Dan Rys
Drake Responds to Meek Mill’s Diss Track “Wanna Know”
Drake must be having fun.
After Meek Mill put Drake on blast for allegedly ghostwriting his verses, Drizzy responded with a pair of diss tracks, first "Charged Up," then "Back To Back," to defend himself and unleash his own attack on Meek...
Gunplay Describes His Drug Dealing Past in Living Legend Doc Part 1
Gunplay's long-awaited, oft-delayed debut album for Def Jam, Living Legend, officially hits stores tomorrow (July 31) and ahead of its release XXL exclusively premieres part one of his five-part Living Legend documentary series.
In the ina...
Papoose On His New Album and the One Year Anniversary of Remy Ma’s Freedom
Somehow, some way, Papoose always remains in the thick of the conversation in hip-hop. Whether it's jumping on stage unexpectedly at Summer Jam, firing lyrical jabs aimed at Kendrick Lamar, defending his city against Trinidad Jame$' comments about the South running hip-hop or his wife and former Terror Squad MC Remy Ma finally getting out of jail after six years, Pap is always around, watching and
Show & Prove: Kap G, D.R.A.M. and Skizzy Mars
Show & Prove is our section in the magazine where we highlight which rappers are hot in hip-hop now. Many who have appeared in our Show & Prove section have gone on to launch successful music careers. With the goal to bring our hand-picked selections online, here are the stories from Kap G, D.R.A.M. ...
BankRoll Bird Relives His Past in New “True Story” Video
A new type of MC is emerging out of Charlotte, North Carolina named BankRoll Bird, a multi-dimensional rapper/singer who marries tough, real life bars with a subtly Auto-Tuned melodic approach that puts him somewhere in the area of a smoother, more falsetto-voiced street rhymer...
Train of Thought: Boosie BadAzz’s “Black Heaven”
Train Of Thought: Boosie BadAzz
"Black Heaven" Feat. Keyshia Cole and J. Cole
Words Dan Rys
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Summer 2015 issue of XXL Magazine featuring our 2015 XXL Freshman Class. Check out everything from our Freshman issue right here.
V...
Hopsin Feels Like He Has Something to Prove on His New Album
Hopsin is mid-sentence, talking about his plans to go out on tour with his Funk Volume labelmates Dizzy Wright and Jarren Benton later this year, when he stops himself and trails off. "My mom's calling me," he says, reaching into his pocket for his phone with a slightly embarrassed smile...
Future Dances With the Devil on ‘DS 2′
There is a song towards the business end of Future's third solo album, DS 2, called "The Percocet & Stripper Joint." Rarely has any artist so effectively and outwardly summed up their own level of hedonism and self-destruction in a single song title. And rig...
A Recent History of Rappers Writing Open Letters
Here is a recent history of rappers writing open letters to the community.