"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. Credits and personnel The credits for "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" are adapted from the liner notes of The Blueprint. Studio locations Mastered at Masterdisk, New York City, New York. Mixed at Right Track Studios, New York City, New York. Recorded at Baseline Studios, New York City, New York. Personnel Jay-Z – songwriting, vocals Kanye West – production, songwriting Berry Gordy – songwriting Alphonso Mizell – songwriting Freddie Perren – songwriting Deke Richards – songwriting Young Guru – recording Kamel Adbo – recording Ken "Duro" Ifill – mixing Tony Dawsey – mastering Samples "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" contains elements of "I Want You Back", as performed by The Jackson 5 and written by The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Alphonso Mizell, Freddie Perren and Deke Richards). Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts References 2001 songs 2001 singles Jay-Z songs Songs written by Jay-Z Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by Kanye West Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Songs written by Deke Richards Songs written by Berry Gordy Songs written by Freddie Perren Roc-A-Fella Records singles Def Jam Recordings singles