Danny Brown’s smoked out cut gets revamped with a verse from A$AP Rocky. This version, which he premiered on Tim Westwood yesterday, will appear on Brown’s upcoming album, Old. Puff, puff pass out.

The post Danny Brown ft A$AP Rocky “Kush Coma” appeared first on XXL.

Toronto gets represented very well on this record. We have P Reign connect with A$AP Rocky for “We Them N*ggas” off his upcoming tape Dear America, which is out July 4. The tape will feature artists such as Drake, French Montana and Waka Flocka Flame. On this song, we get the two MCs locking in on a very alluring Pro Logic beat. This is a very decent track, you can listen to it below.

The post Listen To P Reign, A$AP Rocky On “We Them N*ggas” appeared first on XXL.

• wayne-prayer
  <b>Gun Hands:</b> Lil Wayne
• french-prayer
  <b>Gun Hands:</b> French Montana
• BG-prayer
  <b>Gun Hands:</b> B.G.
• joe-prayer
  <b>Gun Hands:</b> Fat Joe
• waka-prayer
  <b>Gun Hands:</b> Waka Flocka Flame
• ross-prayer2
  <b>Jesus Pose:</b> Rick Ross
• kanye-prayer2
  <b>Jesus Pose:</b> Kanye West
• game-prayer
  <b>Jesus Pose:</b> Game
• khaled-prayer
  <b>Jesus Pose:</b> DJ Khaled
• nas-prayer
  <b>Jesus Pose:</b> Nas
• drake-prayer
  <b>The Crouch:</b> Drake
• 50-prayer
  <b>The Crouch:</b> 50 Cent
• jay-prayer
  <b>The Crouch:</b> Jay-Z
• ja-prayer
  <b>The Crouch:</b> Ja Rule
• kendrick-prayer
  <b>The Crouch:</b> Kendrick Lamar
• ll-prayer
  <b>Boxer's Stance:</b> LL Cool J
• rza-prayer
  <b>Boxer's Stance:</b> RZA
• mgk-prayer
  <b>Boxer's Stance:</b> Machine Gun Kelly
• pharoahe-prayer
  <b>Boxer's Stance:</b> Pharoahe Monch
• dizzee-prayer
  <b>Boxer's Stance:</b> Dizzee Rascal
• dmx-prayer
  <b>Prayer Hands:</b> DMX
• jeezy-prayer
  <b>Prayer Hands:</b> Young Jeezy
• rocky-prayer
  <b>Prayer Hands:</b> A$AP Rocky
• nicki-prayer
  <b>Prayer Hands:</b> Nicki Minaj
• tupac-prayer
  <b>Prayer Hands:</b> 2Pac

There have been a lot cliché trends in rap—New Jack Swing, the Shiny suit, “Molly” rap—and fortunately, most have died off as quickly as they became popular. But one thing that’s remained constant throughout hip-hop history is most rappers’ inability to strike a normal pose on camera. Whether it’s a music video, an album cover or even a magazine spread, nearly every rapper relies on a handful of overused poses.

Now, XXL decided to take a lot at 25 artists doing five of the most overused poses in hip-hop—the Gun Hands, the Jesus Pose, the Crouch, the Boxer’s Stance and the Prayer Hands.

The post 25 Rappers Striking Cliché Rapper Poses appeared first on XXL.

Yesterday, Wale continued to tease his forthcoming LP The Gifted with a remix of his breakout single “Bad.” The original, which featured recent Interscope signee Tiara Thomas, was an introspective and emotional journey through the pitfalls of a relationship. However, the Rihanna-assisted remix is an ideal update, on which Rih amps up the nastiness behind the song’s title and Wale openly follows her lead.

After hearing Rihanna’s guest appearance, we naturally thought about some of her previous hip-hop collaborations, and decided to compile a list of the best ones. Looking through her catalogue, it’s clear that Rih has embraced hip-hop as much as she’s embraced pop superstardom, and has seemingly gone out of her way to work closely with the game’s biggest names. From Jay-Z to Kanye to T.I., Rihanna’s built an impressive collection of hits with industry heavyweights.

Click through to check out Rihanna’s 15 best hip-hop collabs…

The post Bad Gal! Rihanna’s 15 Best Hip-Hop Collaborations appeared first on XXL.

Photo By: Lauren Gesswein

Last night marked another legendary Summer Jam tailor-made for hip-hop’s history books. Hot 97’s annual concert celebrated its 20th year in a big, big way. Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, Lil Kim and more were just a few names in the list of surprise guests throughout the evening. True to its importance, this year’s show also boasted prominent rap stars, as well as a few controversial moments that couldn’t go unnoticed. Here’s a breakdown of the 16 biggest moments from Summer Jam XX, from Wu-Tang Clan’s solid set to Papoose’s head-scratching appearance.

The post The 16 Biggest Moments At Summer Jam XX appeared first on XXL.

As we always do about this time. Hot 97′s Summer Jam XX is upon us, live from Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Check out the lineup, below, and enjoy the show which is sure to be littered with surprises.

Festival Stage (2 pm EST): Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, A$AP Ferg, Vinny Cha$e, Smoke DZA, Bodega Bamz, Troy Ave and Kid Ink.

Main Stage (6 pm EST): Chris Brown, Wu-Tang Clan, Kendrick Lamar, Miguel, Fabolous, A$AP Rocky, Joe Budden, 2 Chainz, Wale, and French Montana.

The post Hot 97′s Summer Jam XX (Live Stream) appeared first on XXL.

As J. Cole prepares for his showdown with Kanyeezus West, he may have picked up some new supporters from across the globe. The Roc Nation rapper performed in Northern Ireland at Radio 1′s Big Weekend festival last night along with A$AP Rocky and Rita Ora. Cole performed his gold hit, “Power Trip” while Rocky entertained the crowd with “Wild For The Night” (below) and Rita Ora presented her track, “Radioactive.”

The post J. Cole, A$AP Rocky & Rita Ora Perform At Radio 1′s Big Weekend Festival appeared first on XXL.

This week finds high-profile, big budget videos from Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Ferg, while Gunplay and Jarren Benton come through with simple yet effective videos. Click through to check out XXL‘s best music videos of the week.

The post Best Hip-Hop Videos Of The Week, 5/12-5/18 appeared first on XXL.

We’re not sure why, but it feels like this next week is going to be a really important one for new music. It could be Kanye’s upcoming appearance on SNL, where he’s rumored to be premiering a brand-new single (“I Am God”?), or maybe it’s the release of Daft Punk’s anxiously awaited Random Access Memories (we’ve heard it on the low, and it’s awesome), but something’s definitely in the air and it’s got us excited.

This past week saw some interesting releases, including new mixtapes from Soulja Boy and Gilbere Forte, as well as the premieres of a new single from Gucci Mane’s upcoming Trap House III and a “new” EP from retired Queens MC Big Baby Gandhi. On the news side, rapper Tim Dog is alleged to have faked his own death and Diddy managed to troll the Internet by pretending to be a new cast member on Downton Abbey (in reality he was working on a Funny or Die skit called Downton Diddy, which you can watch here).

In our weekly column called In The Cut, the diversely opinionated XXL staff celebrates another lively week in hip-hop and picks some of their favorite releases from the past week. Until next week—keep it crispy, rap fans.

The post In The Cut: Wu-Tang And A$AP Ferg Made XXL’s Top Songs Of The Week appeared first on XXL.

Yesterday, A$AP Ferg released the highly anticipated remix to “Work.” Afte premiering the video on 106 & Park, the trap lord gives us the video set in various warehouses and Rucker Park. Look for the track to appear on his debut mixtape, Trap Lord.

The post A$AP Ferg ft. A$AP Rocky, French Montana, Trinidad James & ScHoolboy Q “Work (Remix)” [Video] appeared first on XXL.

A$AP Ferg clocks in with the remix to his current banger featuring shifts from A$AP Rocky, French Montana, Trinidad Jame$ and ScHoolboy Q. While the video should be arriving soon, the new banger comes as Fergestein preps his forthcoming Trap Lord release.

The post A$AP Ferg Releases “Work (Remix)” Featuring A$AP Rocky, French Montana, Trinidad Jame$ & ScHoolboy Q appeared first on XXL.

• RiDrake2
  The face that launched a thousand Ace of Spades bottles.
• RiASAP
  A$AP Rocky takes a hands-on approach with his tourmate.
• RiJay
  Second baddest chick in the game signed under his name.
• RiKanye
  They're the cause of all the commotion.
• RiRoss
  This is how rich people get astigmatism.
• RiTI
  Not pictured: the "Numa Numa" kid that made "Live Your Life" famous.
• RiEm
  She switched out her "Rude Boy" for a b-boy.
• RiSnoop
  Snoop and Rihanna enjoying a ginormous fatty.
• RiWiz
  Another smokey selfie, this time with Wiz Khalifa.
• RiNicki
  Scrooge McDuckface
• RiJeezy
  Jeezy admiring Rihanna's ballistics.
• RiKhaled
  DJ Khaled breaking his "no new friends" rule.
• RiFab
  Fabolous - he's a bit of a close talker.
• RiCom
  Common used to love H.E.R., but then he met Rihanna
• RiMike
  Mike WiLL Instagrammed it.
• RiWill
  will.i.am can't take Taboo out in public places because he'll ruin all his photo ops.
• RiBieb
  Rihanna and Katy Perry are the bread in a Justin Bieber sandwich
• RiFrank
  She watch Channel Orange.
• RiRoyce
  Royce Da 5'9" puts J.R. Smith's Twitter game to shame.
• RiKardi
  Kardinall Offishall capitalizes on his Caribbean connections.
• Ri2Pac
  Even in the after life, 2Pac is still pulling chicks.

Yesterday, the world of music was rocked when news broke that Rihanna and Chris Brown had finally called it quits. It was surely a tragic day for the dozens – and that’s a generous estimate – of people out there that genuinely care. But the news got XXL‘s staff thinking – isn’t this something we really should’ve seen coming? We’ve all heard the rumors of love triangles between Drake, RiRi and Chris, but we suspect that Drizzy’s not the only one. That being said, here’s 21 photos of Rihanna with Breezy’s rap game peers.

The post 21 Pictures Of Rihanna With Rappers appeared first on XXL.

• Gucci-Mane-Waka-Flocka-Flames-Ferrari-Boyz-Listening-Session-6
  When Lil Wayne was on his way to Riker's, he got on the cover of Rolling Stone and threw the famous B to rep his Bloods affiliation, but throwing gang signs has always been a trend for rappers when they're taking photos. Click through our photo gallery of rappers throwing different signs at photo shoots and public appearances.
• AsapGang
  A$AP Rocky
• AbSoulGang
  Ab-Soul
• BowWowGang
  Bow Wow & Lil Wayne
• ChiefGang
  Chief Keef & SD
• DrakeWayneGang
  Drake & Lil Wayne
• GameGang
  Game
• IceCubeGang
  Ice Cube
• IggyGang
  Iggy Azalea
• JRockGang
  Jay Rock
• KendrickGang
  Kendrick Lamar
• GameGang2
  Game
• 2011 BET Awards - Arrivals - Los Angeles
  Rick Ross
• SnoopGang
  Snoop Dogg
• SchoolboyGang
  Schoolboy Q
• Snoop with the late Tupac Shakur
  Snoop Dogg & 2Pac
• TygaWizGang
  Wiz Khalifa & Tyga
• UsherGang
  Justin Bieber & Usher
• WayneGang
  Tyler, The Creator & Lil Wayne

The post Always Reppin’: Photos of Rappers Throwing Signs appeared first on XXL.

A$AP Rocky brought Harlem to Newark, New Jersey on April 28 when he opened for Rihanna’s Diamonds World Tour at the Prudential Center. Thousand of fans of all ages and backgrounds were in attendance and immensely eager to see the acts. Walking in to the center, one could instantly tell this would be a monumental night.

The all-white stage was covered with purple lights, with an all white throne resembling a seat from HBO’s popular series Game of Thrones at the center. The clock struck 8:00 PM and the entrance music comes on—classical music reminiscent of a gladiator arena battle. Suddenly, Harlem native A$AP Rocky came out to perform. The crowd erupted in applause as he started off the show with “Long.Live.A$AP,” one of my personal favorite tracks off his most recent album of the same.  Dressed in all white from head to bottom with his patent gold grill in tow, his energy was contagious, gradually infecting thousand of fans who began rising to their feet. The RCA Records rapper performed “Wassup,” “Pussy Money Weed” and “Wild for the Night” to everyone’s delight. The screens in the background played psychedelic film loops that were very aesthetically pleasing to the eye. In between songs, A$AP thanked his fans for coming out to see him and Rihanna. He also went on to introduce himself to people who hadn’t yet heard of him by playing his breakout single “Purple Swag.” He then went on to perform his verse from “Hands on the Wheel,” a collaborative record off Schoolboy Q’s mixtape Habits and Contradictions. As any gentlemen would, he dedicated his song “Fashion Killa” to all the beautiful women in the audience, many of which came in masses dressed in skin-tight clothing, short skirts and flamboyant attire.

Pretty Flacko had the crowd in the palm of his hands and did exactly what a opening act should do: energize the crowd and get them up on their feet. As he sat on his throne, looking at the thousand of fans screaming his name, he stepped on top of one of the props on stage and performed “Peso,” bringing the crowd to a emotional high. Before he ended performance, the humble emcee thanked the crowd, told everyone to get home safe and prepped them for the Rihanna’s performance. It comes to no surprise “F*cking Problem” – his smash-hit collaboration with Drake, Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz – was the song to closed out the show. As soon as the beat drop the crowd erupted, screaming the hook word for word. The A$AP Mob general killed his verse, maintaining the same high energy from the beginning to end. It was truly a great act to see as men, women and teenagers of all backgrounds sang the song with him as loud as they could. I’m sure A$AP just made a lot of new fans. - Written by Emmanuel C.M. (@ECM_LP)

The post Show Recap: A$AP Rocky Brings Purple Swag to The Prudential Center appeared first on XXL.

• asap_ferg_1
  Since we put A$AP Rocky on the cover of our previous issue, we're not going to say that that A$AP Ferg is our favorite member of the Mob, but he's most definitely our second favorite. The charming Harlemite has been hard at work on his 'Trap Lord' mixtape, which is slated to drop on Memorial Day, and he's set to release the hotly-anticipated video for the "Work (Remix)" - featuring Rocky and Trinidad Jame$ - next week. We love Ferg for a lot of reasons - his crazy-versatile rapping, his cocky-and-confident humor - but mostly because of his love for flashing his gold grill any chance he gets. Click through our gallery of photos of Fergenstein flashing his grill.
• Ferg2
• Ferg4
• Ferg3
• Ferg1
• Ferg5
• Ferg6
• Ferg7
• Ferg8
• Ferg9
• Ferg10
• Ferg11
• Ferg12
• Ferg13
• Ferg14
• Ferg15
• Ferg16
• Ferg17
• Ferg18
• Ferg19
• Ferg20

The post Ice Cold: Photos of A$AP Ferg Grillin’ appeared first on XXL.

When it comes to live performances, Joey Bada$$ won’t be put in the corner by anyone – and that includes his fellow XXL Freshman Class of 2013 member Trinidad Jame$.

In a series of Tweets that have since been deleted, the Flatbush rapper said that he would refuse to perform as an opening act on Wiz Khalifa and A$AP Rocky’s “Under the Influence” Tour. He said that while he meant the Tweets as no disrespect to Trinidad Jame$, who appears after Bada$$ on the tour flier,  he feels that he is more of an “APEX” artist.

If I’m under Trinidad James I’m not doing the Under The Influence Tour. Straight

— oG $wank. (@joeyBADASS_) April 22, 2013

no disrespect to the man on gold. but I just don’t like seeing myself at the bottom. APEX

— oG $wank. (@joeyBADASS_) April 22, 2013

In addition to Jame$ and Joey, the “Under the Influence” Tour features headliners Wiz Khalifa and A$AP Rocky, as well as performances from B.o.B, Berner, Chevy Woods and Smoke DZA.

The post Joey Bada$$ Won’t Perform Under Trinidad Jame$ On “Under The Influence” Tour appeared first on XXL.

Last year, Shenick Alcine sued A$AP Rocky claiming he attacked him and threw punches in a clothing store in New York. Now, Rocky is saying the alleged scuffle was out of self-defense.

Alcine says in his lawsuit that Rocky was doing drugs inside the store. When he caught him, Rocky supposedly retaliated with violence.

Though A$AP was arrested for assault and robbery after the brawl, it was for a different incident. He reportedly beat up two photographers who were filming it and tried to steal their camera in the process. For that case, he struck a plea deal, with a fine and three days community service.

Rocky is calling out Alcine and saying he is a liar. He filed documents in New York asking the judge to throw out the lawsuit.

[via TMZ]

The post A$AP Rocky Claims Self-Defense in NYC Clothing Store Brawl appeared first on XXL.

Wiz Khalifa recently announced that this year’s Under The Influence Tour would be co-starred by A$AP Rocky. Today, we get the entire line-up and dates. Looks like B.O.B., Trinidad James, Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era will be joining Wiz on the 20-city tour which starts July 17 in San Francisco, CA and ends August 11 in Cincinnati, OH. In between, the show will make stops in Denver, Houston, Chicago, Pittsburg and Boston. Also making special appearances are Berner, Chevy Woods and Smoke DZA. Will you be in attendance?

The post Wiz Khalifa Reveals ‘Under The Influence Tour 2013′ Lineup, Dates appeared first on XXL.

It’s tour season and artists are gearing up to hit the road, if they aren’t already. Wiz Khalifa recently announced that part dos of his Under The Influence Tour would go down later this year. While last year’s lineup was co-starred by Mac Miller, here, Wizzle man makes it official that Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky will be joining him on his cross country excursion. More details coming soon.

The post Wiz Khalifa Adds A$AP Rocky To ‘Under The Influence 2 Tour’ appeared first on XXL.

A$AP Ferg is putting together a video for his remix to “Work.” After months of teasing who will be on the single, MTV News confirmed A$AP Rocky, Trinidad Jame$, Schoolboy Q and French Montana. So far, they have filmed in Los Angeles and Harlem. Above, you can check out some behind-the-scenes clips, which previews some of the verses. Also, Ferg reveals that he wants to make a song with R.Kelly someday. Wouldn’t that be something?

The post Watch Footage of A$AP Ferg’s “Work (Remix)” Video ft. A$AP Rocky, French Montana, Schoolboy Q & Trinidad Jame$ appeared first on XXL.