24 Hours……50 Cent…….Video Games…..Cabo San Lucas…..Ahhhhhh Man! Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been an avid reader of XXL Mag for quite some time now, and though each issue provides me with a bit of hip-hop knowledge I may have lacked before reading, this issue was one of the best I’ve read to DATE! 

Since the departure of Elliott Wilson, the magazine’s former Editor In Chief, everyone’s perception of the publication has been clouded with the mindset of ”they wont survive without him.” But with an issue of this stature, it blatantly reminds us of why they’re the #1 publication in the business.

Digging deep into the archives, Vanessa Satten and her team of goons wipe the dust off one of hip hop’s classic CD’s, DMX’s freshmen debut, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot. Dissecting the body of work from front to back, Irv Gotti, Swizz Beatz, Sheek Louch, Styles P, Dame Grease, Dee, Waah and DMX trot down memory lane remembering the good and bad times of It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot. Check out this excerpt from the feature…

“I played the the ‘Ruff Ryders Anthem’ beat, and X was like, ‘I’m not doing no fu*ckin Rock n Roll beat.’ - Swizz Beatz

On the other side of town, Anslem Samuel dug deep into the G-Unit closet of secrets and pulled out a batch of information their core demographic has been dying to know.

Lloyd Banks discussing the lack of visibility during the 50 Cent/Cam’Ron feud:

“I was going through a lot at the time. My pops had just died, like two weeks after Rotten Apple came out. I had a lot of close friends of mine who’ve passed since I got on, but if you’re still in that environment, that’s nothing new…but when it happens to your mother or father, it affects you a certain way.”

Tony Yayo on the accusations of assaulting Jimmy Henchmen’s son:

“Sayin that sh$t was close to child molestation, and everybody had me guilty before they even knew what happened….I didn’t smack him! I’m a fu*ckin millionaire, and I got kids myself….I’m aware that, If I smack somebody, I’ma have a lawsuit. So why would I do it??”

Young Buck on the early friction between him and 50 Cent:

“I tried to call him and didn’t get no answer. Picture you constantly callin’ my phone and I don’t pick up. You gonna stop callin right? Then you look up on TV and you see a video, and everybody there but you. Then what?? So you can start adding it on, my dude and then you’ll see where I was at the time.”

50’s take on Lil Wayne’s reaction to him calling Wayne a whore:

“I don’t dislike Wayne, and I don’t want him to interpret it that way. He had the opportunity to jump out the window when I said he’s a whore, and he didn’t because he’s smarter than the other guys.”

The new issue of XXL is available at all newsstands and bookstores…I advise you to pick your copy up…NOW!

P.S. Congrats to Datwon on the new EIC position. V.Satten sure as hell did her thing though!

-LowKey