Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" (often referred to as "H to the Izzo") is the first single released by Jay-Z from his sixth album "The Blueprint". It is among his most popular singles. This was the second song released off "The Blueprint", after the diss track "Takeover", but the lead single from it. The song reached number eight on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in the US. It was Jay-Z's first top 10 single as a lead artist. The song, produced by Kanye West, prominently features a sample of "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5, the second  major hit in 2001 to sample that song (after "My Baby" by Lil' Romeo). Jay-Z premiered the song live, at the inaugural BET Awards on June 19, 2001. The song was later mashed up with Linkin Park's "In the End" for their collaborative EP, "Collision Course". Lawsuit. On October 31, 2001, a copyright lawsuit was filed against Jay-Z by Demme Ulloa, who claimed that she was wasn't paid for her contribution to "Izzo". Ulloa asserted that it was her singing "H to the izzo/V to the izzay", though she didn't receive any money for  her contribution and was not credited in the liner notes of "The Blueprint". The case was dismissed in 2004 for joint authorship but continued to proceed for a copyright infringement claim. Music video. The music video takes place in New York City with Jay-Z, Damon Dash, Biggs and other affiliates on a Roc-A-Fella parade float which features cameo appearances from Kanye West, Destiny's Child, Trina, Eve, Nelly and Outkast. At the end of the music video, the first 15 seconds of "Hola' Hovito" is played. History with Kanye. In Kanye West's documentary Jeen-Yuhs During  a conversation with his mother, Kanye states that the hit song came about during a Studio Session with Jay-Z. Jay-Z had just finished playing the last of 9 unreleased tracks, when he is approached by Kanye and pulled into the next room. Kanye proceeds to tell Jay-Z that he has a beat he wants to play for him. According to Kanye, as he is playing the instrumental, Jay-Z proceeds to bob his head whilst simultaneously tapping Kanye's shoulder and whispering the soon-to-be chorus for the song; "H to the izz-O, V to  the izz-A Fo' shizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in VA". He and Jay-Z proceeded to freestyle their respective lyrics back and forth, and Jay-Z released the hit song a year later with Kanye as Producer.