• Beanie Sigel
• State Property
• Jay-Z

State Property (file)
Photo: Roc-A-Fella

Since Dame Dash and Beanie Sigel's mother, Michelle Brown-Derry, announced Beanie Sigel's prison mandate to put State Property on hold until he is released, members of the Philadelphia collective have questioned if there was really anything to pause.

"Can't no one man put nobody on hold," Sparks of Oschino and Sparks said about the order sent down by Sigel (see "Mixtape Monday: Beanie Sigel's Fair-Weather Friends, Saigon's Dose of Ice-Free Reality.") 'State Property' was a movie, then they branded us. They got a clothing line and sneakers, but it wasn't no contract where we was a group [named State Property]. We were all in individual groups. The Young Gunz was a group, me and O was a group, [Peedi] Crakk was a solo artist, Beans was a solo artist, Freeway was a solo artist. Jay-Z signed me and O. People saying Beans got everybody signed. That ain't true."

"It wasn't really no State Property, because [Roc-A-Fella] put everybody together," explained Neef of the Young Gunz, who also said he and his partner were signed to Roc-A-Fella before they even met Beanie. "Nobody really knew each other. Everybody was rapping and trying to get on. They made it hard for n---as. In so many words they said, 'You gotta come out with Mack [Beanie Sigel].' "

Freeway, who seemed the closest to Sigel, has the most optimistic outlook about the breakup. He says don't believe anything until you hear it out of Sigel's mouth.

"I've been hearing a bunch of different things, but when I talk to him about State Property, it's all love," Free said, downplaying the conflict. "Y'all gonna wait till he comes home and interview him. State Property, we see each other all the time. I see O, Sparks, Crakk, the Young Gunz. It ain't been dismantled. That's bullsh--. We here. The streets love us. We love the streets. We love our fans. We gonna make music. Forget all the rumors you've been hearing."

All the members of State Property say they were signed directly to Roc-A-Fella/ Def Jam and never were contractually bound as one supergroup. A few of them did know each other from Philly beforehand, but the crew's bond was fostered and tightened once they were put together. When Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke parted ways with Jay, it was left up to State Property which faction they wanted to sign with. As it stands now, O and Sparks, Peedi Crakk, Freeway and the Gunz are all signed to Jay-Z's new Roc-A-Fella, with Sigel planning to start his own imprint under the Dame Dash Music Group umbrella.

Sigel's mom says that the members were supposed to join Beanie once he set up his situation with the DDMG. However, if you ask some of the State Property members, there was never any question who they were going to align themselves with.

"I don't f--- with Dame Dash at all," Peedi Crakk fumed. "I f--- with Beans and Biggs. I can't be around [Dash]. I can't be on that side of the fence. I hollered at Jay; Jay said he got my contract, and I can go with him. I left it at that. I was happy being with Jay.

"He don't listen," Crakk continued, explaining why he doesn't associate with Dash's group. "He's so smart, he's dumb. He's got so much money, he thinks he's the sh--. A cloud just hovers over his head so much, it f---s with his common sense. That's why he's losing. He don't know how to pick music, what song to do a video for, how to shoot a video. If you tell him this, he feels disrespected because he's got so many people kissing his ass. When you talk to him on a man-to-man level, on a regular level, he feels disrespected. He's got three, four, five assistants holding his two-way, holding his money, holding his phone. All this super Hollywood sh--.

Neef insists that he and Young Chris were always planning to stay with Jay and the Roc. "We met Jay, Dame and Biggs together, but Jay was that n---a comforting us. We ain't really talk to Dame until the sh-- start fading away. When they was together, we was kicking it with Jay more. We were still going on every tour with him, but still doing everything Dame wanted us to do. When the [split] happened, we had to let them know you can't play both sides of the fence. I even had my problems with Dame, too. We used to argue about all types of sh-- — little stuff like directing videos — but [Dame's] a good n---a."

Dash says he doesn't feel that he and Jay-Z cutting business ties should mean that artists under his Music Group label can't still be cool with Roc-A-Fella artists.

"Regretfully, it looks like you have to choose a side, and that's never the way I wanted it to be," Dash said. "I think that's corny. I would look at other situations and be like, 'That could never happen over here.' It appears that it did. That's embarrassing to me. It wasn't anything that me, Beanie or anybody under this umbrella bought into. The Roc is about friendship — or at least it was. It wasn't about the money. We do whatever we do to help each other. ... When we signed people, they were signing into a certain kind of unity where this could never have happened. We were snobby, like 'We're the thorough dudes. We would never do no clown stuff like that.'

"I guess the choice that had to be made was, 'Do we want to go through a system and be corporate, or do we have an independent spirit?' " Dash explained. "Beans was like, 'I'm gonna roll with the independent thing.' Even though we still get distributed through Universal and I deal with L.A. Reid, we're still independent."

Business issues aside, Brown-Derry said her son had fostered close personal relationships with the fellas from Philly, and he's hurt that he hasn't heard from the State Property guys while he's been in jail the last several months.

"I can't really speak on why nobody has really been seeing him," Neef said. "Me and Mack, we never had a crazy relationship like everybody else had with him. We was cool, but we never saw eye to eye. It ain't no beef or drama. ... I ain't on his album. You gonna hear Chris on his album, not me. I was never mad at him; we just never clicked. He's a real n---a — I can't take that away from him. He's nice as sh-- with the rappin', but we just didn't click."

"When I was in jail, didn't nobody write me," Crakk said. "I didn't want nobody to write me. Only person who came to see me was Freeway. Oschino tried to come see me, but he couldn't. I talked to Mack on the phone.

"But that's not how we roll when a person is locked up. N---as don't wanna see n---as when you in jail. All you worried about is your girl, your mom, your grandmother, your kids. You not worried about no n---as in jail writing you back and forth. When I was in jail, I didn't get mad about nobody writing me. Didn't nobody go see my mom, nobody took money to mom. Beans called my mom, I call his mom. Beans is my man. Me and Beans got a connection. I start calling him 'Uncle Mitty.' "

"What are we supposed to do, be stagnated?" Sparks asked. "I got kids. I gotta make moves. I probably ain't take the time out to write him — my fault — but he could have reached out to me. I got the same number. You got money on the books; you can call. My home address never changed. I'm still in the same neighborhood. But I got real busy. It's time to focus on me, 'cause Beans ain't around to handle business. What do they mean, 'We on hold?' I'm supposed to tell my son or daughter, 'We can't eat because Beans is locked up?' "

State Property, as we knew them, all have individual efforts coming down the pike shortly. Beanie Sigel's The B. Coming is slated for March 29, while the Gunz's Brothers From Another is out May 24 and Freeway's Free at Last is due July 5. Peedi Crakk's solo album and an Oschino and Sparks LP have no release dates yet, but Crakk's is well into production and Oschino and Sparks say that they are done. Sparks has even moved on to his own solo project.

Even if we have seen the last of State Property making music as one group, the members of the crew still seem to be pretty tight. Young Gunz, Peedi Crakk and O and Sparks still stay in constant communication. All agree that there is no beef among them, and they still have love for Sigel.

• Beanie Sigel
• State Property
• Jay-Z

<I>State Property Presents: The Chain Gang Vol. II</I>
Photo: Roc-A-Fella

NEW YORK — They can't stop, they won't stop, and it was showing a couple of weeks ago when Philadelphia's Young Gunz came to the Big Apple during a day off from the Rock the Mic tour.

The usually energetic Chris Ries was pressed for time because he had to catch a jet with Jay-Z, and he could barely keep his eyes open because of his early morning wakeup call. It was all good, though, because his usually quieter half, Hanif "Neef" Muhammad, stepped to the plate and explained how their "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" went from being a mixtape cut six months ago to being a radio hit now.

"As soon as we put it out, a lot of DJs was playing it," Neef said. "[New York radio DJ] Enuff was probably the first one playing it, then it just spread and got crazy. They was picking up early on this one. We was doing shows out there real early, just off of that song."

The teenage duo, who have known each other since middle school, will continue to do shows the next few weeks even though their stint on Rock the Mic is done. They're staying on the road to spread the word for both the just released State Property Presents: The Chain Gang Vol. II and their own upcoming debut LP.

"When we get off this [tour], we gotta go back to work and finish our little album," Neef explained. "We got a couple more joints to do. They're rushing to put our album out right now. We already have two albums [worth of material done] but we feel like doing some new sh--. We'll bang out like six or seven more records and we're on our way.

"It's gonna be crazy, we might name it Tough Love," he continued. "There's a lot of tough love on the album as far as coming at the girls, us talking to each other. We got a joint called 'Tough Love' where we be coming at each other. We got a joint coming at our older brothers. So it's some young'uns that's before their time, talking, that's all."

As the youngest members of State Property, Chris and Neef, both 19, along with Freeway, have had to carry most of the weight for their rhyme family on tour and on the airwaves. Their teammates Peedi Crakk and Oschino have only recently been released from jail, and the collective's captain, Beanie Sigel, remains incarcerated without bail (see "Beanie Sigel Denied Bail"). Before Beans got arrested in July, he and Crakk were scheduled to shoot the video for SP's "When You Hear That" with ODB. Oshino's partner Sparks has also not been able to tour for personal reasons.

"We don't feel no pressure," said Neef, who had his own problems with the law after being arrested for gun possession in May. "This is our job. It's a lot of stuff going on, but we gotta keep it moving. That's how we gonna feed our families and that's how we gonna get them out of those situations."

It almost seems a miracle that all of State Property were together long enough to knock out their second album as a collective. On "G.A.M.E." the team demands reverence as Chris raps in a sing-songy flow, "Y'all n---as is our pets/You mutts, you ain't a boss, you young'uns go play fetch/ You gonna R-E-S-P-E-C-T me now."

The call for deference carries over to the next track, "Just Another N---a," on which Sigel, Oschino and Sparks rhyme about beating the odds. Newcomer J.I. sings State Property's blues on the chorus. "People used to tell that I'll be just another n---a," the impassioned guest star croons. "Understand y'all don't know me, because I'm not gonna be just another n---a."

Sigel chimes in with some defiant food for thought: "People said I'll be dead in the streets/ I'm getting bread trying to spread with my peeps/ Sit behind a desk and scraper, I know I'm destined for greatness/ Y'all thought y'all read about my death in the paper."

Against the soulful funk track of "Want Me Back," the crew reminisces about people who couldn't see State Property's potential before they became rappers. "Blow" also tells about the 'hood old days, before everybody blew up. Meanwhile, "Still in Effect" finds Free and Neef dropping braggadocio raps.

State Property Presents: The Chain Gang Vol. II is in stores now. The Young Gunz said that if they don't finish their LP in time for an October release, they'll drop it early next year.

• Young Gunz
• State Property

We just got an album. We just got an album. We just got an album. Wonder who it's from?

Steve Burns, former host of "Blue's Clues," of course.

Newly minted indie rocker Burns delivers his debut record, Songs for Dustmites, which features a little help from his friends, members of the Flaming Lips and their producer David Fridmann. Songs like "Mighty Little Man," "What I Do on Saturday" and "Troposphere" showcase Burns' wide-eyed innocence with the Lips' penchant for the absurd.

Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba, the reluctant emo poster boy, releases A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar. The critical consensus is that Carrabba finally exhibits his full power as a musician on songs like "So Beautiful," "Ghost of a Good Thing" and "Several Ways to Die."

Ben Lee tries hard to get your attention on Hey You. Yes You. Dan the Automator produces the Australian rocker's fifth album, and the combination makes for catchy pop songs and spaced-out sounds. According to Lee, "Chills," a power ballad co-written by Jason Schwartzman, was written with high-school proms in mind, with the aim being that the song be played at the pre-summer festivities for years to come.

State Property's Beanie Sigel Presents 2: The Album features Beanie, of course, as well as fellow Roc-A-Fellas like Freeway, Peedi Crakk and Young Chris. Broadcast release Haha Sound, the band's second, ethereal album, alongside Goodie Mob rapper Big Gipp's Mutant Mindframe and Pat Benatar's Go.

The soundtrack for the slasher buddy flick "Freddy Vs. Jason" features the aggro-rock of Powerman 5000, Stone Sour and Type O Negative, while a kinder, gentler compilation, Powerpuff Girls: Power Pop, features the Sahara Hotnights on "On Top of Your World," Cherish on "Power of the Female" and "Me and My Girls," and Shonen Knife's ode to the crankiest super heroine, "Buttercup (She's a Supergirl)."

Out Tuesday, August 12:

• Howard Alden and Bucky Pizzarelli - A Mellow Tone (Concord Jazz)
• Sherrié Austin - Streets of Heaven (BBR)
• Ballboy - A Guide for the Daylight Hours (Manifesto)
• Danny Barnes - Dirt on the Angel (Terminus)
• Martin Barre - Stage Left (Fuel 2000)
• Tywanna Jo Baskette - Fancy Blue (Sweet Tea/Terminus)
• Pat Benatar - Go! (Bel Chiasso)
• Big Gipp - Mutant Mindframe (Koch)
• Blusom - Go Slowly All the Way Round the Outside (Second Nature)
• Broadcast - Haha Sound (Warp)
• Steve Burns - Songs for Dustmites (PIAS)
  Read: "Ex-'Blue's Clues' Host Steve Burns An Indie Rocker At Heart"
• Calico System - The Duplicated Memory (Eulogy)
• Carbon Leaf - 5 Alive (two CDs, Carbon Leaf)
• The Cash Brothers - A Brand New Night (Rounder)
• Eva Cassidy - American Tune (Blix Street)
• Cat on Form - Structure and Fear (Southern)
• Eddy Clearwater with Los Straitjackets - Rock 'n' Roll City (Bullseye Blues & Jazz)
• Dashboard Confessional - A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (Vagrant)
  Read: "Dashboard Confessional Singer Heals Scars, Stops Singing The Blues On New LP"
  Hear A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar first on MTV.com
  Buy Now: A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (Vagrant)
• Jason Crosby - Four Chords and Seven Notes Ago (Artists House)
• Dapp Theory - Y'all Just Don't Know (Concord)
• Dead by July - Before Dishonor (Bockhorn)
• Disfear - Misanthropic Generation (Relapse)
• Dishwalla - Live ... From the Flow State (Immergent)
  Buy Now: Live ... From the Flow State (Immergent)
• DJ Craze - Rugged Radio Saturday (Audio Research)
• DJ Keoki - KeokiClash (Hypnotic)
• Dudoos - Kogidaso! Shura-Shu-Shun! (Sound Pollution)
• Extol - Synergy (Century Media)
• Béla Fleck and the Flecktones - Little Worlds (Columbia)
• Gene Loves Jezebel - Exploding Girls (Triple X)
• Scott Hamilton Quartet - Live in London (Concord Jazz)
• Inhuman - The New Nightmare (A-F)
• Alan Jackson - Greatest Hits 2 (Arista)
• The Joykiller - Ready, Sexed, Go! (Epitaph)
• Jude the Obscure - The Coldest Winter (One Day Savior)
• Ben Lee - Hey You. Yes You. (F2)
  Buy Now: Hey You. Yes You. (F2)
• Los Lonely Boys - Los Lonely Boys (Or Music)
• Low Flying Owls - Elixir Viritae (Stinky)
• Tom Mabe - A Wake-Up Call for Telemarketers (Megaforce)
• Marizane - Stage One (Vibro-phonic)
• The Mexican Blackbirds - Just to Spite You (Dirtnap)
• Mosquitos - Mosquitos (Bar None)
• Judy Mowatt - Sing Our Own Song (Shanachie)
• Ken Navarro - All the Way (Shanachie)
• Michelle Nixon - It's My Turn (Pinecastle)
• Tim O'Brien - Traveler (Sugar Hill)
• Pansy Division - Total Entertainment (Alternative Tentacles)
• Danilo Pérez - ... Till Then (Verve)
• Sarah Pierce - Love's the Only Way (Little Bear/Valley Entertainment)
• Pigface - Head (Invisible)
• Rap Mania - The Roots of Rap (X-Ray)
• Kurt Rosenwinkel - Heatcore (Verve)
• Arundhati Roy - Come September ... In Conversations With Howard Zinn (Alternative Tentacles)
• Diane Schuur - Midnight (Concord Jazz)
• Slack Family - Pickin' Up the Slack (Planetary)
• Smith, White & Fairchild - Love Never Fails (Skaggs Family)
• Smoo - Traffic in My Soul (Valley Entertainment)
• South Central Cartel - South Central Hell-A (D3)
• The Spotlight Syndicate - ... Forget the Static Past ... (Substandard)
• State Property - Beanie Sigel Presents 2: The Album (Def Jam)
• These Arms Are Snakes - This Was Meant to Hurt You (Jade Tree)
• Walter Trout - Relentless (Ruf)
• Truxton - Truxton (Substandard)
• Viki/Hair Police - Split (Load)
• Vortis - God Won't Bless America Again (Thick)
• Wehrwolfe - Godless We Stand (Magick)
• Robin Williamson - Skirting the River Road (ECM)
• World Inferno Friendship Society - Hallomas — Live at North Six (DCN)
• Various artists - 7Heads R Better Than 1, Vol. 1: No Edge Ups in South Africa (7Heads)
• Various artists - Boston Scene Report (TKO)
• Various artists - "Cheetah Girls" soundtrack (Walt Disney)
• Various artists - "Freddy Vs. Jason" soundtrack (Def Jam)
• Various artists - Fueling the Flames of Revolution (A-F)
• Various artists - "Grind" soundtrack (Atlantic)
• Various artists - An Irish Holiday (Eagle)
• Various artists - Japanese Assault (Relapse)
• Various artists - !K7150 (!K7)
• Various artists - Kids Bop Vol. 4 (Razor and Tie)
• Various artists - "The Last Great Wilderness" soundtrack (Domino)
• Various artists - Metamorphic: The String Quartet Tribute to Tool 2 (Vitamin)
• Various artists - "Open Range" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - Powerpuff Girls: Power Pop (Kid Rhino)
• Various artists - Shout, Sister, Shout: A Tribute to Sister Rosetta
• Thorpe (M.C.)

• DVD Bloodhound Gang - One Fierce Beer Run (Geffen)
• DVD DJ Tiesto - Another Day at the Office (Black Hole)
• DVD Kottonmouth Kings - Endless Highway (Music Video Distributors/Suburban Noize)
• DVD New Order - 316 (Rhino)
• DVD Skid Row - Under the Skin: The Making of Thickskin (Music Video Distributors)

August 19:

• Kraftwerk - Tour de France Soundtracks (Astralwerks)
  Buy Now: Tour de France (Astralwerks)
• Neil Young - Greendale (Warner Bros.)
• Various artists - Neptunes Presents: Clones (Arista)
  Read: "Summer Music Preview: Neptunes' Star Trak Presents ... Clones"
  Buy Now: Neptunes Presents: Clones (Arista)
• Bow Wow - Unleashed (Columbia)
  Buy Now: Unleashed (Columbia)

August 26:

• Hilary Duff - Metamorphosis (Disney)
  Read: "Hilary Duff: Not Just For Kids"
  Buy Now: Metamorphosis (Disney)
  
• Peter Frampton - Now (33rd St.)
• Anthony Hamilton - Coming From Where I'm From (Arista) Read: "Eve, D'Angelo Can Testify: Anthony Hamilton Is 'Hellified Powerful' "
  Buy Now: Coming From Where I'm From (Arista)
• Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face)
  Buy Now: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face)
• Triumph the Insult Comic Dog - Songs in the Key of Poop (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Eminem Enemy Triumph Previews LP; Beefs With Bow Wow, Benji"

September 2:

• Mariah Carey - Remixes (Sony)
• Raveonettes- Chain Gang of Love (Sony)

September 9:

• John Mayer - Heavier Things (Sony)
  Read: "John Mayer Tries Hip-Hop With Help From Roots' ?uestlove"
• Seal - Seal (Warner Bros.)

September 16:

• Elvis Costello - North (Universal)
• Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance (Interscope)
  Read: "Bubba Sparxxx Softens Bumpkin Image, Teams Up With Justin For A 'Hootnanny' "
  
• Carnie Wilson - For the First Time (KMA)

October 7:

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

• Dashboard Confessional
• State Property
• Steve Burns
• Ben Lee
• Powerman 5000