XXL Mag

The mixtape has come a long way from being sold on street corners and out of the trunk of the family car to the Internet warehouses of Datpiff and LiveMixtapes. But now, with the help of another platform that has gone through its own set of changes—one of the formerly derided scourges of the record industry, BitTorrent—mixtapes as we know them may soon become obsolete; or, at the very least, compl

Anticipation for the release of Kendrick Lamar's sophomore album is high. After his critically acclaimed debut, good kid, m.A.A.d city, hip-hop fans have been anxious to get any information on his next LP. XXL recently caught up with legendary producer Pete Rock, who said that he's working with Kendrick for his next album. "Kendric...

Pitbull is taking over SirusXM radio. Beginning next year the Miami rapper is scheduled to have his own channel. It will feature music from Pitbull as well as personal selections from other artists.  In addition he will also host a weekly show. ...

Once again the skateboarding (SB) department at Nike pays respect to a Chinese city. This time, the city of Beijing gets it’s turn to be immortalized in a dunk low premium SB. With a premium textured leather toe box and heel enclosing a marble suede mid foot panel, we see Nike incorporating the architectural design of the city showing the dark paved narrow alleyways and roads, while the nations c

Sounds like Drake might have to start getting familiar with the rule book. After killing it at OVO Fest, Drake caused headlines after pitching Kevin Durant to come play for his Toronto Raptors. While the gesture seemed innocent, the NBA didn't take it too kindly and decided to fine the Raptors $25,000, according to ESPN...

And the Shmurda wave continues. Rowdy Rebel, who took lead on "Shmoney Dance," is at the forefront in GS9 crew's latest single, "Computers." The new single doesn't match "Shmoney Dance's" visceral appeal, but it does follow the formula with Rebel playing the rugged core and Bobby cracking the track open with his energy...

Remember when Barneys had an issue with two young African Americans shopping at their stores and citing credit fraud on their behalf? Apparently, that didn't sit too well with many people including Jay Z. The rapper was nearly considering removing his merchandise out of the store and exiting from his partnership with the company...

Fences' lead single from his album, Lesser Oceans, is out now and the group has finally let loose the video. Shot entirely in Seattle, director Jason Koenig brings a refreshing take to the song featuring Macklemore and produced by Ryan Lewis...

Memes of Nicki Minaj’s cover art for “Anaconda” are still popping up on social media. Over the weekend Miley Cyrus created her own versions of the now infamous cover. The photos even included one of the singer and former child star during the Hannah Montana era. Cyrus wrote, "#d...

A night at one of the clubs in Atlanta might present at least one listen through DJ Sense's latest banger. "What You Know" features three DJ mainstays from the south: T-Pain, Migos and K Camp. You're not going to see anything revelatory here; all three are already comfortable within hi-hats and snaps...

Obviously, Kanye West is beloved in the music world. He's proven that he's a titan musically. In the fashion world, apparently Yeezy is still getting his feet wet. According to Kelly Cutrone—a judge from America's Top Model—Kanye and his wife Kim, have little to no influence in the fashion world. Ouch. "...

After fans clamored at the sight of seeing Peyton Manning and his little brother Eli provide a rap video last year for DirecTV, the duo is back at it again. In hopes of having fans sign up for fantasy football this year and promote their new channel for DirecTV, Peyton and Eli joined forces to give us arguably their best work to date...