Last night, XXL chopped it up with Raekwon about the highly anticipated upcoming Wu-Tang Clan reunion project at the launch event for Gig-It. During our brief discussion, the Staten Island legend gave his thoughts on the album, saying that while the members of the Clan are ready and willing to record, the business side of the project needs to be handled correctly. He also revealed that his next solo project F.I.L.A. (Fly Luxurious International Art) will drop this September.

“Yeah, [A Better Tomorrow] is supposed to [come out],” he said. “There’s a lot of great elements that could be brought to the table, but from my perspective, the business has got to be done right. Everybody’s got agents, and as Wu-Tang being that big legacy, it’s also got to make sense business-wise. We’re a franchise; we made these companies millions and millions of dollars, and I feel like at the end of the day, we’re all entitled to our earnings. More importantly, we’re entitled to the respect of doing great business and carrying out our legacy out right.

Rae continued, “[I've also got] the F.I.L.A. (Fly Luxurious International Art) album is coming out September—that’s my project. I’m excited. I’m just excited about being in the business for 20 years. 20 years, you see that gray?”

Check out the full interview at the top.

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Last week, Big K.R.I.T. stopped by XXL‘s offices for a photo shoot. During his time at the office, the Def Jam signee and Meridian, MS, native played a quick game of word association with XXL. Now, we have the results of the game on video.

You can probably already tell from the title that K.R.I.T. isn’t a big fan of Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos tacos, but what else did the Live From the Underground MC reveal? What genre of music does he not like sampling? What’s his favorite variety of sushi? And why does he have love for hipsters?

Check out XXL‘s video with Big K.R.I.T. to find out!

The post Big K.R.I.T. On Taco Bell: “I Don’t Like That Doritos Sh*t” appeared first on XXL.

Earlier this month, Roc Marciano was named the Vice President and Director of A&R at Man Bites Dog Records. Now, in an interview with XXL, the Long Island veteran speaks on his role with the indie imprint.

Roc broke down his duties with Man Bites Dog, saying that he will be overseeing the quality of label’s productions, as well as help sign new acts. He explained that joining the label was a very natural and organic process, as he had already been working with Man Bites Dog on an artistic level.

“It was just natural, you know what I’m saying?” he said. “We were already doing a lot of business together. Ryan would reach out to me about different records and stuff like that, ask for my opinion, so it was kind of just organic, basically. I’ma be signing acts and just basically helping out with the projects and the artists that are already there, just giving my opinion on what records to run with and things of that nature. A little bit of everything.”

Man Bites Dog founder Ryan “R.M.L.” Lynch echoed Roc’s sentiments, saying, “It’s very organic, man. People are all about organic food these days; we’re about organic relationships and about organic music. For what we went to for Roc for the head of A&R, he’s the man. He’s got one of the best ears for quality music in the game right now. He’s shown you that by his last two projects that he’s put out, and I think that everything that he always does is quality. I never hear a feature from him that I think is lackluster. I think everything he goes for, he goes supreme on. It’s a great jump-off point.”

Check in with XXL later this week for the second part of our interview with Roc Marciano.

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Here’s your first look at the XXL Freshmen Cover photo shoot from our partners at Monster Energy. The video is packed with behind-the-scenes action including interviews with the Freshmen and sneak peaks at the cyphers.

Also, stay tuned for an announcement of the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour Presents: XXL Freshmen Live 2013, coming to a city near you.

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Last week, XXL sat down with Big Boi of Outkast and B.o.B to discuss their work together on the recently released Electronic Arts video game Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel. During the first part of the exclusive interview, the Atlanta heavy-weights talk about their respective albums Dangerous Lies & Vicious Rumors and Strange Clouds, bonding over Atlanta hip-hop and why artists need, “a strong discernment for bullshit” in traversing the annals of the music industry

Check out the first part of XXL‘s exclusive interview above, and make sure to check in with XXL later this week second part of our discussion with Big Boi and B.o.B.

Interview Conducted by Dan Buyanovsky, Video Shot and Edited by Sean Ryon

The post EXCLUSIVE: Big Boi & B.o.B Have A “Strong Discernment For Bullsh*t” appeared first on XXL.

XXL Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Satten took some time with Kendrick Lamar backstage at his NYC show to record his acceptance speech for his three XXL Awards. Jay Rock chills in the corner and Ab-Soul jumps in the mix.

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The New Boyz’ Ben J gives us a look into a day in his life as well as showing off some of his onstage techniques as part of Ubisoft’s The Hip Hop Dance Experience. The highly interactive experience is the first authentic hip hop game in the dance category and allows players to rock out to joints from Run-DMC to Chris Brown, Rob Base to Nicki Minaj, Drake, B.o.B, the New Boyz among many others. The Hip Hop Dance Experience is available now for the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, be sure to get your copy today!

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B.o.B. gives us a look into a day in his life as well as showing off some of his onstage techniques as part of Ubisoft’s The Hip Hop Dance Experience. The highly interactive experience is the first authentic hip hop game in the dance category and allows players to rock out to joints from Run-DMC to Chris Brown, Rob Base to Nicki Minaj, Drake and of course B.o.B among many others. The Hip Hop Dance Experience is available now for the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, be sure to get your copy today!

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