Prodigy sat down with XXL’s J-Rod for a game of “I Know Rap People”, The Mobb Deep Edition.
RESPECT: XXL
XXL takes it to Brooklyn for their March issue as they once again pay tribute to one of the greatest to ever do it. Issue hits stands Feb 7th.
RESPECT: XXL
Mr. SK took to the Webster Hall stage last night in celebration of his XXL cover (all 5 of them). The G-Unit boss, along with Mr. Cee, ran through a bevy of 50′s smashes as well as some of the joints off his latest mixtape The Big 10.
RESPECT: JiGz
So apparently Mr. Jackson thinks hip hop at the present time is a bit confused. Hmmm, interesting. XXL just unleashed some interesting excerpts from Fif’s cover story where he discusses the current state of hip-hop, finding inspiration, who he’s competing against and of course, Lil Wayne.
50 Cent: The whole culture, I think, is a little…confused. It’s not what I fell in love with, you know? So my job is to make a album that doesn’t have any holes in it, that is a representation of all of the elements I fell in love with. So, like, I look at artists to find what I like about them or why they’re hot or why they exist. And then you see that we’re creating momentum. We’re creating synthetic heat for new artists to generate interest and revenue. So the sales is some shit that ain’t really hot. You see what I’m saying? Like, the actual business of music is saying, “Oh, he’s hot!” and “Let’s try and do something to market it and sell it.” But there’s some shit that’s organic that’s out there that you see, like, without record-company assistance. People are gravitating to it.
RESPECT: XXL
Sigh. *In my zombie voice* 50 Cent, His Braids and Floyd Mayweather grace the cover of the December/January issue of XXL Magazine. In the upcoming issue, Curtis discusses the current climate of music, “The Money Team” and his Street King movement. An excerpt can be found below.
In the cover story, 50 analyzes the current music climate: “I don’t see what I fell in love with,” he says. “So now I gotta make music that reflects what N.W.A made. I have to make music that has the moments that Nas had. I have to make music that has what Biggie offered.” He also discusses his currently untitled fifth solo album: “For me, I’m still up against what I’ve done,” he says. “So in order to top it, I know it’s a difficult task. You know, I see the bloggers. My audience hasn’t grown with me. They keep saying, “Aw, man, I want the old 50!” ’Cause those people, it would take them on a safari. I was bringing them close enough to the animals, without being able to get hurt. I was taking them into my neighborhood, where you can very well get your ass killed.”
RESPECT: XXL
via XXL. Click to enlarge.
The new breed of hustlers includes: Roc Nation’s first signee J. Cole, gangsta rap up-and-comer Nipsey Hu$$le, newly-minted Asylum lyricist Pill, 1017 Brick Squad member OJ Da Juiceman, indie-sensation Wiz Khalifa, G.O.O.D. music’s own Big Sean, underground favorite Fashawn, Gary, Indiana rep Freddie Gibbs, West Coast phenom Jay Rock and the latest addition to the Atlantic roster, Donnis.
XXL will be dropping a mixtape with DJ Whoo Kid next Monday, March 8 featuring new exclusive music from all ten. More info to come soon on the XXL 10 Freshmen for ’10 concert later this month in NYC.
XXL’s April issue hits newsstands March 16 and includes the Freshmen producers, hip-hop soul artists, hip-hop duos & groups, also an in-depth look on what it’s like to be a new rapper today, a look back at last year’s Freshmen class, with an Eye Candy that’ll make you say ahh.
“I wasn’t really able to tell my story before but I think I am now…” Gucci Mane says from behind a glass window in a visiting room at Atlanta’s Fulton County Correctional Facility. “Got closure on a lot of things now.”
