Throwbacks

Drake's on top, he's been there for a while, and he doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Haters can hate, but it won't matter. Interview: Thomas Golianopoulos Images: Jonathan Mannion One of the biggest rappers in the world lives on a busy street in Yorkville, an upscale neighborhood in Toronto fi lled with designer boutiques, European tourists and gelato shops...

Is Rick Ross fake? It doesn't matter. His music, his money and his growing empire are all as real as it gets. Words: Ben Detrick Images: Travis Shinn “WE NEED TO GET IN THERE BEFORE THEY GET TO US.” RED, RICK ROSS’S SECURITY CHIEF, A MAN WITH THE SHOULDERS OF A LINEBACKER, SPEAKS AS IF THE RAPPER’S tour bus were being swarmed by fl esh-starved zombies...

He sold three million records and still gets the Rodney Dangerfield treatment. Is he a Nelly clone? Ludacris’ DTP sidekick? A Pop-Tart rapper for bubblegum babes? Nah, son. He’s Chingy. A young MC with a bright-ass future. Words Vanessa Satten Images Michael Lavine I have this problem of thinking that nobody’s gonna try to do me wrong...

What’s it like to be G-Unit’s youngest in charge? Lloyd Banks has been flying around the world all year, making hits, making money, making time with the ladies. Lots of ladies. But as his new album says, he’s still Hungry For More. Get up-close and personal with a man on fire...

Bill Garland reconnected with his son just 10 months before bullets in Las Vegas separated them forever. Tupac’s father remembers. Words: Vanessa Satten Images: Michael Scott Slosar There were several important male figures in Tupac Shakur’s life...

After years spent putting in work behind stars like Juvenile and 50 Cent, G-Unit’s mouth of the South finally gets a solo shot at rap success. It’s Young Buck time. Let him shine. Words: Vanessa Satten Images: Michael Schreiber It’s a humid Los Angeles day in June 2001...

With G-Unit sales gone south, the NYC crew turns to its Southern representative to bring the numbers back up. cutting through industry to focus on his powerful new album, Young Buck says it's his time to shine. Interview: Sean A. Malcolm Images: Jonathan Mannion It’s a cold, rainy February night in New York, and David “Young Buck” Brown is seeking attention...

50 Cent has been hanging out with welterweight boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. A lot lately. In fact, they've formed a sort of club. What exactly is the money team? Interview: Vanessa Satten Image: Perou THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN CASH, MAYBE MORE, IN STUDIO B OF BROOKLYN’S FAST ASHLEY’S STUDIOS, AND IT ALL BELONGS TO 50 CENT AND FLOYD MAYWEATHER...

Having reclaimed the throne with the resounding success of Recovery, Eminem has recruited a remarkable stable of renowned MCs to revive his record label.The underground-scene supergroup Slaughterhouse: Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Crooked I and Royce Da 5' 9"...

More rappers than ever are turning to books to scratch their creative itch. A list of the 10 best ever Words: Adam Fleischer, Jesse Gissen, Mark Lelinwalla, Jayson Rodriguez Images: Socrates Gomez These days, when rappers pull out a pen and a pad, or even get on the computer or their smart phones, it’s not certain they do so with the intent of writing a rhyme. Mo...

We thought we knew what the movement was like. But then there was trouble in Dipset paradise. With co-founder Cam still M.I.A., can Jim, Julez and Zeke bring the title back to Harlem? Interviews By: Vanessa Satten Photography By: Perou A rap crew is hip-hop’s best display of strength in numbers...

XXL revisits the late hip-hop impresario's 2003 feature story...