This week in the world hip-hop Instagrams, Jay-Z links up with a litany of collaborators, French Montana celebrates the release of his studio debut Excuse My French, Drake kicks it in Hollywood and more. At the same time, Ab-Soul shows off his performance at the Los Angeles leg of the XXL Freshmen Live 2013 tour, while fellow Freshman Travi$ Scott shows of his new project Owl Pharaoh.

Click and scroll through all 16 of the best Instagrams of the week.

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Later tonight, XXL‘s Freshmen Class of 2013 will convene at the Best Buy Theater for the New York City leg of the XXL Freshman Live 2013 tour. The show will feature performances from ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Logic, Joey Bada$$, Kirko Bangz, Action Bronson, Angel Haze, Dizzy Wright, Travi$ Scott and Trinidad Jame$, as well as special yet-to-be-announced guests.

XXL has decided to take a look back at last year’s New York performance, featuring Danny Brown, Don Trip, French Montana, DJ Khaled, Future, Hopsin, Iggy Azalea, Kid Ink, Machine Gun Kelly and Roscoe Dash.

The post 25 Photos From XXL’s Freshmen Concert In 2012 appeared first on XXL.

[Photos courtesy of Shaughn Crawford]

This past Saturday night, The Official XXL Freshmen Live Tour kicked off in Los Angeles with headlining performances by 2013 Freshmen Dizzy Wright, Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q. The show, which took place at the Nokia Theatre nearly a month after the release of XXL‘s annual Freshmen issue, was a wildly successful showcase for the artists, two of whom (Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy) call L.A. home. Fittingly, the concert sold out and everyone in attendance—from die-hard fans to industry insiders—had a great time watching the TDE and Funk Volume stars tear down the stage.

Dizzy Wright was the first performer of the night and played for a packed house of fans who sang along to every word, highlighting the fact that he’s as big in L.A. as he is in his hometown of Las Vegas. In an awesome rendition of his thumping ode to independent success, “Independent Living,” Dizzy brought out fellow Funk Volume rhymer SwizZz for a high-energy guest verse.

Next up was one-fourth of the Black Hippy mob, Ab-Soul, who ran through his short catalog of introspective jams. Following the leads of fellow TDE members like Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q, Soul has become an impressive performer in his own right and delivered a solid set without any help from guest stars.

After Soul, the show’s final performer, ScHoolboy Q, jumped out onstage in a raucous display of hometown excitement and didn’t let up for the duration of his headlining set. With the venue at full capacity, Q ran through hits like “Yay Yay” and “There He Go,” before bringing out guests Danny Brown and Mac Miller for performances of their respective hits “Express Yourself” and “Lucky Ass Bitch.” As Q wrapped up his set, the massive crowd piled out of the Nokia Theatre, buzzing loudly about their favorite performance of the night.

The XXL Freshmen Live Tour continues tomorrow night (May 21) in New York City at the Best Buy Theater, then heads to Philly and Boston in coming weeks. For more information on the tour, check out the site here.

More XXL Freshmen:
- XXL Freshmen Live Tour LA – Backstage Videos
- 2013 XXL Freshmen Class

The post XXL’s Freshmen Live Tour Hits Los Angeles [Show Recap] appeared first on XXL.

Here are a couple of backstage views from the XXL Freshman Show in LA – place was packed and the Freshmen – current and past – brought it.

Click here for the full recap and photos.

In the first video we have Dizzy Wright doing his thing and on the next page, there is an epic 8:16 video with ScHoolboy Q, Danny Brown and Mac Miller. It’s almost like being there, backstage.

LA 2013 XXL Freshman Show Backstage – Dizzy Wright

The post Backstage Views of XXL Freshman Show in LA with ScHoolboy Q, Dizzy Wright, Danny Brown and Mac Miller appeared first on XXL.

This week on the Twittersphere, Gucci Mane announces Chief Keef joining his Brick Squad clique, Rihanna and Rick Ross tease new music, Glasses Malone sounds-off on rap-run labels, and Iggy Azalea discusses her Dorito-heavy dietary habits. Also, Ab-Soul breaks down his three rules. Hint: one of them definitely involves puffing that stank.

The post Hip-Hop Tweets Of The Week: 5/5-5/11 appeared first on XXL.

2013 XXL Freshman Class is in full effect and time will tell if this will be the best class ever.

In the meantime, we’re taking a look back at each XXL Freshman from past classes to see what they’ve been up through their music since being a Freshman.

This is what Danny Brown, XXL Freshman Class of 2012, has been up to musically with his best tracks.

Monopoly

The post Danny Brown, Class of ’12 – Catching Up With the XXL Freshmen appeared first on XXL.

Danny Brown’s energy level is, at times, difficult to comprehend.  Playing to a wall-to-wall crowd last night (May 7) at New York City’s Irving Plaza, the Detroit rapper simply never stopped moving.  In an hour-long dance with the audience that jumped from fist-pumping to head-banging to his ever-present bounce, Danny Brown looked completely at home.

Wearing a baggy, all-black ensemble in front of a skull-with-Danny-Brown-hair backdrop, the Fool’s Gold Records MC opened hard with the recently released “Jealousy.”  The crowd, which was jam-packed on the ground floor and hanging off the second-floor balcony, knew every word to “WitIt,” chanting “I’m wit’ it” and “Oh Danny, you so nasty” so perfectly that it sounded rehearsed. The show pulsed non-stop through a generous sampling of tracks from his critically acclaimed 2011 album, XXX, including “Radio Song”, “Lie4”, “I Will”, “Bruiser Brigade” and “Monopoly.”  The 2012 XXL Freshman also performed some of his most well-known guest verses, including his contributions to Ab-Soul’s “Terrorist Threats,” A-Trak’s “Piss Test” and Evil Nine’s “Black Brad Pitt.”

Last night’s show was part of the Bruiser Brigade rapper’s “Old & Reckless” tour, his first-ever tour as headliner. Rapper Kitty Pryde came along for about half the stops.  The young Florida native—an Internet sensation in her own right—kicked off the evening with a set that was nearly equal parts performance and playful conversation with the crowd.  She was by all means a successful hype girl—by the end of her set, the fans were fully energized, screaming for Danny Brown, and went wild when his DJ finally walked onstage.

Brown rounded out the evening with renditions of his recently released “Kush Coma” and “Express Yourself,” giving a little taste of his forthcoming album, Old.  He told XXL, “Expect the unexpected. Old is about accepting your past so you can appreciate the future. I made this album at my pace and I’m proud of the product I have. Can’t wait ’til people hear it.”

With the innate ability to channel an expansive register of emotions in his live show, Danny Brown is a captivating performer. Last night’s show was no exception, as evidenced by the throngs of hopeful fans who stood and chanted “Danny” long after he had left the stage. –Written by Katie Moore

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With every new Freshman class, we take a look back at the previous year’s freshman and ask: How did last year’s Freshman Class perform on the big stage? Click through our gallery to find out. To read about this year’s Freshmen, pick up the new issue of XXL, on newsstands now. Or get XXL right now on your tablet. 

The post Year-End Report Card: An Update On The 2012 XXL Freshmen appeared first on XXL.

Tree is poised to be the next Chicago artist to start turning heads soon. The third single of his upcoming mixtape, Sunday School II: When Chruch Lets Out, is “No Face” that features Danny Brown. The tape is scheduled to drop on May 15 via Creative Control/Closed Sessions.

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It’s that time of the year again. The 2013 Mad Decent Block Party makes its official stop in New York on August 10. A video just posted of the line-up for the festival that includes hip-hop acts such as Danny Brown, Riff Raff, Rockie Fresh and Sasha Go Hard. On the EDM side, Major Lazer, Dillon Francis, Flosstradamus, Nadastrom, DJ Sega, Swizzymack, Jahan Lennon and more.

You can purchase tickets on the official website. The flyer is below.

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Danny Brown is quite an interesting cat. Not only is the toothless Motor City native one of rap’s most eclectic MC’s, especially with his signature strangled high-pitched yelps, but he’s also a fashion enthusiast. While out at Coachella last week, we got a chance to chop it up with Danny about his recent side hustle in modeling. See what he has to say about the runway.—Ralph Bristout, Interview: Dan Buyanovsky

XXL: So you’ve been doing some modeling for Mark McNairy and Uniqlo. Why do you think these brands come to you to model their new stuff?

Danny Brown: Because I’m sexy, man! I mean, who wouldn’t want me wearing their clothes? I don’t know, I guess I got a different look, I look funny to people. [Laughs] Modeling is fun, though. It’s easy as shit. You just gotta get high and stand there for hours and take pictures and they pay me thousands of dollars to do it, so it’s like, “okay, I can do that.”

Do you like the clothes that you model?

I wouldn’t model nothing that I wasn’t fucking with. I did Mishka, 10 Deep, McNairy, Uniqlo. Uniqlo is crazy to me, because that shit is like American Apparel or something. I felt like I crossed over. [Laughs] I guess I got good credentials on my modeling resume.

What if modeling was paying way better than rap and you just became a full-time model?

I’d still rap, but if I’m able to support myself off something else, it would make my rapping way more creative because I wouldn’t care as much.

The post Danny Brown On Modeling: “Who Wouldn’t Want Me Wearing Their Clothes?” appeared first on XXL.

There were a lot of interesting surprises at the second weekend of Coachella, including some rare appearances and exclusive premieres of new tunes. Danny Brown took to the stage this past Saturday to premiere his new song, “Dope Song,” off his upcoming Old LP. It sounds pretty similar to his collab with Darq E Freaker and his recent “Express Yourself,” and should fit right in to the new project. Check it out above.

The post Danny Brown Premieres New “Dope Song” at Coachella appeared first on XXL.

Danny Brown doesn’t fuck with regular beats – his debut mixtape XXX was full of rock-infused, weird production from SKYWLKR and brandUn DeShay that you couldn’t imagine anyone else rocking over. Still, Danny sounded completely at home. Another producer who was featured heavily on Danny’s debut was Paul White, a UK-based psych/prog rock artist, who employs swooshing synths and brutalizing drums in his production. The two most recently collaborated on White’s single, “Street Lights,” which they dropped the video for today. It’s a super-trippy animated journey through Danny’s menacing lyrics. Check it out above.

The post Paul White ft. Danny Brown, “Street Lights” Video appeared first on XXL.

XXL‘s Associate Editor Dan Buyanovsky  went to the first weekend of Coachella. This is a recap of what he saw. 

Coachella is a perfect mess—a sprawling festival/party/adult carnival that takes over what seems like 10,000 acres in southeastern California for two weekends and leaves everyone who attended equally nostalgic, exhausted, still-faded, and honestly, really grateful for music festivals. There’s really no doubt that Coachella does the music festival thing the best: the landscape (palm trees flanked by mountain-views) is outrageously gorgeous; the stages look like something straight out of Guitar Hero; and the artists (well, 99-percent of them—we see you, 2 Chainz) start exactly on time, every time. When it comes to planning something on so big of a scale, with so many diverse fans to please, and charging what now feels like a totally fair amount of money for entry—no one is fucking with Coachella, like, at all.

Going into this year’s fest (my first time), I wasn’t too excited about the lineup. I’d seen previous years’ bills and just came to expect something crazy-impressive, but with headliners like Blur (kind of cool), Phoenix (not as cool), and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (cool, ten years ago), and a lack of exciting big-name hip-hop artists on the schedule, I wasn’t exactly itching to get out there. The lineup did have some really impressive depth though, and I knew that there would be some sleepers who’d surprise me, and surprise they did…

On the first day, Lee Scratch Perry delivered his uniquely weird reggae to an at-first confused crowd who slowly started to bob with him throughout the set and smoke excessive herbals, until the tent finally became a hot box of love and good vibes. Later that day, Dog Blood—the brand-new DJ duo of Skrillex and Boys Noize—took over the festival’s second biggest stage with an absolutely bonkers light show and dropped both A$AP Rocky and Kendrick Lamar in their set, making everyone simultaneously bug the hell out.

On Day 2, Chicago outfit Kids These Days played an early slot for about 150 people, but nonetheless got extra-funky and rocked like they were positing themselves for an eventual headlining gig. Around nightfall, Diplo, as one-half of Major Lazer, delivered a ridiculous dose of fire-starting party music to a feverish crowd, getting everybody to take their shirts off and throw them in the air with little-to-no care. Another unlikely but incredible moment came at the end of Day 2, when French pop quartet Phoenix paused between songs, and brought out the iconic R. Kelly for a quick run-through of his most popular hits. It was a weird moment, and Kellz didn’t seem too comfortable playing with Phoenix, but the sheer surprise of his appearance made everyone really, really happy.

The weekend’s best moment, though, came on Saturday at around 2 p.m., at the Coachella Outdoor Stage. In the blazing heat of the festival’s second day, a weird assortment of fans watched Queens rapper (and 2013 XXL Freshman) Action Bronson hit the stage with the craziest presence seen all weekend, and bust through a thunderous set of his most popular jams. In the 50-minute set, he: jumped in the crowd and individually rapped to small groups of hipster adorers; ripped his shirt in half and bellowed out a Ric Flair “WOO!”; passed the mic to Odd Future’s Mike G, Hodgy Beats, and Domo for a cappella freestyles; and capped it off with a surprise appearance by the legendary Riff Raff. Dude killed it.

While the weekend’s other hip-hop options were few and far between, the organizers did manage to pull together an eclectic pool of representers, including the chain-wearing, unlikely crossover star 2 Chainz; indie hero and Def Jux legend El-P; original coke boy Pusha T (in a co-headliner slot!); and newer Internet-era buzz artists like Raider Klan, Danny Brown, Earl Sweatshirt, and Theophilus London, who played the main stage. In a festival filled with well-off bros (backwards hats, super-defined six packs, generally shitty attitudes) and their arm-candy bro-ettes, it was actually really surprising to see how many fans these guys had in the Coachella context.

Sure, 2 Chainz ransacked 2012 with a string of hits, but there were literally hordes of high 17-year-old white girls clawing their way to the side of the stage (for a partial view, at best) just to get a glimpse of Tity. Meanwhile, the crowd at Danny’s show looked like it should’ve been for a mainstream EDM act—everyone in the audience fittingly writhing in joy – but instead it was for a missing-tooth’ed Danny, who ran through songs like “Kush Coma,” that somehow everybody knew the words to.

It’s not like Coachella hasn’t been keen on programming hip-hop—they’ve had both Jay and ‘Ye headline in recent years—but they’ve definitely been slow to the party. Still, this year’s embrace of the genre was really eclectic and always interesting, and if you add the above moments to a Sunday night headlining performance by a reunited Wu-Tang Clan, the organizers really did a lot of things right.

If you’re headed to the second weekend of Coachella, here are some things you can expect:

-Ridiculously hot/disgustingly over-filled porta potties
-A ton of wild speculation about surprise performances
-Starting at around 5pm, groups of young girls passed out everywhere
-$9 beers (only Heinekens)
-A lot of people completely zoned out on molly or weed or some hybrid mega-drug
-People who have no business saying “turn’t up!” shouting “turn’t up!” really often
-Young couples embracing/making out during shows, as if one of them is going off to a hundred-year war
-More tank tops (but fewer muscles) than Muscle Beach
-A lot of really great and diverse artists playing a lot of great and diverse music

The post Action Bronson Ric Flairs, R. Kelly Croons at Coachella 2013 appeared first on XXL.

Charli XCX gets Danny Brown to lend a verse for “What I Like (Remix).” This record is off her True Romance project that just dropped. The duo does a good job on the uptempo beat with Danny displaying his unique flow, while we get to hear Charli offer her signature sing-songy vocals. You can definitely hear this playing frequently in fashion areas. You can listen to the song below.

[via FACT]

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The post So Fresh: A Photo Gallery of Every XXL Freshman appeared first on XXL.

Here’s something for the weekend. Danny Brown dedicated his new song for “all the ladies that like to turn up and have fun.”

“Express Yourself” is influenced by Diplo’s cut of the same name, and encourages the ladies to get up and move. The track, produced by Trampy, is filled with ratchet bars and showcases him going hard. Lately, Danny’s been dropping gems supposedly off Old, so hopefully this one makes the cut.

Listen below.

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Even though he’s currently preparing his Interscope/Aftermath debut Oxymoron, ScHoolboy Q says that he’s looking to form a supergroup with three of today’s biggest stars.

In an exclusive interview, the XXL Freshman Class of 2013 alum revealed that he’s enlisted Pharrell, A$AP Rocky, Danny Brown and TDE partner Ab-Soul for Oxymoron. Q also said that he’s been talking with Ab-Soul and Rocky about releasing collaborative albums, and even hinted that he wants to form a supergroup with Soul, Rocky and Danny Brown.

“I gave some features away, I told niggas – Pharrell gonna be on [Oxymoron] if he don’t charge me $2 million,” he said. “A$AP Rocky’s on there, he did his verse already. Danny Brown did his verse already. Ab-Soul did his verse already – that’s one [thing] I can tell you, everybody knows that. We’ve got a ‘Druggys Wit Hoes Part 3′ – ‘Druggys Wit Hoes Trois.’ I’ma make one of them [records] forever, as long as I’m rapping.”

He continued, “We may even do an album together, we’ve been talking about it – call that whole shit Druggys Wit Hoes. We may do it. Me and Rocky may do a project together, too. We’ve been talking about it, too. I’m just waiting to get this album out and just see what happens. As of right now, I don’t now. After this album, shit, I want to work with both the homies. I want to do a project with Soul and I want to do one with Rocky. Maybe we can even put our own little group together – me, Ab-Soul, Danny Brown and Rocky.”

Interview by Jaeki Cho (@JaekiCho) and Dan Buyanovsky

The post Exclusive: ScHoolboy Q Hints Supergroup With Danny Brown, A$AP Rocky & Ab-Soul appeared first on XXL.

In this week’s roundup of the top headlines, we’ve listed eight news stories that were just too big to ignore from the past seven days. Below, check out the latest on Killer Mike, the Mobb Deep reunion, Yelawolf’s contribution on Juicy J’s “Gun and a Mask” and more. Come back next week when we gathered another set of links to keep you in the loop.

1. Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience Could Sell Between 950,000 and 975,000 Copies
Billboard recently reported that Justin Timberlake is on track to sell close to million copies of his new album in the first week. The last artist to hold this record was Lil Wayne, who sold 964,000 copies for Tha Carter IV. While our story was written when the forecast was 750,000 units, it’s impressive how a six-year hiatus can project a huge leap in numbers.

2. Mobb Deep Explains Fallout and 20-year Anniversary Tour
Mobb Deep’s public break-up was disheartening for a lot of fans in 2012. But, it seems like they have worked out their differences—at least from their recent interview with MTV News. Here, they explained how Mobb Deep are “like brothers” that go through some things. They also discussed their reconciliation and plans for their tour in May.

3. Gucci Mane Wanted in Alleged Assault at a Atlanta Club
Gucci Mane—real name is Radric Davis—is wanted by Atlanta police for assaulting a fan over the weekend. An arrest warrant was issued when a man claimed he suffered a gash in the head after he was hit with a champagne bottle. Currently, Gucci Mane has not come forward to confirm if he really did the crime. The “Wasted” rapper has yet to be apprehended by authorities.

4. Killer Mike Announces I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind IV
Earlier this week, Killer Mike stopped by the XXL headquarters to reveal the next installment in his I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind album series. Just like his previous entries, it carries similar motivational themes: “The Pledge series has always been about setting goals; it’s been about dope music, but they’ve become almost like research papers with thesis statements.” While that is expected to drop in 2014 (contributors include El-P and Harry Fraud), the Atlanta MC continued with details on his tentatively titled R.A.P. Music II. 2013 is shaping up to be a good year for hip-hop.

5. Danny Brown Signs Management Deal With Goliath Artists
Danny Brown is the latest artist to join Paul Rosenberg’s Goliath Artists management firm. Rosenberg, who is known as manager to Eminem and Action Bronson, made the announcement over Twitter. The pair will most likely work on Brown’s upcoming album, Old, which is scheduled to release later this year.

6. Yelawolf On Working With Juicy J for Stay Trippy
Yelawolf shared with us his experience on working with the Three 6 Mafia member for “Gun And a Mask.” We won’t say too much about the record, but just keep in mind that it is supposed to be appear on Juicy’s Stay Trippy, releasing through Taylor Gang Records.

7. Lil Wayne Goes Back to Work
After numerous reports of Lil Wayne’s hospitalization after suffering a series of seizures, the YMCMB leader is back. To prove everything is all good, Tune hopped on camera to thank his fans for all their love and support. Then, he plugged his upcoming album I Am Not a Human Being II and announced his “America Most’s Wanted” tour. He’ll be hitting the road with T.I. and Future, with more information on dates and tickets to be release next week.

8. Music Video Used As Evidence In Armed Robbery Conviction
In a most recent article in The New York Times, aspiring rapper BillBoard Biggs’ own music is used as evidence in a string of armed robbery convictions. The video, which uses Kanye West’s instrumental “The Joy” that originally appeared on  Watch the Throne’s set of bonus tracks, features Biggs and his four accomplices re-enacting crimes they have reportedly committed over the past two years. The most recent conviction in the case was last Tuesday (March 19), where Biggs and his crew were convicted and may face life in prison.

Previously: In the Cut: XXL’s Song Picks of the Week
Previously: Best Hip-Hop Tweets Of The Week: 3/17-3/23
Previously: Best Hip-Hop Videos Of The Week: 3/17-3/23
Previously: Photos of the Week: 3/17 – 3/24

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