and Fiction Plane — will kick off July 15 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California. An urban leg — featuring Bubba Sparxxx, Common, Anthony Hamilton and Jin — gets rolling on July 27 in New York.

Since its launch in early 2000, the YHIF franchise has spotlighted a steady stream of artists who were relatively unknown at the time, including Sean Paul, T.A.T.U., the Vines, Ms. Dynamite, Rooney, the Mooney Suzuki, the Distillers and others. Bubba Sparxxx, the Exies, Fiction Plane, Anthony Hamilton and Jin are all YHIF alums.

Here's how the MTV You Hear It First Tour breaks down:

Kenna, the Exies and Fiction Plane

• 7/15 - West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
• 7/18 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
• 7/21 - Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues

Common, Anthony Hamilton, Bubba Sparxxx and Jin

• 7/27 - New York, NY @ B.B. Kings
• 7/28 - Washington, DC @ 930 Club
• 7/29 - Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadaro
• 7/30 - Boston, MA @ Roxy

• Common
• Bubba Sparxxx
• Kenna
• Anthony Hamilton
• Jin

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