In honor of the holiday, your new favorite podcast, XXL's The Break, will be taking a one week hiatus. The next episode, our fourth installment, "Promoting Yourself," will go live next Tuesday, December 1. Guests for Ep. 4 include Karen Civil, Fetty Wap and Joey Bada$$.

Check out episodes 1-3 below. Narrated by XXL Editor-in-Chief, Vanessa Satten, and Editor Miranda J., the first episode is titled “Building Your Identity.” Lyricists Joey Bada$$ and Wale plus Mike Caren, the President of Worldwide A&R for all of Warner Music Group, offer their expertise on one of the earliest steps an aspiring hip-hop star makes in their career…building their identity as an artist. In episode 2, titled “What To Focus On,” lyricists A$AP Rocky, Vic Mensa and J. Grand, the SVP of  A&R for RCA Records, speak on the primary things to focus on when launching your career. The latest installment, “Owning & Getting Out of Your City," features Kid Ink, Riggs Morales, the VP of A&R at Atlantic Records, and Zach Quillen, manager of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, offering tools on the primary things to focus on when trying to expand beyond your city as a new artist.

The Break podcast is an essential tool for artists willing to listen and learn. XXL‘s The Break: Where New Artists Come First. Listen to The Break Podcast on iTunes here.

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