Wrapping up 2016 on a great note is Travis Scott, who graces the front of XXL’s Winter 2016 issue, his first solo cover with the magazine. The Houston native is coming off a high with the success of his second solo album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, which landed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 the same week of its debut and received critical praise boasting three hit singles.

In the new issue, Scott, a 2013 XXL Freshman, discusses the response to his most recent effort, dealing with his newfound success and controversies that come with it, artists he looks up to like Kanye West and Kid Cudi plus his plans for his next album, AstroWorld, scheduled for 2017.

In this new issue, we take a look at President Barack Obama’s best hip-hop moments and Wyclef Jean thanks the outgoing president for all he’s done for hip-hop while living in the White House. Then we explore hip-hop’s involvement in the infamous 2016 presidential election. Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton reflects on the tremendous success of his hit Broadway musical and the recent release of The Hamilton Mixtape and 17 new rappers talk about the songs or albums that changed their life. Also in the mag we break down some of the best albums of the year, explore the trend of subliminal diss raps in hip-hop plus interviews with Cam’ron, Dave East, DeJ Loaf, Playboi Carti and much more.

The Winter 2016 issue of XXL hits stands everywhere Dec. 27.

See Exclusive Photos From Travis Scott's XXL Winter 2016 Cover Shoot 

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