Manny is the Associate Editor for XXL from Irvington, N.J. and resident Saiyan/Shinobi. He loves music, the New York Giants, the New Jersey Nets and chicken fingers wrapped with bacon.
Emmanuel C.M.
15 Steps To Being The Perfect Hype Man
Live concerts is an amazing, awe-inspiring experience. To see your favorite group or artist perform your favorite songs live, whether in at a huge festival or a small underground haven, is a magical experience. The unappreciated aspect that makes a show grand, is the hype man...
D. Gainez Documents Lil Durk’s Journey
D. Gainez documents Lil Durk’s journey from rags to riches in the first webisode of the mini-series. Earlier this year, the chiraq videographer released unseen footage following the Chief Keef journey. In the video, we follow Durk in his day-to-day, hanging out with friends, shooting hoops, and recording a music video. Lil ...
Up In Smoke
Sponsored Post
SMOKE Liqueur, the new coconut-pineapple vodka infused with a splash of moscato, has been burning up the clubs and become an instant hip-hop classic.
Inspired by the Smoke x hip-hop connection, XXL presents a look at out favorite rap lyrics about smoke.
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12 Rappers With Full Body Tattoos
What rapper in today's age do you see without a tattoo? Its almost a standard now for rappers to have some sort of tattoo. As hip-hop evolved over the past years, so has the culture. Now artists expresses themselves not only through their lyrics but through their clothes, fashion and physical appearance, specifically tattoos.
Tatto...
Jay Z May Come Out For Made In America
According to Budweiser brand manager Mike Thompson, he isn’t counting out a surprise appearance from Jay Z. In a interview with Billboard, Mr. Thompson states "You never know. I’m sure he’ll be here to support his wife and who knows, maybe he’ll treat us all to a cameo appearance during one of the performances. It would be cool to see him...
Wall Street Journal Hates Hip-Hop
On a segment on Fox News that aired on Tuesday, the state of hip-hop became a topic of criticism. 50 years after the 1963 March on Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, rap became the topic of discussion, stemming from a Wall Street Journal piece by Juan Williams. In the piece, Ju...
EL P Appears On ‘Rhythem Roulette’
Mass Appeal holds a series called “Rhythm Roulette” which challenges producers to make a beat from scratch by sampling three records at random. The series has had producers from Statik Selektah, Lee Bannon, and Illmind to 88-Keys and Party Supplies. Today's gu...
Flying Lotus Will Have His Own Radio Station In GTA V
Have you seen the official trailer of Grand Theft Auto V? Its a thing a beauty. With GTA V just a couple weeks away (Sept. 17), Rockstar Games teased their fans of the GTA series today by releasing the official trailer for the game. GTA seri
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There’a A Petition To Rename A Brooklyn Street After Biggie
There is a petition going on to honor the late great Notorious B.I.G. The petition is looking to co-naming the corner of Biggie's childhood home on St James Place and Fulton Street in Brooklyn to Christopher Wallace Way. Here is a excerpt from the petition:
Artistically during Christopher Wallace time in music he was considered the best at his craft, so much so, he was given the highest esteem b
14 Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions Of Rap Songs
Imagine your favorite record from Kanye and Jay Z turned into a soothing lullaby. How great will that be to play for your child as he or she falls asleep? What if I told you this can happen? Yes, Rockabye Baby! takes your favorite Rap stars and does lullaby renditions of their most popular songs. Its...
Just Blaze Compares Eminem To Jay Z
Just Blaze has been in the game for a long time. He has worked with a extensive list of artist, two in particular he discusses in today's video, Jay Z and Eminem.
Here, the super-producer finds himself comparing the two emcees during an interview with Vlad TV...
The NBA’s Tony Parker Gives Up Rapping
NBA superstar, All-NBA point guard from the San Antonio Spurs will retire from hip-hop today. In 2007, Parker dropped a self-titled French rap project which boasted singles such as "Balance-tois," "Premier Love," and "Top of the Game."
In a...