XXL Mag

DuRu Tha King is another artist not to sleep on heading into the new year. An example of why is "Free Spirit" — a cut that features hazy atmospherics, jazzy textures, and solid rhyming skills for a worthwhile three minutes. The video channels the song's vibe fluently. Here...

Early in 2014, a Rolling Stone profile piece on Drake caused some controversy when the rapper accused the writer of twisting his words and misquoting him in regards to Kanye West and his Yeezus album. In the writeup, Drizzy allegedly discussed some of 'Ye's lyrics and said, "There were some real questionable bars on there, like that 'Swaghili' line? Come on, man. Even...

Sky's The Limit It took YG five years after getting signed to Def Jam to release his debut album, but when it finally dropped, a rap star was born. Interview Miranda Johnson Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Winter 2014 issue of XXL Magazine. O...

Young Thug is as much of a workhorse as he is an eccentric. His stream of material is still continuing as the year winds down. This time he hits us with the celebratory "Pelican Fly." This one has the same feel as "Lifestyle," except with 100 percent more Young Thug...

YG and DJ Mustard nearly broke the Internet when their personal problems boiled over into Instagram today (Dec. 29). Mustard appeared frustrated over not being compensated for YG's highly acclaimed debut album, My Krazy Life, and chose IG as the platform to air it all out...

In 2014 mew saw the return of the Nike Air Command Force in its original colorways. The shoe made famous by the David "The Admiral" Robinson was well-received by the sneaker community and it looks like Nike took notice of the shoe's popularity...

Back in the day, Soulja Boy swept through like a hurricane. After cranking out "Crank That," Soulja became an overnight celebrity. With having a couple of years now under his belt, Soulja is hoping to recapture that magic. Fresh from his Young Millionaire mixtape, the "We Made It" star brings us his latest effort with "Hurricane." Ov...

For all the fervor over Iggy Azalea and the decades of racial baggage she brings with her, another white, female rapper from Australia is taking center stage with a living legend. Abbie Cornish, an actress best known for her role in this year's RoboCop reboot, will be opening for none other than Nas when he visits the land down under in January...

After running the summer with "No Flex Zone" and "No Type," Rae Sremmurd's debut studio album is finally here. And a week earlier than expected, too. SremmLife comes with the two aforementioned cuts and guest spots from Young Thug, Nicki Minaj and Big Sean...

The year is coming to an end, and that means it's time to look back and reflect on a year full of ups and downs. While some have considered this to be a down year in hip-hop, there have still been plenty of memorable moments, both under the radar and squarely in the mainstream...

Apparently, not everyone is enjoying their holidays. The dynamic producer-rapper duo of DJ Mustard and YG flourished this year after crafting hits like "My Hitta," "Who Do You Love" and more. While everyone was dubbing the two as the West Coast's new Dr...

There's nothing better than seeing successful people give back to their communities during the holidays and last week, TDE did just that with a free show and Christmas toy drive for the people of Watts, California. The whole clique came out for the event and showed love to the fans and people who support them the most ...