"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.^[1]

"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" (2001)

A 24-second sample of "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" by Jay-Z from The Blueprint

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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.^[2]

The song was later mashed up with Linkin Park's "In the End" for their collaborative EP, Collision Course.

Izzo and H.O.V.A are synonymous with Jehovah. Jay-Z earned the nickname "Jay-Hova" due to his songwriting skills.

"They start calling me Jay-Hova. I didn't want to offend people, by saying I was Jehovah. I'm God or anything like that. I know way better than that."^[3] -Jay-Z

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.^[4] The joint authorship claim was dismissed in 2004 but continued to proceed for a copyright infringement claim, which was ultimately settled.^[5][6]

The music video was filmed in Los Angeles on a street made to look like New York City, and features cameos from Damon Dash,^[7] Kanye West, Destiny’s Child, Trina, Eve, Nelly, and Outkast.^[8]

The credits for "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" are adapted from the liner notes of The Blueprint.^[9]

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).