Phish Rap

Pairing Jay-Z with the Beatles on the bootleg ''The Grey Album'' was odd enough, but now the multiplatinum rapper has enlisted an even more unlikely backing band: Phish. Halfway through the jam band's Friday night show at Keyspan Park in Brooklyn, New York, they brought out Jay-Z to rap on his own ''99 Problems'' and ''Big Pimpin','' according to published reports. The crowd cheered especially hard for a line about preventing cops from searching a car (''I know my rights, so you gon' need a warrant for that''), according to the New York Times.

There was no word how Phish – who will be breaking up at the end of their current tour – convinced Jay-Z to appear. But it couldn't have hurt that the rapper has also announced his impending retirement. Friday's show was the jam band's final performance in New York; they will play their last shows ever (supposedly) on Aug. 15 and 16 in their native Vermont.  For the curious,  Friday's concert can be downloaded (for a fee) at livephish.com.

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