Dan Rys
How Migos Is Helping Change the Face of Hip-Hop
Make A Scene
How three wild dudes from A-Town are helping change the face of hip-hop.
Words Dan Rys
Images Elliot Liss
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Summer 2015 issue of XXL Magazine featuring our 2015 XXL Freshman Class. Chec...
Funk Pioneer George Clinton Looks Back At His Hip-Hop Legacy
Get Down
Pioneer of funk George Clinton looks back at his legacy in hip-hop.
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.
F...
Rich The Kid, “Where The Cash At” (Prod. Hit-Boy)
Rich The Kid is a free man. Three months after getting locked up alongside the Migos during a show at Georgia Southern University on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, the Quality Control MC is out of jail after posting $20,000 bond—as well as a $5,000 bond in Dekalb County, where he had been on probation—and is wasting no tim
Vic Mensa Describes His Debut Album as Melodic, Vulnerable and Raw
Rise 'N Shine
Two collabs with Kanye West and a new Roc Nation deal have Vic Mensa on the fast track to success.
Words Dan Rys
Image Brock Fetch
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Summer 2015 issue of XXL Magazine featuring our 2015 XXL Freshman Class. Chec...
12 Rappers and Producers Who Filed For Bankruptcy
After 50 Cent filed for bankruptcy today, here are 11 rappers and producers who have done the same in court.
2014 XXL Freshmen Year-End Report Card
It's amazing that it's already been a year since the 2014 XXL Freshman cover, when we unveiled our Dirty Dozen featuring two R&B artists for the first time ever. But now it's time to check the report card (click the image above). The pas...
XXL Freshmen: By The Numbers
Check Out All Our Coverage of XXL Freshmen 2015 Right Here
Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era Celebrate the First Annual Steez Day
It started with a downpour that soaked the masses and ended with an outpouring of emotion the size of Central Park. Last night's first annual #STEEZDay, put together by Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era to honor their fallen comrade Capital STEEZ on what would have been his 22nd birthday, contained everything in between...
Premiere: Papoose, “The Plug” (Prod. by DJ Premier)
Papoose continues gearing up for the release of his sophomore album You Can't Stop Destiny and today XXL premieres his latest single, "The Plug," produced by none other than the legendary DJ Premier. The track, which you can check out above, has a gritty, Western, bluesy feel complete with Premo's patented scratches and Pap's trademark swagger and braggadocio as he spits about having eve
Meek Mill Is In Top Form on ‘Dreams Worth More Than Money’
When Meek Mill announced his long-awaited sophomore album would be titled Dreams Worth More Than Money around this time last year, it seemed to mark a transition in tone from the loud-mouthed MMG MC. For so long his narrative had revolved around the pursuit of money, the validation of fame, the escape from the nightmares of his upbringing in the rough streets of Philly. But...
Vince Staples Doesn’t Hold Back on Debut Album ‘Summertime 06′
Vince Staples has never fit a mold. The streetwise rapper from Long Beach and 2015 XXL Freshman has a long lineage of rappers whose model he could follow as he begins to assert himself on the hip-hop landscape, dating back to Nate Dogg, Snoop and Dre and their funkified, bouncy party jams, or more recently with the Compton-bred MCs YG and Kendrick Lamar, anchors of opposite sides of the current Ca