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.

A few days ago, Pusha T started a new vlog series with Mass Appeal called “Tour Life,” in which he teases his upcoming album and gives fans a sneak peak at his ongoing tour with Fabolous. Meanwhile, Wiz Khalifa released the third part of the season finale for his popular “DayToday” series.

Vlogs, which are a more direct way for artists to interact with their fans, have become an extremely popular way for rappers to give viewers unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to their daily lives. Everyone from Diddy to Asher Roth have made vlogs over the past few years, some of which detail their music-making process, while just show said rappers dancing in front of a laptop.

Here we’ve compiled 20 awesome (for different reasons) vlogs, so click through to check them out. And check back with us in a few weeks as we continue this series of Awesome Rapper Vlogs.

The post Behind The Scenes: 20 Awesome Rapper Vlogs appeared first on XXL.

Kendrick Lamar jumps on the super sexy track “Looks Good With Trouble” by Solange.  A pretty smooth song that is off her recent True EP. They work really well on this record and KD snaps on his verse. You can listen to the record below.

[via XclusivesZone]

The post Solange Featuring Kendrick Lamar “Looks Good With Trouble” appeared first on XXL.

Kendrick Lamar shows us two contrasting feelings in his new video for “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe.” He takes a creative approach to attending a funeral, which are usually sorrow occasions. Here, he sports an all-white outfit, pays his respects to “Molly” (a sneaky diss to the growing trend in hip-hop), and then shows us a good time in his limousine. This is the next single off Kendrick’s album, good kid, m.A.A.d city.

UPDATE: Director’s cut features a new untitled song by ScHoolboy Q and a cameo by Juicy J.

The post Watch The Director’s Cut Of Kendrick Lamar’s “B*tch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” appeared first on XXL.

Photography By: Lucas Farrar (@MrFarFetched)

When you see Earl Sweatshirt and Black Hippy headlining this year’s Downtown Music Festival, it makes you stop and realize how far these artists have come. On the one hand, you’ve got the 19-year-old Odd Future member whose growth since hitting the hip-hop scene three years ago has validated his cult following and left people fiending for his upcoming solo album, Doris. On the other hand, the TDE crew—consisting of former and current XXL Freshmen—has seen an explosion in popularity thanks in large part to Kendrick Lamar and his universally praised 2012 album, good kid, m.A.A.d city. The performer combination resulted in high-energy audience in both shows on Friday night (May 10), each held at intimate venues in New York’s Lower East Side.

Before things started at Element, Antwon, who is a Bay Area native on the rise, warmed up the crowd with his eclectic blend of hip-hop. He went into strong offerings such as “40 Bag,” “3rd World Girl” and the 1980s-infused “Living Every Dream.” Soon Syd Tha Kyd took the stage to spin a few cuts, and the Earl Sweatshirt chants rang loud in the small venue. After giving the DJ some props (a high five), Earl addressed his fans nonchalantly: “Hey, guys.” He moved with a quick pace, breezing through “Earl,” “Drop” and “Orange Juice” sans Tyler, The Creator. Afterwards, he wanted to get on his “New York shit,” previewing the collaboration with Vince Staples and his song with RZA. (It features a great hook: “I’ll fuck the freckles off your face, bitch.”) Once it ended, Lee Spielman of Trash Talk, who joined Earl on stage for support, crowd surfed just like any hardcore rocker would do.

No times for breaks. Maneuvering through heavy rain outside to catch Black Hippy at Capitale, the crew was a little late to their scheduled time, so the Houston rapper Fat Tony held down court. At around 1:15 a.m., the crowd came alive as Jay Rock, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Kendrick Lamar walked onto the stage. “We came here to rap,” Rock proclaimed, which was met with a thunderous cheer. The oldest Hippy member jumped straight into “Hood Gone Love It” and kept fans on their feet with “YOLA.”

At this show—which was billed as Black Hippy—the four rappers opted for separate solo sets rather than playing collective cuts. The approach made it feel like you were watching a timeline of their successes in motion. Each had their own fanbase, as concertgoers either cheered for Soul’s “Bohemian Groove” or when Q returned to play his smash hit “There He Go.” Q, who had terrific charisma, couldn’t leave the stage without poking fun at his lesser star power than Kendrick’s. Still, his music was just as catchy, brimming with dance-ready rhymes found in songs like “Hands On The Wheel” and “Yay, Yay.”

As soon as Q left the stage, Kendrick took over as the night’s main event. He blazed through familiar songs off good kid, starting first with “Backseat Freestyle,” during which audience members rapped back his lyrics like they’d done it before. Kendrick played with the crowd, asking which side was the loudest and inciting a small competition. Later on, he rounded up his set with “m.A.d.d. City” and “Swimming Pools (Drank).”

It was roughly 2:30 a.m. As the house lights went up, the audience wanted an encore from Kendrick and made that known through echoing chants. On his way to the upstairs balcony for his exit, Kendrick simply flashed a smile and waved goodbye. Encore or not, TDE left with unprecedented standards for a group performance. They’ll be back to return the favor soon enough.

Flip through our photo gallery recap below of Downtown Festival’s New York edition. The festival plans on expanding to other cities, including Toronto, Philadelphia and Denver with their own lineups.

The post Earl Sweatshirt, Black Hippy Take Over Downtown Music Festival appeared first on XXL.

The NBA playoffs are in full-swing, and with only four series left, it’s coming down to the final moment to determine which team’s the league champion. But the NBA playoffs aren’t only good watching high intensity basketball; they’re also prime events at which to see your favorite rapper (if you’re into that kinda thing).

Now, XXL has put together a gallery of 28 photographs of rappers hanging out courtside at basketball games.

The post Kings Of Courtside: 28 Pictures Of Rappers At NBA Games 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 Kendrick Lamar, XXL Freshman Class of 2011, has been up to musically with his best tracks.

Swimming Pools

The post Kendrick Lamar, Class of ’11 – Catching Up With the XXL Freshmen appeared first on XXL.

In case you’ve forgotten, Mother’s Day 2013 is upon us. Mothers play a huge role in all of our lives, and for our favorite rappers, their influence frequently comes through via their rhymes. It’s no surprise that rappers love their moms, sharing personal moments that we all can relate to. With that in mind, let’s take some time to celebrate of some of the most visible mothers hip-hop has to offer, from Donda West to Afeni Shakur.

The post Dear Mama: Hip-Hop’s Most Important Moms appeared first on XXL.

Rhugi Villasenor is a 21-year-old designer mastermind, that you may already be familiar with. It was his now famous bandana tee that was sported on Kendrick Lamar at the 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards. It’s his gear that’s been seen on the likes of Justin Bieber, Tyga and more in recent months and it hasn’t been a year since he launched his apparel brainchild, RHUDE.  Because of Villasenor’s affinity with style and stimulating design aesthetics, he sits at the forefront of the youthful movement in men’s fashion. Just recently, the L.A. native was featured as part of XXL‘s Freshman Designers package—the same issue that his buddy and 2013 Freshman coverboy Travi$ Scott is featured on rocking all-RHUDE— and here the RHUDE-boy speaks to us about his come up, inspiration and Cali pride. —Ralph Bristout (@RalphieBlackmon)

XXL: On our 2013 Freshman Class cover, Travi$ Scott is draped in all RHUDE gear. Were you aware of that?

Rhuigi Villasenor: Yeah, ’cause Travi$ called me like, “Nigga, I’m tryna rock yo’ shit.” And I was like, “Alright, cool. It’s only right.” We’re both coming up.

You garnered a lot of attention last year, when Kendrick was spotted wearing your now famous bandana t-shirt at the BET Hip-Hop Awards.

Kendrick rocked that. His people called me like, “Yo, K. Dot wants to wear that shirt.” And what they told me was he was just going to wear it for like some little press thing and I was like, “That’s fine with me. I wear it. I don’t care.” Come to find out it’s the fucking BET Hip-Hop Awards, where he wins best rapper and shit. I was sitting at home just watching it and I got a text from Rockie Fresh and he’s like, “Yo, that’s your shirt right?” It’s just a crazy experience because that photo with him in the bandana tee is what a lot of ‘em reference Kendrick with. Like if they use a Kendrick photo, they use the bandana shirt. And I’m pretty happy to capitalize on the first ever thing I’ve put out. ‘Cause some companies take years just to break through.

How does that feel, to experience that break so early in your career?

It just shows the time that we’re in right now. It’s internet-based world and if it’s great, people will love it. And the thing with the internet is like, people will easily bash it if they don’t like it but if they love it they’ll ride with you. So that’s what’s happening with me right now. You see all these kids and older—I have crazy demographics, it’s like fashion people and then I have some streetwear kids that wanna buy expensive stuff. So the variety is little rude boys and stuff. So I’m building a cool following.

That must of been some kind of feeling for you that night because not only did K. Dot score his first major award, but it was marked your official debut.

I felt like I was fucking Kendrick or something. Kendrick had his shine and then L.A. was just loving me for that day. You don’t understand. When I say L.A., I mean I saw my following just grow that day. L.A. top heads in fashion and stuff were hitting me up like, “Yo, you’re next.” For a kid that literally just came out of high school and just didn’t really know what to do, to see that I was like, “What the fuck? I don’t know if I’m really next.” I kind of just made what I wanted. I never saw myself as “next”. I saw myself as a force to be reckoned with but I never thought that these fools would get in contact with me and be like, “I got this.” Even now it’s still crazy to me.

So you still haven’t soaked in the feeling of being “next”? Because you are the next up, especially with the rising popularity.

I’m still—before I did this I used to run around and be one of the guys behind the T$SA movement. I was one of the guys that was running around and really holding it down for L.A. But after awhile, I figured out there wasn’t going be any money for me here and this isn’t really for me. I’m not trying to be the guy that stresses and then goes home and gets back to real world. It’s still the same thing. So I pretty much did that and the kids kind of looked up to me when I was younger but now it’s kind of getting scarier. And I’m not that type of flashy guy that likes all that. I just make clothes and thank you for loving it. I want people to feel like they can do it too. But not everyone. It’s always that guy running around thinking he can do it too and it’s really, he shouldn’t.

And usually, their hearts aren’t in it.

Exactly. There’s a lot of people that want to enter because they just want the love and stuff like that. There’s too many brains with too little creativity. What’s happening in the world right now is too many people want to create brands and they have the money to do it. They all have the formula and the money and it’s like why do it if it’s not going to affect the culture?

But, that’s where you come in.

Yeah, I literally started with nothing. I came and I was like, “I’m gonna create the sample and see who likes it” and I made it work. Now I’m here designing my first big collection.

The RHUDE wave is big on the West Coast and is now branching out over on different coasts, especially here in the East.

It’s growing. I got a pretty crazy East Coast following and it’s goes to 40oz Van helping me out. Van is like a good friend of mine and he’s helping me pave my way into it. At this time we were really getting close and everyone knows Vans’ hats. The 40oz Vans caps are crazy. And are the new wave of the design field. Well 40oz is a little bit more street. For like Rhude and Watts are in the same playing field. But what’s best is I’m the youngest. Literally, I think, the youngest that’s ever done it.

How was it coming up, where did you grow up?

I grew up in the Philippines. My father was an architect so he moved around a lot. And then this one time he was like, “You know what, I’m gonna take you guys everywhere I go.” So Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Thailand. I was young. All before the age of 10, I was moving around. Literally hopping around different countries. I got photos laying down in the Red Sea, eating lobster and shit. The goal for any third world country is to make it to the US. It makes it happen. So my Dad really tried and he brought us here to the US in 2001. I went to private school but they taught me textbook English. It’s not conversational English. So it was really bad for me growing up. I had ESL classes. And they figured out I was a fucking genius but couldn’t speak. I just couldn’t speak English that well. So they put in honor classes, had me trial out. Each year I would always think, “I’m gonna outshine every muthafucka.” I had that mentality. Even now, my sister, my ex-girl, they always get frustrated with me because I have this mentality that I’m going to outshine everyone. I would always tell them, you can’t get mad at me for wanting to do better. When I hear great news from someone, I’m like, “That’s great but I wanted to shit on you too.” Yeah when I hear a friends excited, yeah I wanna hear about their success but I wanna overshine you. That’s exactly how my mentality is and honestly it’s paid off. Each year I’ve always felt that way. I graduated high school valedictorian.

How did you prepare for that graduation speech, considering the difficulty in english?

I was OD, bro. I literally just wanted the kids to know beyond school there’s more to it. In my speech I told them pretty much what I was going to do. It was like a testimony. It was insane. When I look back at it, I’m like, “Holy shit,” I literally said that I’m going to do this. Every time I think about it, it gives me chills. For me to call it out in front of all those people like, “Yeah I’m gonna do this.” And I even said the company I just started. So it’s like, “Fuck.” After that I’m like, “I’m gonna make it happen. I’m not talking a bunch of nothing.” There’s that time when I got into darkness and I didn’t go to the right school that I should’ve gone and went to community college. Did a week in it and then dropped out.

The post California Love: Rhuigi Villasenor, The Creative Mind Behind RHUDE Clothing appeared first on XXL.

This sales week proved rather tumultuous for the hip-hop genre, as most artists saw a dip in their sales. While mainstays like Justin Timberlake and Kendrick Lamar have continued to hover around their respective spot, others like Tyga and will.i.am took s serious Ls, with the later artist dropping 40 spots since last week. However, this sales week wasn’t without some successes. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis reclaimed a top ten position, while newcomer Rittz snagged a top 50 debut.

1. Kenny Chesney – Life on a Rock - 153,000
2. Michael Buble – To Be Love – 92,000
3. Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience – 69,000
4. Fantasia – Side Effects of You –36,000
5. Blake Shelton – Based on a True Story –34,500
6. Randy Rogers Band - Trouble – 34,000
7. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – The Heist – 32,000
8. P!nk – Truth About Love – 26,000
9. Fall Out Boy – Save Rock and Roll – 24,000
10. Bruno Mars – Unorthodox Jukebox - 23,000
11. Imagine Dragons – Night Visions – 22,000
12. The Band Perry – Pioneer –22,00
13. Lil Wayne – I Am Not A Human Being II – 21,000
14. Florida Georgia Line – Here’s to the Good Times – 20,000
15. HIM – Tears On Tape – 16,000
16. Iron Man: Heroes Fall OST – N/A – 16,000
17. Mumford and Sons – Babel –15,700
18. Phoenix – Bankrupt! – 15,000
19. Rihanna - Unapologetic - 14,000
20. Jessica Sanchez – 14,000
21. Kid Cudi – Indicud – 14,ooo
22. Lumineers - Lumineers – 14,000
23. LL Cool J - Authentic – 13,800
24. Rittz - The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant - 13,750
25. Rob Zombie – Venomous Rat Regeneration Vender –13,500
26. The Airborne Toxic Event - Such Hot Blood – 13,500
27. Fun. – Some Nights –13,000
28. Luke Bryan – Spring Break…Here to Party – 13,000
29. Taylor Swift – Red – 12,600
30. Brad Paisley – Wheelhouse – 12, 600
31. Adele – 21 - 12,000
32. Fleetwood Mac - Extended Play EP – 11,500
33. Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal – 11,500
34. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city – 11,250
35. Eric Church – Caught in the Act – 10,800
36. Alan Jackson – Precious Memories, Vol. II – 10,500
37. Now That’s What I Call Music 45 – v/a – 10,300
38. Maroon 5 – Overexposed – 10,000
39. Paramore – Paramore – 10,000
40. Eric Church – Chief – 10,000
41. Jason Aldean – Night Train – 9,900
42. Tim McGraw – Two Lanes of Freedom – 9,000
43. Little Big Town – Tornado – 9,000
44. Pitch Perfect – Sountrack – 8,900
45. Luke Bryan – Tailgates and Tanlines – 8,750
46. Tyga – Hotel California – 8,700
47. Carrie Underwood – Blown Away – 8,300
48. will.i.am – #Power – 8,300
49. Phillip Phillips – World From the Other Side of the Moon – 8,200
50. Kelly Clarkson – Greatest Hits – Chapter 1 – 7,900

Check out last week’s sales recap.

[via HITSDailyDouble]

The post Rittz Makes Top 50 Debut, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Reclaim Top Ten On Sales Chart appeared first on XXL.

This week found hip-hop more or less absent from the top ten spots on the Billboard Top 100 chart – however, Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience and Kid Cudi’s Indicud held steady at #3 and #7, respectively. Debuting on the charts this week is will.i.am’s #Power, which broke through at #9 with nearly 30,000 units sold, and Snoop Dogg’s Reincarnated, which landed at#17 with little over 20,000 in sales.

Check out the top 50 entries on the Billboard Top 100 this week below.

1. Michael Buble – To Be Love – 203,115
2. Fantasia – Side Effects of You – 87,435
3. Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience – 75,525
4. Phoenix – Bankrupt! – 48,947
5. Fall Out Boy – Save Rock and Roll – 39,659
6. Blake Shelton – Based on a True Story – 35,430
7. Kid Cudi – Indicud – 31,951
8. P!nk – Truth About Love – 29,491
9. will.i.am – #Power – 29,446
10. Rob Zombie – Venomous Rat Regeneration Vender – 28,359
11. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – The Heist – 27,878
12. Lil Wayne – I Am Not A Human Being II – 25,175
13. Bruno Mars – Unorthodox Jukebox – 24,568
14. The Band Perry – Pioneer – 23,243
15. Imagine Dragons – Night Visions – 21,423
16. Georgia Florida Line – Here’s to the Good Times – 20,906
17. Snoop Lion – Reincarnated – 20,385
18. Mumford and Sons – Babel – 17,322
19. Brad Paisley – Wheelhouse – 16,264
20. Tate Stevens – Tate Stevens – 16,188
21. Fun. – Some Nights – 15,386
22. Rihanna – Unapologetic – 15,081
23. Lumineers – Lumineers – 4,686
24. Luke Bryan – Spring Break…Here to Party – 14,314
25. Steve Martin and Eddie Brickell – Love Has Come For You – 14,094
26. Adele - 21 – 13,275
27. Paramore – Paramore – 13,231
28. Taylor Swift – Red – 12,372
29. Eric Church – Caught in the Act – 12,320
30. Tyga – Hotel California – 11,571
31. Pitch Perfect – Sountrack – 10,223
32. Jason Aldean – Night Train – 10,209
33. Eric Church – Chief – 10,108
34. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Mosquito – 9,765
35. Maroon 5 – Overexposed – 9,520
36. Now That’s What I Call Music 45 – v/a – 9,338
37. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city – 9,280
38. Luke Bryan – Tailgates and Tanlines – 9,222
39. The Neighbourhood – I Love You – 9,110
40. Little Big Town – Tornado – 9,085
41. Alan Jackson – Precious Memories, Vol. II – 8,950
42. George Jones – 16 Biggest Hits – 8,874
43. Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls – 8,761
44. Phillip Phillips – World From the Other Side of the Moon – 8,482
45. Kelly Clarkson – Greatest Hits – Chapter 1 – 8,287
46. Tim McGraw – Two Lanes of Freedom – 8,162
47. Carrie Underwood – Blown Away – 8,002
48. Volbeat – Outlaw Gentleman and Shady Ladies – 7,605
49. Depeche Mode – Delta Machine – 7,205
50. Hunter Hayes – Hunter Hayes – 7,183

The post Kid Cudi, Justin Timberlake Stay In The Top Ten On Sales Charts appeared first on XXL.

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

This week fins Snoop Lion releasing his long-awaited debut reggae album Reincarnated, which sports features from Drake, T.I., Miley Cyrus and a host of others. At the same time, Mitchy Slick drops his newest album Feet Match the Paint, while Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa commemorating 4-20 with the release of Live In Concert. On the singles front, Mac Miller released his Flying Lotus-produced single “S.D.S.” off his upcoming sophomore release Watching Movies with the Sound Off.

New Album Releases

Snoop Lion – Reincarnated
Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa – Live in Concert
Mitchy Slick – Feet Match The Paint

New Singles Releases

Mac Miller – “S.D.S.”
Snoop Lion feat. T.I. – “No Regrets”
King Los feat. Diddy and Ludacris – “Disappointed”

The post Recap: New Releases & Album Sales, Ending 4/17/2013 appeared first on XXL.

Over the past few years, Inglewood, XXL‘s “The Break” alum Skeme has been making a name for himself as one of the West Coast’s most anticipated rising stars. Now, the Inglewood, CA native says that Top Dawg Entertainment may be in his future.

Skeme recently spoke to HipHopDX’s Bruce Smith, in which he revealed that he is “in heavy talks” with Top Dawg Entertainment about possibly signing with the imprint. Although he said he has yet to officially sign with any label, he noted that the Black Hippy crew are his friends and he has the utmost respect for the TDE crew.

“Them are my brothers and I always have respect for [TDE CEO Anthony 'Top Dawg' Tiffith]. That’s big homie,” he said. “It’s yet to be seen where exactly I’m gonna go. I’m just trying to make the right move. The next move has to be the best one. As a hustler, that’s how I feel. With that being said, I am very close to TDE, them is the homies, and we are in heavy talks. It could be something.”

In the past, Skeme has collaborated with Kendrick Lamar and XXL Freshman Class of 2013 alum ScHoolboy Q on the songs “I Do This (Remix)” and “Kidz With Gunz,” respectively. Most recently, Skeme released his debut album Alive & Living in October 2012.

[via HipHopDX]

The post Skeme: The Next Member Of TDE? appeared first on XXL.

T.I. is making good on his promise to release his upcoming Hustle Gang compilation. The lead single, “Memories Back Then,” features a strong line-up of Kendrick Lamar, B.o.B and Kris Stephen. This serves as the first track off G.D.O.D.: The Introduction slated for the end of the month.

The video captures what the title suggests, as they roam the streets of California reminiscing on their past memories. In different instances, we see three storylines unfold. Check it out above.

The post Watch T.I.’s “Memories Back Then” Video Featuring Kendrick Lamar, B.o.B & Kris Stephens appeared first on XXL.

Karmaloop are Neff are hosting one of the season’s hottest concert series with their Verge Campus Tour, Powered by eMuze. Featuring performances by Kendrick Lamar and Steve Aoki, along with support from Bad Rabbits and 5 & A Dime, XXL is now giving away a pair of tickets to the tour’s upcoming April 25th stop at William and Mary.

So how do you win? Well, it’s fairly simple. The person who hits and likes Neff’s Facebook page, along with the posting the following message: Verge Campus Tour Tickets #XXL #NEFF #KARMALOOP  will win.

Easy right? The winner will not only win a pair of tickets, but they’ll also win a Neff prize pack which includes everything seen below: sunglasses, beanie, watch, snap back and back pack.

Entries must also include a full name (first and last) in the post. This contest is limited to fans, who are 21-years-old and up and will be in the Williamsbrug, VA area on Thursday night. Contest ends April 24th.

 

The post Win Tickets to See Kendrick Lamar and Steve Aoki Perform at Williamsburg, VA appeared first on XXL.

When you are the hottest MC in the game, there is no time for rest. Just ask Kendrick Lamar. The Compton rapper, who is currently jaunting the U.S on a cross country Spring college tour, recently announced that he will take his show worldwide, embarking on a 60 show world tour starting May 5. Along with his Black Hippy crew (Jay Rock, ScHoolboy Q and Ab-Soul), K Dot will take the stage in 15 countries between May and late August. Will you be in the crowd?

Check out the full schedule below.

May 5th – West Palm Beach, FL – SUNFEST
May 11 – Columbia, MD – Sweetlife Festival
May 17 – La Jolla, CA – Sungod Festival
May 18 – Gulf Shores, AL – Hangout Festival
May 22 – Las Vegas, – NV Cosmopolitan
May 23 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Great Saltair
May 29 – Portland, ME – The Waterfront At Ocean Gateway
May 30 – Albany, NY – Armory
June 1 – Junction, VT – Champion Valley Exposition
June 3 – Belle Vernon, PA – Ice Garden
June 4 – Cleveland, OH – Jacob Pavilion at Nautica
June 5 – Detroit, MI – Chene Park
June 6 – Indianapolis, IN – Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn
June 8 – Randall’s Island, NY – Govenors Ball
June 10 – Baton Rouge, LA – Baton Rouge River Center
June 11 – Houston, TX – Reliant Arena
June 12 – Grand Prairie, TX – Verizon Theatre
June 13 – New Braunfels, TX – Whitewater Amphitheatre
June 16 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo
June 19 – St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre
June 20 – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle
June 21 – Simpsonville, SC – Charter Amphitheatre
June 22 – Dover, DE – Firefly Music Festival
June 23 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheatre
June 26 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Amphitheatre
June 28 – San Diego, CA – Del Mar Fair Festival
June 29 – Kansas City, KS – Kanrocksas Festival
June 29 – Los Angeles, CA – BET Experience
July 3 – Gdynia, PL – Heineken Open’er Festival
July 4 – Roskilde, DK – Roskilde Festival
July 5 – Zurich, SE – Touch the Lake Festival
July 6 – Haachtsesteenweg, BE – Rock Werchter Festival
July 7 – Arras, FR – Main Square Festival
July 8 – Birmingham, UK – Academy
July 9 – Manchester, UK – Apollo
July 10 – Leeds, UK – Academy
July 11 – Grafenhainichen, DE – Splash Festival
July 12 – Kinross-shire, UK – T in the Park Festival
July 13 – London, UK – Wireless Festival
July 14 – Rotterdam, NL – North Sea Jazz Festival
July 17 – Montreaux, CH – Montreaux Jazz Festival
July 18 – Molde, NO – Molde Jazz Festival
July 19 – Tonsberg, NO – Slottsfjell
July 20 – Pori, FI – Pori Jazz Festival
July 27 – Naeba, Japan – Fuji Rock Festival
Aug 2 – Toronto, Canada- Sound Academy
Aug 3 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
Aug 4 – Montreal, Canada – Osheaga Music Festival
Aug 8 – Oslo, NO – Oya Festival
Aug 9 – Helsinki, FI – Flow Festival
Aug 10 – Gothenburg, SE – Way Out West Festival
Aug 15 – Hasselt, BE – Pukkelpop Festival
Aug 16 – Biddinghuizen, NL – Lowlands Festival
Aug 17 – Chelmsford, UK – V Festival
Aug 18 – South Staffordshire, UK – V Festival
Aug 20 – Glasgow, UK – Bellahouston Park
Aug 22 – Paris, FR – Stade de France
Aug 23 – Paris, FR – Rock En Seine Festival
Aug 24 – Hradec Kralove, CZ – Hip Hop Kemp Festival

The post Kendrick Lamar, Black Hippy Going On 60 Show ‘good kid m.A.A.d. city’ World Tour appeared first on XXL.

After his memorable appearance on Saturday Night Live, Miguel comes forth with the video for his slick single “How Many Drinks?” featuring Kendrick Lamar. Directed by Clark Jackson, the colorful visual finds the R&B star rocking a stage live with his band and K. Dot. The two look like they are having a lot of fun looking desirable for the camera.

Watch the video above, and be sure to check out Miguel’s second studio album, Kaleidoscope Dream, out now.

The post Watch Miguel and Kendrick Lamar’s Video for “How Many Drinks?” appeared first on XXL.

This weeks sports new releases from East Coast icons like N.O.R.E. and Ghostface Killah, as well as underground mainstays Nametag & Nameless, Illogic & Blockhead and Boston’s own Slaine. On the singles front, DJ Khaled released Suffering From Success‘ lead single “No New Friends” with Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, while T-Pain linked with Juicy J and Trey Songz for his new track “Bad Bitches Link Up.”

Album Releases

N.O.R.E. (aka P.A.P.I.) – Student Of The Game

Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge – 12 Reasons To Die

Nametag & Nameless – For Namesake

Illogic & Blockhead – Capture The Sun

Slaine – The Boston Project

Singles Releases

DJ Khaled feat. Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne – “No New Friends”

Funk Flex feat. Cam’ron & Lil Wayne – “Love to a Diplomat”

T-Pain feat. Juicy J & Trey Songz – “Bad Bitches Link Up”

Rockie Fresh feat. Rick Ross & Lunice – “Panera Bread”

Will.i.am feat. Juicy J – “Freshy”

The post Recap: New Releases & Album Sales, Ending 4/10/2013 appeared first on XXL.

As we show off freestyles from the 2013 XXL Freshman Class, we take a look book at some more classic freestyles form previous classes. Last week, we rereleased freestyles from Kid Cudi, Curren$y, Ace Hood, Asher Roth, Cory Gunz, Blu, Charles Hamilton, Mickey Factz, B.o.B. and Wale.

For this batch of classic XXL Freshman freestyles, we’re revisiting Wiz Khalifa (below), Kendrick Lamar, Lil B, J. Cole, Meek Mill, Big K.R.I.T., Nipsey Hu$$le  and Chocolate Drop (aka Kevin Hart). Click on one of the previous links to go directly to your favorite or just hit the next button under each video to watch the next one.

More XXL Freshmen:
2013 XXL Freshman Class
Classic XXL Freshman Freestyles Pt. 1
Photo Gallery of Every XXL Freshman

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