J. Cole is on the cover of the new Source. Remember when magazines were one of the only sources for hip hop news? As Biggie once said, things done changed. Props to RapRadar for the heads up.

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What other rappers deserved a spot on XXL Magazine’s Freshman 2010 cover?

I’ve been meaning to post Nicki Minaj’s FADER Magazine cover as it’s a big moment from the Jamaica Queens, NY native. My sources tell me that Ms. Minaj will not be dropping her debut album in 2010, but that won’t stop her from making the public more and more aware of her movement. If you’re looking for a hot Nicki Minaj mixtape, check out 2009’s Beam Me Up Scotty.
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Lil Wayne always provides good reading material. You can read more about the cover story at Rolling Stone. What if Wayne is able to use Twitter from Rikers Island?

While Weezy’s away, his label is relocating to New York to be near him, and his manager Cortez Bryant is exploring ways to keep Wayne in his fans’ minds for the duration — from jailhouse Twitter accounts to endorsements. “I’ll have an iPod, and I”ll make sure they keep sending me beats,” Lil Wayne says. Tha Carter IV — which Norris is told features tougher, faster beats — is scheduled to arrive shortly after he gets out.

Nicki Minaj is blowing up like we thought she would. Read the full XXL feature here!

In a recent interview with XXL’s Matt Barone, 50 Cent was asked about his lack of security. In his explanation, Fif compares his security situation to President Obama’s security situation. Sure, you can get close enough to cause harm, but you’ll never get away with it. And unlike President Obama, 50 Cent refuses to pardon his enemies. Remember when 50 Cent refused to ‘peace talk’ with Ja Rule and Louis Farrakhan?

XXL: You walked in here today pretty much by yourself, no security.

50 Cent: Yeah…I feel like the president sometimes. Not because he’s black, but because he’s Obama. See, you can get close enough to the president to kill him. because he has to walk around and kiss babies. But you won’t get away with it. So you have to assess not getting away with it before you do that. And they have to really think about it, because you’re not gonna get away with it against me. There ain’t gonna be no, “You’re pardoned,” or “We can have a peace treaty.” If itgets past us actually rapping, then it’ll never end.

In a February 2003 TIME Magazine article, 50 Cent explains why he loves aggressive competition.

When it’s suggested that maybe he should stop the musical aggression before he alienates people, or, even worse, things gets deadly, 50 laughs and says, “Why should I? I love being the bad guy. When I watch a movie, I always root for the bad guy. Usually I just turn ‘em off before they end,” he says, “because the bad guy always seems to die.” [TIME Magazine]

Later in 2003, 50 Cent appeared on a record called “We All Die One Day” with fellow Shady Records recording artist, Obie Trice. For the record, Lloyd Banks, Eminem, and Tony Yayo’s adlibs also appear on “We All Die One Day.”  After reading the throwback TIME article above, we were reminded of 50’s verse from the song:

Silver-back gorilla in the concrete jungle
I’m the strongest around you know how I get down
I watch gangster flicks and root for the bad guy
and turn it off before it ends cause the bad guy die
©50 Cent “We All Die One Day”

Is this weird to notice? Do you think 50 Cent wrote the rhyme before the conversation? Share your thoughts.

Previously: Amor Jones – “Finally” (Prod. by Nefarious)

I was pretty pumped this morning after I flipped to the LIFE section of USA Today and saw 50 Cent, Clipse, Wale, and The Roots prominently featured. Hip hop is alive and well, haters. Take a look at what Steve Jones of USA Today had to say about these Fall hip hop releases. More scans, anyone?

As you might have heard, I’ll be shining a light on the best-of hip hop print journalism with a new category (“Printing Press”). Here’s what Clipse (Malice x Pusha T) told XXL Magazine’s Meka Udoh about their “next opus” aka future classic album aka Till The Casket Drops.-Cfro

In today’s USA Today, Jay-Z is prominently featured in the LIFE section for his 9/11 tribute concert, Answer The Call. During his “triumphant two-hour performance,” Jay calls-out terrorists “hiding in caves.” Get em’, Jay!

In other Jay-Z news, The Blueprint III is on sale.

This is my personal scan of a XXL write-up about Mike Posner. It’s featured in the issue with Young Jeezy on the cover.

I was going through some boxes in my storage unit and I found a gem. The March 2003 issue of XXL features Eminem, Dr. Dre, and 50 Cent on the cover. Eminem had previously had beef with the folks at XXL (Now your magazine shouldn’t have so much trouble to sell…”) so it was a big deal that he was on the XXL cover. 50 Cent was the next rap superstar, so his presence on the cover was also significant. And Dr. Dre is, well, Dr. Dre.

At the time the Shady/Aftermath camp was knee deep in quite a few conflicts. One of those beefs was with rapper and former co-owner of The Source, Benzino, who argued that Eminem was destroying hip hop. In a feature entitled Politics As Usual, XXL asked Nas, Jay-Z, and Fat Joe a simple, but complex question: Is Eminem’s success bad for hip hop?

Nas →

“First of all, I fear no man, so I don’t see im as a threat. All of this is jus beautiful hype for Eminem’s new album. When his ne shit drops he’s gonna sell like Thriller. People eing made a him is only gonna add fuel to his fire and make him great. He’s a threat because he’s White, and he knows it. And the beauty of it is that he puts it in his music all the time. I love what Eminem is doing for hi hop and for our young people of America. He brings together White and Black people and he does it while representing rap music in its truest form. The larger he gets the larger hip hop gets, no matter what anybody says. This dude lives, breathes, eat, and shits hip hop. Of course, there is a bad side to this, that Black artists coul suffer, but tha should only make them stp up their game. It’s not an excuse. If you’re talented, then put your muthafuckin’ game down.”

Jay-Z →

“In my opinion, this is not an issue. I mean, he can rhyme. The guy’s got skills. If he didn’t have skills, I’d say the guy’s stealing from under the table, but he’s good to go. There’s no denying tha he can rhyme. I’m sure his race has something to do ith the numbers that he does, but there’s just no denying his talent”

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