Cover Story

It’s been a while since we have had Rick Ross and Meek Mill on the cover; about three and a half years. There hasn’t been any particular reason, it just hasn’t worked out. So when the opportunity popped up for this issue, it was a no-brainer. Ross is coming o...

We Do This Life stays getting better for the slimmed down boss, Rick Ross. Words Dan Rys Images Zach Wolfe Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of XXL Magazine. Check out our cover story on Meek Mill right here. I...

We Be On It With legal drama behind him, a new album and the baddest chick in hip-hop on his arm, Meek Mill is the man of the moment. Words Vanessa Satten Images Zach Wolfe Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of XXL Magazine. I...

Limelight The Game had a hard-knock life in the city of Compton before deciding to take a crack at the rap game. Vowing to bring the West Coast back as a major player in the hip-hop world, he, in fact, did just that. Bow down! Words Jon Caramanica Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the April 2005 issue of XXL Magazine. It i...

Writer At War Kendrick Lamar in his own words. Images Tom Medvedich Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Winter 2014 issue of XXL Magazine, on stands now. A lot of times in interviews, people ask me things like, “How does it feel now? What have ...

Crew Love They made history selling millions of records as hip-hop’s most successful crew and then broke up. Now six years later, the G-Unit brothers are back together and ready to take over hip-hop again. Compiled by Vanessa Satten, Eric Diep and Miranda Johnson Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the October/November 2014 issue of XXL Magazine. The May...

The first wave of G-Unit that broke over the hip-hop landscape from 2002 until 2008 was one of the biggest movements in hip-hop history, as 50 Cent, Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo led a charge to the top of the charts and sold millions of albums along the way...

Ed. Note: The following interview with Ab-Soul and Jay Rock is pulled from the outtakes from XXL's TDE cover story in our upcoming Oct/Nov issue.  There was no real rhyme or reason to how we grabbed the members of TDE for conversations during the photo shoot for our Oct/Nov cover story. We pulle...

Hip-hop’s new King of Cali, Kendrick Lamar thrives by keeping his past close in mind.

XXL's Executive Editor Jayson Rodriguez breaks down the creation process of this month's cover story, and tracks back his time in Miami with Rozay...