Recipient of both the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature and Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, Fruitvale Station, the story on the life of the late Oscar Grant, starring Michael B. Jordan hits theaters on July 12th.

The post Here’s The Film Poster For ‘Fruitvale Station’ appeared first on XXL.

Carlo Allegri/Getty Images

Ice Cube has managed to expand his artist brand to something much more than a successful rap career. The former N.W.A. member made major strides with his albums AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted and Death Certificate. Now, he’s gearing up to release his tenth studio album, Everythang’s Corrupt, later this year. While speaking with Metro, the actor, writer, producer and director discusses his new album, the progress of closing out the Friday franchise, and if the N.W.A. film is still in the works.

On Everythang’s Corrupt:
“Everything that you’ve ever gotten from me, I deliver on this record. My style is straight street knowledge. I don’t really cater to what’s going on in hip-hop or what’s going on in the industry, so to speak. I just dial in on Ice Cube fans and try to keep them satisfied, and everybody else gotta get in where they fit in. I don’t want to have to worry about no program director here or no A&R there. That makes it a drag, and being independent, I can just go in the studio and do what I feel.”

On Last Friday:
“We’re trying to get it done. New Line has really been neutered by Time Warner, so they can’t do as many movies as they usually do per year. So it’s just a fight to get ‘Last Friday’ on their schedule. They only got three or four movies to do a year, and urban comedy is probably low on the totem pole.”

On The N.W.A. Film:
“I want my son OMG to play me. He looks like me and he can act, so he can do it. I just had to meet with [Gray] and Dr. Dre to work on the script and keep getting it tighter and tighter, so we’re in the process of casting the movie now, so it’s full steam ahead. This N.W.A. movie, it’s still my dream. That’s what I’ve been dying to make.”

[via Metro]

The post Ice Cube On ‘Everythang’s Corrupt,’ The N.W.A. Film And “Last Friday” appeared first on XXL.

Asher Roth is finally releasing the second installment of The Greenhouse Effect. In 2008, the tape hosted by DJ Drama and Don Cannon was widely instrumental in building his buzz. Off the strength of the tape’s success, Roth was selected for XXL’s 2009 Freshmen cover.

While Roth didn’t reveal a release date, fans are excited to hear another one in the making. This follows up Roth’s recent mixtape, Pabst & Jazz, and serves to hold us over until his untitled sophomore album comes out.

[via MissInfo]

UPDATE: Watch Asher Roth’s promo video that features a freestyle over Pusha T’s “Numbers On The Boards.”

UPDATE #2: Roth says The GreenHouse Effect Vol. 2 is releasing on June 25.

The post Asher Roth Announces ‘The GreenHouse Effect Vol. 2′ Mixtape appeared first on XXL.

Late last night, the unlikely news broke that the recently-troubled actor/singer Amanda Bynes was at work with hip-hop icon Wyclef Jean on an upcoming as-yet-untitled musical endeavor. According to Chinga Chang Records CEO Dan Herman, who apparently had a hand in making the collaboration happen, “Linking the two of them will be something major.” Something major, indeed. After mentioning that Wyclef would be open to the idea, Herman continued, “This album is going to shock the world.” Dude is spot-on, so far.

To celebrate the guaranteed mess of whatever music these two end up making together, the generous XXL staff was so excited about Amanda and Clef’s collab that we threw together an original album cover for the pair, which you can check out above. And in the off chance that they didn’t like the name we came up with—The Psycho Carnival, get it?—we were also kind enough think of a list of other potential titles for their forthcoming LP. Here we go…

Drake Murdered My Vagina But Not My Dreams
Magna Carty Holy Shit I’m A Crazy Person
Clef Notes For Crazy Folk
100 Pillz And Runnin’
Ride Together, Lose Our Minds Together
Two Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
The Score…Of Insanity
Baby Oil Bangers
The Miseducation of Amanda Bynes
Molly
Blunted On Insanity
From The Hut, To The Projects, To The Asylum
Wyclef Jean Is Desperate
The Ecleftic 2: 2 Sides II A Nut Job
The Preacher’s Crazy Motherfucking Daughter
Welcome To Amanda Bynes: Former Home Of Kid Cudi
Full Metal Straightjacket
If I Were Amanda Bynes: My Really Thirsty Experience
Get Rich Or Lose Your Shit
Speakingboxxx/The Love Below Amanda Bynes’ Wig
Bring In The Dancing Lobsters
Wiggin’ Out
Take Care, Of Amanda Bynes’ Vagina
Bongs Over Manhattan
Tax Write-Off
Haitian Hot Mess
Watch The Bong
Psychoanalysis: They Need It
Watching Movies With Your Brain Off
Gone Till November (When I’m Scheduled For Psychiatric Evaluation)
I Peaked In 1999
The Black(-Out And Yell At Cops) Album
Batshit Don’t Lie
Straight Outta Pillz
The Refugee Crazy House

The post Potential Titles For Wyclef Jean And Amanda Bynes’ Album appeared first on XXL.

Tony Touch has dropped some legendary mixtapes over his two-decade-plus career. After his three-part 50 MC’s series during the late ’90s and Piece Maker I and II that dropped in 2000 and 2004, respectfully, the mega DJ, producer and occasional rhymer has worked with some pretty major artists. Touch is set to release Piece Maker 3 (50 MC’s Reunion) on July 9, which will double as Toca’s 100th mixtape—that’s right, triple digits—but this tape is no ordinary project. This time around, he’s infused his two mixtape brands, Piece Maker and 50 MC’s, into one huge project. “I feel there is a really strong demand for it, so I thought the Piece Maker III was perfect right now,” he said. “People are thirsty for some real rap shit, more substance, lyrical content and beats that have that authentic New York sound.”

Tony Toca’s storied background in hip-hop culture began with him as a b-boy in the early ’80s and has encompassed contributions from a collection of celebrated lyricists ranging from both old and new generations over the many years that have followed. On this new project, you get to hear tracks with collaborations from artists such as Busta Rhymes, M.O.P., Sean Price, Black Thought, The LOX, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Action Bronson, Twista, Bun B, KRS-One, Fat Joe, Redman, N.O.R.E, Slaughterhouse and Eminem. The DJ—whose real name is Joseph Anthony Hernandez—swung by the XXL offices to discuss his new project, the history behind his mixtape series, why he chose to drop a tape now and his favorite artist that he’s worked with over the years.—Emmanuel Maduakolam (@ECM_LP)

XXL: I just want to get a short background on you for the young people who may not know your history in hip-hop.

Tony Touch: I started putting out mixtapes here in New York in the early ’90s, ’91, ’92. It wasn’t until ’96 that I did my first 50 MC’s mixtape. It was actually my 50th hip-hop tape, so I presented it as an anniversary tape. It was pretty groundbreaking, opened up a lot of doors for me, and [I got] a lot of notoriety off of that. [It] featured artists like KRS and Onyx and Boot Camp Clik and stuff like that. Guru was on the first one as well. So once that came out, that’s when the ball started rolling, [I] started getting booked overseas and everything just took off. Everything stems from the mixtape movement.

My mixtapes are always numbered so it’s easy for people to follow and keep up in case they were missing any volumes. So when I got to no. 50, that became the first 50 MC’s—mixtape no. 50. And ironically this is actually my 100th mixtape as well.

Oh wow.

That’s how I’m presenting it as well. It’s mixtape 100, the Piece Maker III, Return of the 50 MC’s—there were actually three titles to this project. And the inspiration again just comes from, you know, grassroots hip-hop, the New York sound. I took it back to the original, the whole cypher, MCs just getting together, spitting, just straight lyrics. I got a radio show on Shade 45 every Tuesday, been there for about eight years, [and] I’m always getting artists to come up and freestyle on the show every week, and people seem to be into it. We throw them up on YouTube, every year we do the best of’s, and the response has been great, so I felt people are into that whole thing. Like when BET does their BET Awards, the cyphers [are] the most anticipated part of the show. People just want to see motherfuckers freestyling, going hard, spitting. It’s been eight years with the station, and shout out to Eminem and Paul Rosenberg and those guys, I secured that and it’s been full speed ever since.

One of the campaigns I did for this mixtape was, 50 days prior to the album dropping, I committed to virally dropping 50 webisodes, small 5-10 minute clips of footage I collected over the years. I was a camcorder fanatic since the early ’90s, and I documented a lot of my sessions and studio with guys and tours and shit. I’m posting 50 webisodes for the 50 MCs, [and] we’re about halfway there, with 25-26 days until the album comes out. You can kind of catch the timeline of my come-up with all these artists I work with.

The post Tony Touch Set To Drop 100th Mixtape, Says “There Is A Demand For Lyrics” appeared first on XXL.

Mibbs—who is better known as part of Pac Div—released his solo EP with prominent West Coast producer Scoop DeVille. FREEBASS is a lean five tracks with no features. You can stream it below.

The post Stream Mibbs And Scoop DeVille’s New ‘FREEBASS’ EP appeared first on XXL.

Chamillionaire has maintained a steady independent career since his departure from Universal Records. After releasing two EPs—Elevate and Ammunition—on his website Chamillionaire.com, the Houston veteran is planning on a new Reignfall EP for July 23.

Cham has written specific instructions on how to pre-order the album. He has provided various options for fans to choose from.

The REIGNFALL EP will release on JULY 23RD 2013. I have set the release date back about a week further than in the past to allow more time to get all of the pre-orders packaged and ready to be shipped. All of these new chamillionaire.com EP orders will be shipped through a different system than in the past and will be shipped by a company in Los Angeles. The new customer service email address for all orders is chamillionairemerch@gmail.com and all emails will receive a response within 24-48 hours.

You can purchase the physical copy of the Reignfall Ep or a deluxe merch package. All deluxe orders will include the following:

(1) Chamillionaire – Reignfall Ep
(1) Limited Edition Black Reignfall T Shirt
(1) Limited Edition Black Reignfall Snapback Hat
(1) Limited Edition Reignfall Bandana
(2) Limited Edition 13 x 19 Posters

Each pre-order will also include Chamillitary stickers as a bonus for customers (The stickers are not for sale).

Chamillionaire plans on releasing the tracklist soon.
[via Chamillionaire]

The post Chamillionaire To Release ‘Reignfall’ EP In July appeared first on XXL.

It looks like Ice-T has another documentary film gig lined up—this time, as a narrator.

The West Coast legend has apparently signed on to narrate the upcoming documentary film Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire. The film—which is set for a June 20 release—analyzes the issue of gun control in America and the arguments against banning high capacity magazines and assault weapons.

This isn’t Ice-T’s first work on a documentary filme. Last year, he released his directorial debut The Art Of Rap, featuring appearances from Kanye West, Eminem, Immortal Technique and more.

The post Ice-T To Narrate Documentary ‘Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire’ appeared first on XXL.

Slaughterhouse has begun recording their third album and they’re in good hands. According to Shady Records, the group has appointed Just Blaze to serve as the album’s Executive Producer. Araabmuzik and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League have also been confirmed to be working on the LP with the group. While there’s no set release date for the currently untitled album, it’s reported that the four members are spending the month of June at a “secret location” for the album’s recording process.

The post Just Blaze Set To Executive Produce Upcoming Slaughterhouse Album appeared first on XXL.

Logic is set to hit the stage Friday, June 22 and XXL has a pair of  tickets to giveaway.

Visionary Music Group and This Song Is Sick have teamed up to bring you Logic’s nationwide Welcome To Forever Tour. The tour is in support of Logic’s mixtape Young Sinatra: Welcome To Forever. C Dot Castro and Skizzy Mars will also be joining the tour as support. The concert is already sold out and this is your only chance to see the  2013 XXL Freshmen class member.

The first contestant to e-mail XXL@harris-pub.com with their full name (first and last) and the answer to the following trivia question will win: What is Logic’s gov’t name?

Please put “Logic Irving Plaza Ticket Giveaway” in the subject line. XXL will notify the winners and information to retrieve the tickets.

The post Win Tickets To See Logic Perform At Irving Plaza On June 22 appeared first on XXL.

In the buildup to the release of Kanye West’s sixth solo album Yeezus, we asked a handful of rappers and producers what their favorite tracks were in the Kanye discography. It’s not an easy question, and can sometimes lead to deeper thoughts on which iteration of the Yeezy lexicon is more preferable than the others—the earnest, soul-sample-heavy early years of College Dropout and Late Registration, the dip into synth-pop during the Graduation era, the auto-tuned, emotion-wracked 808s and Heartbreaks, or the lushly-produced, massive sound of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

So whether it’s Jay Electronica telling us about the inspiration behind one of the strongest tracks on MBDTF or Mike Dean clue-ing us in on a bit of the background behind one of Kanye’s newest releases, we’ve got their answers. Of course, many people might wind up giving an answer similar to the one given to us by Trinidad James regarding his favorite track—”[I] don’t have one. He makes great bodies of music.”—Dan Rys (@danrys)

The post Jay Electronica: “Kanye West Said ‘Gorgeous’ Was Inspired By Me” appeared first on XXL.

Kanye West’s Yeezus is unanimously favored by every music publication that’s out there. Though the official production credits have not been confirmed, Babylon Cartel’s Gianni Lee and Mike Blud have pooled together the samples used on the album. Dubbed Yeezus: The Samples, the mixtape gathers songs from Marilyn Manson, TNGHT, Pusha T, Beenie Man and more.

You can stream and download the tape below.

Yeezus: The Samples:

01 Intro (Prod By Gianni Lee)
02 Holy Name of Mary Choral Family: “He’ll Give Us What We Really Need (“On Sight”)
03 Marilyn Manson: “The Beautiful People” (“Black Skinhead”)
04 Capleton: “Forward Inna Dem Clothes” (“I Am A God”)
05 Omega, Omega: “Gyöngyhajú lány” (“New Slaves”)
06 Rahul Dev Burman, Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey: “Are Zindagi Hai Khel” (“I Am A God”)
07 Kenny Lattimore: “Lately” (“I’m In It”)
08 Nina Simone: “Strange Fruit” (“Blood On The Leaves”)
09 TNGHT: “R U Ready” (“Blood On The Leaves”)
10 Snoop Dogg: “Down 4 My N’s: “(“Blood On The Leaves”)
11 Lords Of The Underground: “Chief Rocka” (“Guilt Trip”)
12 Pusha T ft Popcann Travis Scott: “Blocka” (“Guilt Trip”)
13 Beenie Man: “Memories” (“Send It Up”)
14 Wee: “Aeroplane (Reprise)” (“Bound 2″)
16 Ponderosa Twins Plus One: “Bound” (“Bound 2″)
17 Brenda Lee: “Sweet Nothin” (“Bound 2″)

[via Pitchfork]

The post Download A Mixtape Of The Samples Used On Kanye West’s ‘Yeezus’ appeared first on XXL.

On this glorious day in hip-hop that is June 18, Deniro Farrar has thrown his name into the ring of heavyweights. Today, Deniro released his follow up project The Patriarch 2.  The new tape features production from Ryan Hemsworth, The Kickdrums, KIRA and Ryan Alexy and features from Child Actr and JMSN. You can stream the album below.

The post Deniro Farrar’s ‘The Patriarch 2′ Album Stream appeared first on XXL.

J. Cole’s sophomore album Born Sinner came out today, and there’s been a lot of buzz over the number of iconic and influential rappers he name-drops all across the record’s sixteen tracks. The most obvious comes in the track “Let Nas Down,” where he discusses the Queens MC’s less than positive reaction to Cole’s releasing “Work Out” as a single off his chart-topping Cole World: Sideline Story debut album.

But Cole and Nas have a bit of a friendly history, and in an interview with BET, Cole described running into Nas in a Houston airport at six in the morning and showing him the track just a few days after writing and recording it.

“I wrote the beat at the house, wrote the rhymes at the crib, and then I waited til I got to the studio that night to record it,” Cole recalls of the making of the track. “Three, four days go by, we got a show in Houston… I do the show, wake up the next morning, go to the airport at like 6 am.” While at the airport, Cole took out his laptop and handed it to a friend, still bugging out over the track, when his friend looked up and noticed Nas boarding the plane, eventually taking the seat behind Cole’s.

“Soon as I seen him I knew that this was fate,” Cole continued. “I was telling people, this album has so many moments that connected that let me know I was doing the right thing, and that was one of them… I give him my headphones—I’m trying to hear what part of the song he’s on, ’cause he’s behind me. About a minute in to the song, he’s just like “whooo!” beating my chair, just bangin my chair. Overall he was wild, the look on his face was like, honored, honored that I would make that, and also highly impressed. So that was a huge moment for me.”

Check out the full video of Cole’s interview below.

The post J. Cole Says He Played “Let Nas Down” For Nas On An Airplane appeared first on XXL.

Yesterday, Lil Wayne found himself embroiled in yet another controversy when images of him stepping on the American flag for a music video surfaced. Now, the YMCMB star responds to the uproar.

Weezy explained that the images—when came from the shot for his upcoming video “God Bless Amerika”—were somewhat misleading, as his is not actively attempting to step on or desecrate the flag. However, he added that the song and its video are meant to contrast the America that the flag represents and the America he witnessed growing up in a lower income neighborhood.

“It was never my intention to desecrate the flag of the United States of America,” he explained. “I was shooting a video for a song off my album entitled ‘God Bless Amerika.’ The clip that surfaced on the Internet was a camera trick clip that revealed that behind the American Flag was the Hoods of America. In the final edit of the video you will see the flag fall to reveal what is behind it but will never see it on the ground. In most people eyes, including my own who were raised in that environment, the Hood is the only America they know and the only America I knew growing up. I was fortunate from my God giving talents to escape the Hood and see the other beautiful places this country has to offer but most people who are born in that environment don’t get that chance. That’s their view of their America. That was Dwayne M Carter from Hollygrove New Orleans view of America. That’s who I’m speaking for in this song.”

A video of the incident can be seen above, where Wayne seemingly steps on the flag by mistake after it drops to the ground during the shoot.

[via Facebook]

The post Lil Wayne Explains It Was “Never My Intention To Desecrate The Flag” In New Video appeared first on XXL.

Drake is the newest cover subject for GQ Magazine’s July 2013 issue. Some excerpts of the cover story, which is titled “How To Drake It In America,” reveals his thoughts on Chris Brown, the single “Started From The Bottom,” and Nothing Was The Same.

Writer Michael Paterniti hung out with Drizzy in his San Fernando Valley home, so you can expect the full story to be eventful. A highlight, however, is their discussion on a track called “Tuscan Leather.” It samples Whitney Houston and Curtis Mayfield at a 1987 concert in Montreux.

“Having the same fears, shedding similar tears, and of course dying in so many years, it don’t mean that we can’t have a good life,” he says.

He explains the concept behind the title as, “Tom Ford fragrance that some say smells like a brick of cocaine.”

Read some more of the story below, and grab the new GQ now.

On Chris Brown:
“I hear he has everything he could want now. I don’t want my name to be synonymous with that guy’s name. I really don’t. I wish we could sit down just like you and me are right now, and talk it out man-to-man. But that’s not going to happen. I’m not confrontational, but if someone challenges, I’m not going to back down. If I think about it too much, I feel it wrapping around my foot, like I get a feeling it could end really badly…Like, it gets really dark.”

On “Started From The Bottom:”
“I think a lot of people wish their favorite rapper wrote it—as if a song like that should be gangster—but I was the one who wrote it, and everyone has their bottom.”

“As for my whole story, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve told bits and pieces of it—and I’ll tell more. Maybe because I had friends who grew up in the hood, I could have acted like I had, too, and perpetrated a different lifestyle, and it would be eating away at me because it wouldn’t be the truth. i’m actually here in front of you living the truth. I wake up in the morning and my heart is light, man. It’s not heavy. I don’t have skeletons in the closet on their way out. This is my real age, my real name, my real past, and I’m good with that.”

On Nothing Was The Same:
“This is my fucking moment to say if I wanted to rap all the time, really rap, I would, but I also love to make music. I’ll do this for you right now. But it’s for me, too. It’s my story…I’m trying to get back to that kid in the basement. To say what he has to say. And I’m trying to make it last.”

[via GQ]

The post Drake Explains “Tuscan Leather” Record On ‘Nothing Was The Same’ appeared first on XXL.

There is too much new music out today. With June 18th contenders J. Cole, Kanye West, Mac Miller and Statik Selektah finally putting out their new records—giving fans and critics a lot to talk about and discuss—Bay Area representer Lil B has decided to join the conversation. This morning, B unexpectedly threw his hat into the major release date ring with his new mixtape 100% Gutta.

In a private message from B himself about the mixtape, he said, “34 NEW SONGS!!!!!!!” Amen. Here, Lil Brandon is back after a few months of relative quiet with 34 lo-fi #based jams to get jiggy to all summer. Some of Gutta‘s clear standouts come in “Lifes Hard,” a downtrodden but ultimately motivational song about struggle and success, and the extra-catchy “Twerk Like Miley.” You can guess what that one’s about.

Stream and download B’s new mixtape below, and if you’re in New York next week make sure you catch him here.

The post Lil B Throws Hat Into June 18th Ring, Releases ’100% Gutta’ Mixtape appeared first on XXL.

June 18 is just getting better and better. With the release of Kanye West’s Yeezus, J. Cole’s Born Sinner, Mac Miller’s Watching Movies With The Sound Off, and Statik Selektah’s Extended Play ,all on one day, Wale decided to stream his album in its entirety today. The Gifted is released one week before its intended release date (June 25). It features guest appearances by Rick Ross, Cee-Lo Green, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, Juicy J, and more. Stream the entire album on iTunes. What a beautiful day for hip-hop. You can see the tracklist here.

The post Stream Wale’s ‘The Gifted’ appeared first on XXL.

Rumors were swirling that Amanda Bynes was offered a record deal by a small East Coast hip-hop label called Chinga Chang Records. Now, it appears she has signed on the dotted line and looking for album collaborators.

Last night, E! News confirmed Bynes held a meeting with Wyclef Jean to discuss the possibly of creating an album together. Chinga Chang Records CEO Dan Herman says, “I think it would be perfect. Linking the two of them will be something major.”

It would definitely be major all right. Herman added that Wyclef has been open to the idea. According to the article, they brainstormed some ideas. Herman says he’s confident they would be “great.”

“This album is going to shock the world,” he said. “She has such a great voice. Singers wish they could hit the notes that Amanda does.”

Bynes may have the talent, but she’s going to have to work on her people skills. Recently, she has targeted superstars Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and Drake on Twitter. Only time will tell if she can regain respect in the music industry again.

The post Amanda Bynes And Wyclef Jean Are In Talks Of A Possible Album Collaboration appeared first on XXL.

Episode 1: Cousin Bang and Iamjuju_ get into it

Cam’ron returns to Vine and he brought his Cousin Bang with him. If you remember, these two have gotten into some fuckery in the past, and their adventures are always entertaining. Here, Killa Cam and his girl Juju get into a gunfight with Bang, before they end it with a reasonable peace offering. Check it out.

Previously: Watch Cam’ron and Juju’s Hilarious “A Love Story” On Vine

The post Cam’ron, JuJu & Cousin Bang Come Out With Guns Blazing On Vine appeared first on XXL.