L.A. Reid hosts fund-raiser for Obama

Sen. Barack Obama may be a rock star in the Democratic party, but he's a groupie when it comes to Beyoncé (r.). Monday night, Island Def Jam chairman L.A. Reid threw a fund-raiser for Obama at his upper East Side home. Just as he did two weeks ago at a Hollywood party that drew Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston and Eddie Murphy, Obama worked his magic on a crowd that included designer Tommy Hilfiger, singer Babyface Edmonds, Island Urban president (and Janet Jackson beau) Jermaine Dupri, Universal Music honcho Doug Morris and record execs Steve Bartels, Sylvia Rhone and Andre Harrell. Each paid $2,300 for sushi cones, pomegranate margaritas and Obama's vision of the future.

"He spoke for about 20 minutes, never mentioning Hillary Clinton," one guest tells us. "He was very impressive. People formed a circle around him. He shook everybody's hand and asked what they did."

One lady needed no introduction. Feasting his eyes on Beyoncé, the candidate said: "I never do this, but can I ask for your autograph?" The admiration seemed mutual as they posed for a photo. "I want a copy of that picture!" said Obama.

Naturally, he was also cordial to her boyfriend, Jay-Z, who laid his money down despite having had dinner a few nights earlier with Bill Clinton. Obama asked the rapper/ Def Jam CEO/co-owner of the Nets how his basketball team is doing.

The candidate also took questions from guests. Among them was Benny Medina, who asked if he had a running mate in mind.

"Are you available?" Obama asked Mariah Carey's manager. "Can you pass the FBI background check?"

"Absolutely not," said Medina.

Despite Obama's brazen invasion of Hillary Country, some well-known African-Americans are still doing their own background checks on the primary rivals.

"This is not the year to give anybody the election," Queen Latifah told us at Monday's premiere of her affecting HBO movie, "Life Support," "I'm a woman. And I'm an African-American. It's an exciting race, but we need to scrutinize everybody. Let 'em earn my vote."