STR8NYC.COM » XXL magazine

STR8 TALK: WHY NO FEMCEES ON XXL’S FRESHMAN COVER?

J'More — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:23:22 +0000

Earlier this week, XXL magazine debuted its 2011 “Freshman Class” issue featuring a bunch of dudes–some of whom I’ve never seen or even heard of it. It’s kinda crazy how I had to dissect the cover by using Google to figure out who majority of the guys were, aside from Yelawolf, Diggy, Lil Twist and Cyhi The Prince. To be honest, the cover is straight up garbage! And I honestly don’t know why half of these guys even made the cover, like Mr. “Toot it & Boot it” aka YG. Is this really the future of Hip-hop? ‘Cause if it is, then we’re in serious trouble! Anywhoo, let me get to the real topic at hand–where are the female rappers? This is the fourth year XXL has left out the femcees. Over 3 million people live in the United States, and you mean to tell me there aren’t any dope female rappers out there?

Nicki Minaj is doing her thing right now, so why is it that female rappers are still being treated like they’re outcasts?

What’s your take on this lackluster cover?

STR8 GLOSSY: XXL’S 2011 FRESHMAN HIP HOP CLASS

LexAve — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:37:52 +0000

XXL magazine debuts 2011′s Freshman class of hip hop, featuring Diggy Simmons, Kendrick Lamar, Meek Mill, Big K.R.I.T., CyHi Da Prynce, Lil Twist, Yelawolf, Fred The Godson, Mac Miller, YG and Lil B. We saw how last year’s class members wound up…sorta lack luster. Any predictions for 2011? Who will top the charts?

My only question is…really no female rappers?! Seriously XXL, there are no worthy femcees out there? I highly doubt that!

KANYE WEST COVERS XXL MAG & PENS FIRST ARTICLE ON HIMSELF!!

Cola Janneti — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 23:12:42 +0000

The Louis Vutton Don, Kanye West, graces the cover of XXL’s October issue. Not only is he the coverboy, but he also serves as the issue’s creative director…not to mention he penned his own cover story (his first article) about himself…WOW! lol.

In his candid cover story, Ye speaks on the reaction he received from the infamous 2009 MTV Video Music Awards debacle. “I stress that the incident wasn’t about Taylor personally,” he explains in the story. “And it definitely wasn’t about race. Where I messed up is, at the end of the day, it’s your show, Taylor. It’s your show, MTV.”

“The relationship with the public and with your fans is like the relationship with your girlfriend,” he adds. “How could I not, at a certain point, be like, ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been at the awards show. I’m sorry.’ Not that I don’t deserve to get beat up or change who I am inside, to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

Mr. West said that, following his VMA outburst, he immediately dedicated himself to the studio. “I knew I wasn’t in a great spot publicly after the incident, but I would just block it out and work as hard as possible and let my work be my saving grace,” he shared. “In a way, I had thrown a Molotov cocktail at my own career, and it gave me an opportunity, for the first time, to go away and find out who I was. Because I felt very alone.”

Be sure to cop the issue hitting newstands September 28.

DIDDY’S EGO TRIPPIN’…

J'More — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:23:18 +0000

It’s about damn time Diddy graced the cover of XXL magazine and we couldn’t help but wonder what took the publication so long to put his face on the cover anyway. Well, Diddy makes it very clear why it’s all about him and breaks down why he was the “first” to do anything in Hip-hop.

Check out this excerpt…

“I was the first on the jet. I was the first running the marathon. I was the first donating millions of dollars. I was the first. I was the first with the 10 million records sold. I was the first with the label. I was the first with the renegotiations. Fuck a Forbes list—I was on the cover of Forbes. There is going to be someone that will pass me, but as long as I’m on the court, they are not going to be badder than me, because there is too much catching up to do…There is not one muthafucka that’s here now who is going to outwork me. That is not going to happen, not right now. Maybe if I slow down, but to this day, no one can fuck with me when it comes to getting busy and working.”

Sounds like Diddy feels a certain way, if ya ask me. And who can blame him? The man isn’t lying about being the “first”, but it’s quite obvious that he’s been overshadowed by Hip-hop colleague, Jay-Z. Diddy may have been the first, but Jay is the “best to ever to do it”. Dude is breaking bread with mayors, governors and even the president! Seems like Diddy should be the one playing catch up.

Sidebar: Diddy is way too old to be rockin’ a grill! Major FAIL!

STR8 GLOSSY: DIDDY COVERS XXL MAGAZINE + WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG?!

LexAve — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:37:12 +0000

Check out Diddy running the glossies. He finally snagged his first solo cover of XXL’s June issue. With his new album Last Train To Paris dropping in June and now that he’s managing Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj…expect more mogul moves from Mr.Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop. Here’s an excerpt from the cover story:

“Hands down, undisputed, I’m the undisputed heavyweight champion of hip-hop. We are going to have to deal with those facts. There is nobody that can fuck with me with what I do, which is getting busy. We are going across the board, as an entrepreneur, innovator, motivator. Who was there first? Who traveled to Europe first? The first. The first. The first. The first. I was the first.”

Definitely expect more quotable material…in the meantime enjoy the grilled cover shot below.

Glad to see Diddy finally score the cover of XXL magazine…but we can’t help but wonder: What took so long?
Here are some reasons we came up with why XXL mag took forever to show Diddy some love…
5. Diddy is not considered a rapper- He may spit a few bars here and there but c’mon noone takes him seriously.
4. Bad Boy is played out- Bad Boy used to have the ill roster of artists and putting out hits on a consistent basis…then Diddy got greedy and f*cked everything up.
3. Diddy’s not reppin’ hip hop- As of lately, Diddy’s focus has been more on the pop scene than hip hop…making him ineligible for any hip hop glossy covers.
2. Diddy’s not reppin’ any hood- In hip hop if you ain’t reppin’ a hood, then what are you really reppin’. Sure Diddy is from NY and claims to run the city…but we all know that’s a lie- ’cause Jay-Z runs this town!
1. XXL mag just got desperate- And last but certainlyl not least, XXL mag got tired of the Lil’ Wayne covers and since 50 Cent ain’t doing much these days and Hov’s takeover is on complete overload…Diddy was just the next best thing.

DRAKE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT JAY-Z COMPARISON…REALLY?!

J'More — Tue, 11 May 2010 12:24:33 +0000

While Drake is making sure the Young Money ship doesn’t sink, he has to deal with groupies throwing their draws at him and constantly being compared to the greatest rapper of all time Jay-Z. In an interview with XXL, the Toronto native explains that quite frankly he doesn’t really care about being compared to his elder. He says,

“I really don’t care about like compared to Hov or compared to Wayne. That’s another man. I’ve never been really worried about what anybody else is doing. I just use it as reference points and as influence and inspiration, but I don’t really bother myself with thinking who’s the best. ‘Cause that doesn’t really matter. It’s just who’s got the songs that move people at the time. Like if you’ve got the title of being the best rapper but you don’t have the hottest songs out? To me, that’s what’s important is just like putting out consistently good product.”

Does Drake even have what it takes to be the next Jay-Z? I’m so far gone over his a$$. Moving on to the next one…

STR8 GLOSSY: NICKI MINAJ IN XXL + BEING THE NEXT LIL’ KIM?!…

LexAve — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:03:56 +0000

In the May issue of XXL, Nicki Minaj talks being labeled a woman rapper and the Young Money rep revealed that her current position is just a stepping stone in her career. Word is she’s looking to Lil’ Kim the game…

“You know what, I’m a female entertainer,” Nicki clarified, “but I don’t let it offend me when people call me a female MC or female rapper, because I just look at it as a challenge….I’m about to climb over every single barrier and just put females on a different map altogether,” she continued. “So I take it as it comes. Like, I don’t think in five years people will consider me a female rapper—I’ll be, like, an entertainer. But, as of right now, I get it. I started off in the underground hip-hop circuit, so I’m a female rapper right now. But it’s just the beginning.”

Sounds like Nicki is trying to reach Lil’ Kim’s status by becoming a household name. But does she have what it takes?
Be sure to cop XXL’s May issue,featuring Nicki Minaj & Drake on the cover, on stands nationwide on April 20th.

STR8 EXCLUSIVE: NIPSEY HUSSLE TALKS SNOOP DOGG, XXL FRESHMAN CLASS & FEMALE RAPPERS…

LexAve — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 04:58:13 +0000

After an evening of absolute mayhem at SOB’s Wednesday night featuring Nipsey Hussle, Str8NYC scored an interview with Nipsey Hussle. Check out J’More chopping it up with Nipsey to talk about Snoop Dogg comparisons, outliving the XXL 2010 Freshman Class “gift/curse”, and favorite female rappers…

After hours of waiting around backstage at SOB’s for the one and only Nipsey Hussle–four hours to be exact. Ya gurl J’More kicked it with the likes of DJ Kid Capri, Juelz Santana, a plethora of rappers and their entourage.

Nipsey rolled in a lil’ after 11:30pm and that’s when the mayhem began. It was like Jay-Z stepped in the room. The rapper was bombarded with flashing lights that it took him almost 10 minutes to actually make it over to his dressing room which quickly became a room fogged up with his entourage and smoke. After nearly an hour entertaining his entourage and laying down some interviews Nipsey finally made his way on stage where he performed for literally 18 minutes alongside his crew. The East Coast definitely showed the rapper some love.

And the second Harlem’s Prince Juelz Santana took the stage the crowd went crazy!

Shortly after Nipsey’s set ended I made my way backstage to get a one-on-one with the West Coast rapper.

THOUGHTS?!