XXL Mag

Though on Tidal subscribers are privy to the full video of the young Chicago rapper's contract signing, the word is out for the public at large: Vic Mensa has signed to Roc Nation. Vic first made a national name for himself after his friend and collaborator Chance the Rapper dropped Acid Rap in 2013 and landing on the 2014 XXL Freshmen cover; since then, he has expanded his palate beyond hip-hop.

“I remember when I first wrote the record ‘Vamonos,’" says Orlando rapper YT Triz. "I was on a small tour with J Rock, who produced the record. He gave me the beat and I wrote to it in the truck and I ain't think much of it. When I got back ...

adidas continues to release new iterations of their EQT Racer and today, we get a glimpse at the latest from the Three Stripes with the release of the EQT Racer 2.0. The new version of the EQT Racer features an open-air canvas on the side panel of the shoe, dressed in a white and black upper, the EQT 2...

Fabolous has played 2015 almost perfectly. Eschewing industry pressure to cram his talents into a format palatable to radio, the mixtape veteran has spent the year rhyming over the instrumentals to classic songs, kicking his name out into the news cycle with more vigor than if he threw 18 singers onto every hook...

Back in 2012, Waka Flocka Flame sent out a tweet that simply read, "I'm dead ass running for president in 2016." With election season starting to kick off and candidates throwing their hats into the ring, Flocka has made good on his word and signed the necessary documents to run for President of the United States in 2016 ...

Written in the wake of a grand jury's failure to indict Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson, Raury and Malik Shakur's "Fly" aims to be a song of healing, a processing tool in the wake of a tragedy. After Wilson killed Michael Brown in August of last year, there was an outpouring of support, vigils and protests, with artists like J...

V Magazine discovered something that works and are running with it. The last couple of issues featured Tinashe and FKA Twigs on the cover partially nude. For the summer 2015 issue, Rihanna is the cover star and is as hot as ever, completely topless wearing a blonde wig. She...

O.T. Genasis' career went to new heights with his smash hit "CoCo" and now the Conglomerate Entertainment rapper attempts a follow up hit with "Ricky." Stylistically, "Ricky" is in the same vein as "CoCo." While both songs have a catchy hook and cocaine raps, on "Ricky" Genasis tries his hand at harmonizing over the beat ...

Though Run the Jewels, his ongoing collaboration with Def Jux legend El-P, has introduced him to an entirely new set of fans, Killer Mike was honing his craft for more than a decade before the two even met. PL3DGE, the third installment in his I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind series of LPs--and fifth album overall--is a jarring, trunk-rattling work that serves as the blueprint for R.A.P. Music, th

King Los drops a soulful record featuring Marsha Ambrosius. "War" is a single off his upcoming new mixtape God, Money, War. “It’s a war going on outside on the corner/it’s a war on your TV screen every morning/not the war with the bombs and the helicopter swarming/but the war for your soul, that’s what everyone’s ignorin'," raps Los as her discuss topics like violence and attacking

Jeremih has quietly built an unimpeachable resume--his contributions to other artists' singles have guaranteed both favorable positions at Billboard and warm receptions from critics. His own single, the YG-featuring "Don't Tell 'Em," tore up 2014, taking home the award for the year's best Hip-Hop or R&B song at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. No...

Rick Ross drops the video for the Snoop Dogg-assisted banger "Quintessential." "Quintessential" is off of Ross' Hood Billionaire, the second album he released in 2014. The ultra smooth record gets even smoother visuals with Rozay playing the neighborhood pimp...