By JESSE WASHINGTON
AP National Writer

The Roots, ``How I Got Over'' (Def Jam)

Finally, the Roots album we've been waiting for.

No offense to bandleader ?uestlove and emcee Black Thought _ both will be remembered as among the greats _ or any of the five CDs their fantastic rap band has released since the 1999 masterpiece ``Things Fall Apart.'' But in this era of impatience, those five albums had too many skippable songs. Some tracks stuck to your ribs _ ``Rolling With Heat,'' ``Don't Say Nuthin,'' ``Don't Feel Right'' _ but it was easy to forget the albums they appeared on.

By THOMAS WATKINS and LYNN ELBER
Associated Press Writers

A year ago, the world watched as Michael Jackson balanced on the edge of a precipice. Behind the once-proclaimed King of Pop was a bleak stretch of pain and artistic decline. Ahead lay a series of 50 London concerts, a high-rolling bid to reassert his musical brilliance and re-establish control of his life.

He was ready. The audience was ready. Then he was gone. Less than three weeks before his new life may have started on a stage filled with special effects and song, the old one ended in a cloud of drugs and unfulfilled dreams. Read more...

By Antracia Moorings

Memorialized: A section of Interstate 40 in Tennessee is a step closer to being named after legendary soul musician Isaac Hayes. The state senate unanimously passed a measure Thursday to rename the stretch of road “Isaac Hayes Memorial Highway.” The House approved it without opposition in April, and Gov. Phil Bredesen is expected to sign the bill without objection. Isaac Hayes Memorial Highway would be near Memphis, where Hayes had a home until he died of a stroke in 2008 at the age of 65. He was raised in Tipton County, north of Memphis. Hayes won Academy and Grammy awards for his “Theme from Shaft.” He was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. He also acted in movies and provided the voice of Chef on the animated TV show “South Park.”