XXL Mag

The selection for the XXL Freshmen 2014 is kicking into high gear, and yes, you should be as excited as we are here in the XXL office. In preparation for this year's class, we let some possible candidates tell us why they think they deserve to be part of XXL Freshmen 2014...

Ed Note: The following is an essay remembering Gang Starr's classic album Hard To Earn, which celebrates its 20th anniversary tomorrow, March 8.  In the spring of 1994, Gang Starr’s booming system classic Hard To Earn was my favorite album. I played the f...

Casey Veggies treats us with a gift for the weekend. “Anything Goes” is all about his determination in going for it all. Young CV talks about his early beginnings at 13, and how far he’s progressed in the rap game. The hook—which features his melodic refrain—is listing his accomplishments and brushing off anyone who tries to hold him back. Can't knock his ambition. ...

Directed by Benny Boom, YG’s “Who Do You Love” video revolves around him finding out his girlfriend has been cheating on him. So to get his mind off things, he hits the town with his boys and attends a big party. The entourage in tow is DJ Mustard, 40, Drake and more. My Krazy Life...

Chinx and his homie French Montana jump on Sage The Gemini’s “Gas Pedal” with a few freestyles. Chinx also spits on other tracks such as “Who Do You Love,” “Up Down (Do This All Day),” and “We Dem Boyz.” "Gas Pedal" "We Dem Boyz" "Who D...

Lil Boosie took to social media to share with his fans a majority of his most recent news since his release. Yesterday (March 6), he posted his first photo since his release and two freestyles while he was driving home from prison. Today Boosie's manger posted on his Instagram a preview of upcoming music...

Rick Ross performs "Sanctified" off his new album Mastermind on The Arsenio Hall Show and he wasn't alone. Joining him was Big Sean and Kanye West to perform their verses. You can watch it above.

After nearly six years of serving time in prison, Lil Boosie is focused on making a proper comeback. You’ll probably hear more new music soon, but here’s a start with “Same Game.” The track is off 3rdy Baby & Muzik Fene’s forthcoming mixtape, Leak Squad. ...

Since Lil Boosie was released from jail Wednesday, March 5, his social media followers have double on Twitter and approaching to double on Instagram. A screenshot was taken Wednesday night at 10 p.m. of his Twitter and Instagram page showing Boosie had 123K followers on Twitter and 165,440 followers on Instagram. As of 10 a.m. toda...

With the sudden rise of Iamsu! and his HBK Gang, the Bay Area is becoming a hotbed again for new talent. Clyde Carson—who was part of the Oakland-based group The Team—has been putting in work on his solo tip dropping street projects like Something To Speak About. Earlier th...

Show & Prove is our section in the magazine where we highlight which rappers are hot in hip-hop now. Many who have appeared in S&P have gone on to launch successful music careers. With the goal to bring our hand-picked selections online, here are excerpts of the stories from Lil Bibby, Chinx and Vic Mensa, as well as their entire mixtape discography. Our Ap...

On this day, March 7, in hip-hop history... 2011: Coming off of the success of his 2000 album, The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem followed up with the release of The Eminem Show two years later. Following a similar formula to his previous major label records, Slim Shady managed to further continue his reign in the hip-hop game...