XXL Mag

After his self-titled debut failed to deliver a follow-up single comparable to "Pump It Up," Joe Budden took matters into his own hands. Eschewing his Def Jam deal (and the label purgatory into which it threw he and his sophomore set, The Growth), Budden spent the mid- and late-2000s carving out a niche for himself as a truth-telling mixtape star, who flitted back and forth between color

The struggle of seeing this album come to fruition has been no secret, as Tyga’s very public battle with Young Money has been all over the media over the last year. However, it’s safe to say no one was expecting the Last Kings rapper to unleash The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty out of nowhere last week. As Tyga’s fourt...

August Alsina drops the video to his new single "Hip-Hop." After a roller coaster 2014, which found the former XXL Freshman as one of the brightest young faces in music after his impressive debut album Testimony dropped and him in a three day coma after he fell off stage at SOBs in New York City, unveiled the video at the BET Awards pre-show. The ode to the music ge...

It's been a rough couple of months for Iggy Azalea. Her 2014 debut, The New Classic, spawned hits its "Fancy" and "Black Widow" (featuring Charli XCX and Rita Ora, respectively) and earned her widespread notoriety and a laundry list of awards show nominations. Sin...

Check out all our coverage of the 2015 XXL Freshman Class Right Here

Nicki Minaj and Jeremih team up on DJ Prostyle's new single "Angel." The upbeat record debuted on New York's Z 100 station this morning. The two artist make a serious crossover banger that's a nice mesh of pop, EDM and disco; think a funkier version of Deorro and Chris Brown's "Five More Hours...

Known for their countless collaborations, Japanese streetwear brand, A Bathing Ape, teams up with the lovable characters from the Universal Studios film, Minions, to release a colorful collection for the summer. Finding inspiration from the Minions, BAPE's latest collection will consist of several graphic tees, pullover hoodies, crew neck sweaters, towels, handkerchiefs, snapbacks and beanies...

Tyga missed one too many rent payments on his $6.5 million, seven-bedroom Calabasas, CA mansion and now owes his former landlord a reported $80K in overdue rent. According to reports from TMZ and Daily Mail, the rapper actually owed $124,000 but cut a deal with the landlord so he only had to pay back a smaller percentage of that number ...

As everyone was glued to their TV screens watching the Bad Boy reunion last night (June 28) on the 2015 BET Awards, XXL couldn't help but think of all the transformations the label has endured over the years. From their 1990s run led by Craig Mack, The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, ...

Over the weekend, Kanye West took the stage to headline the Glastonbury Festival. Giving a spectacular performance that lasted about two hours, Kanye also released a set of exclusive merchandise that was limited to Festival-goers only. The small capsule, which consists of a pullover hoodie, an extended rain coat and a long sleeve tee, featured Kanye's "Yeezus" tag on the front and back

The Game's legal woes don't seem to be impacting the rapper's ability to go out and have fun. According to a report from TMZ, the Compton native dropped upwards of $40 racks at the Playhouse club in Hollywood and hours later showed up for a court date as a defendant against Onyebuchi Awaji, an off-duty LAPD officer whom The Game punched during a basketball game ...

  Since his release from prison at the beginning of last December, Meek Mill has led a charmed life. The animated Philadelphia rapper (who had been serving a three-to-six month bid for violating his parole) has dropped a series of well-received songs, further cemented himself among the major-label rap elite, and entered into a serious relationship with Nicki Minaj, a woman he was pining for on Tw