XXL gets inside the heads of hip hop’s most talented trio. Watch as they talk fashion, basketball, gang-banging, & Hip-Hop in this in-depth feature.

PREVIOUS: Pac Div – Whiplash x Young Black Male (Video)

In their upcoming issue, XXL lists off their Top 100 Hip Hop Websites. And look who is number 2! Just kidding… the list isn’t ranked. I guess they didn’t want the whiplash VIBE caught haha. Either way the dopehouse made the list. Of course there is a few sites that leave me scratching my head and how Splash missed the list is beyond me. But overall they got it all covered.

1200squad.com
2DopeBoyz.com
24hourhiphop.com
57thave.com
allhiphop.com
ballerstatus.net
bbcicecream.com
beatsandrants.blogs.com
bestofbothoffices.com

blogxilla.com
bobatl.com
bossip.com
brandonsoderberg.blogspot.com
buckmarleyxxx.com
byroncrawford.com
chamillionare.com
cocaineblunts.com
complex.com
concreteloop.com
cratekings.com
daily-math.com/weblog
dallaspenn.com
Datpiff.com
daveyd.com
dctobc.com
differentkitchen.blogspot.com
djsmallz.com
down-south.com
dubcnn.com
fakeshoredrive.com
getrightmusic.com
globalgrind.com
grandgood.com
gyantunplugged,.com
hear-it-first.net
herfection.com
hiphopdx.com
hiphopgame.com
hiphopisread.blogspot.com
hiphopofficial.com
icedotcom.blogspot.com
illdoctrine.com
illroots.com
itsthecons.com
itsthereal.tumblr.com
joebuddentv.com
kanyeuniversecity.com
karencivil.com
kevinnottingham.com
live.dr.jays.com
Loud.com
lupefiasco-lupend.blogspot.com
mauricegarland.blogspot.com
maliceoftheclipse.com
mediatakeout.com
missinfo.tv
mixtapekings.com
mtv.com/news
myfabolouslife.com
nahright.com
necolebitchie.com
octobersveryown.blogspot.com
ohhla.com
okayplayer.com
onsmash.com
ozonemag.com
pliesworld.com
poisonousparagraphs.blogspot.com
prodby.altervista.org
radioplanet.tv
rapradar.com
realtalkny.uproxx.com
rickrossdeeperthanrap.com
roc4life.com
sandrarose.com
sohh.com
smartenupnas.com
smokingsection.net
soulassassins.com
souljaboytellem.com
spinemagazine.com
the305.com
theblastbydigiwaxx.com
thefader.com
therapup.com
theybf.com
thinkcommon.com
thisis50.com
thisizgame.com
trapsntrunks.com
unkut.com
usda2day.ning.com
vibe.com
vladtv.com
wordofsouth.com
girlstarhiphop.com
wydublog.com
xclusiveszone.net
xxlmag.com
youheardthatnew.com

Shouts to Animal for typing it up.

While at the Brooklyn Zoo, Dante Ross recalls the making of Dirty’s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version cover. Props to XXL.

PREVIOUS: Dante Ross Honors ODB At The Brooklyn Zoo (Video)

In a recent interview on All Hip Hop Radio, Cash Money CEO Bryan “Baby” Williams revealed that he was pleading with Atlantic Records to release former Hot Boy B.G. from the label. XXLMag.com caught up with the former Hot Boy yesterday (November 10) to get an update on his label situation and find out his newfound relationship with Birdman.

The New Orleans rapper has confirmed with XXL that he has been consulting with Baby in terms of his career as of late. Unhappy with his Atlantic deal—B.G.’s upcoming disc, Too Hood 2 be Hollywood, has been pushed back four times—he turned to his ex-Cash Money boss.

According to B. Gizzle his label problems started back in 2007 when T.I. got arrested on gun charges, and his project has been in limbo ever since. “When T.I. got caught up in that situation at the [BET] Hip Hop Awards, they kinda froze up on me,” he admitted. “They didn’t know what to do with me. I got a lot of respect for T.I., T.I. my partner but he told them, B.G. is his own man, he can carry his own weight. I don’t have to hold his hand.”- XXL

Oh great. Now we’re 3/4 there to the Hot Boys reunion we’ve all waited for [/sarcasm].

Courtesy of Anslem.

As one of the game’s most influential artists, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has the honor of holding down not one but two separate covers of XXL’s special year-end double issue. In the December/January cover story, the G-Unit CEO breaks bread with XXL to talk about his new album Before I Self Destruct, his big year on the Web with his site thisis50.com, his role in hip-hop and much more. Also included is a 10-year anniversary tribute to the making of the record that first brought 50 to the public, “How to Rob.”

Other features in the first-ever Internet Issue are XXL’s list of the 100 Best Hip-Hop Web sites, articles on Snoop Dogg and OJ Da Juiceman, as well as tribute pieces to rap legends ODB and Mac Dre to commemorate the fifth year anniversary of their passing. For the first time ever XXL has two candidates for Eye Candy of the Year, complete with a reader contest to vote for your favorite. But wait, there’s more as XXL reviews the new Gucci Mane album, The State v. Radric Davis.

XXL’s December/January double issue hits newsstands on December 1!!!!

Check out the alternative cover under the cut. Thoughts? Opinions? Bueller?

PREVIOUS: 50 Cent – Man’s World

Its The Cons sits down with one of my benefactors to walk wild random stuff about that jacket. Kidding, of course.

Behind the scenes footage of XXL’s Def Jam 25th Anniversary cover (on newsstands everywhere today).

In celebration of Def Jam’s quarter century in the music business, XXL has selected a handful of the label’s roster, past and present, to grace the cover of the November issue.

XXL’s new issue will include memorable tales from the MCs about the famed label, along with a complete discography of Def Jam releases and a comprehensive timeline of the brand’s biggest moments. Behind the scenes masterminds, Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles sit for the first time to share their memories and Rick Rubin also takes a look back at the legacy of Def Jam.

Click the image above to enlarge. Issue hits newsstands October 27.

During an interview with XXL, GFK reveals why The Sun (the famed collaboration between him, Slick Rick & Raekwon) was not included on 2001’s Bulletproof Wallets.

According to Tony, the song would have been included on the disc, but Rza misplaced the record that he sampled to create the beat. “Rza got high and couldn’t find the fucking loop,” Ghost explained to XXL. “He couldn’t find where he got the sample from. That’s why it wasn’t on there.”

As die-hard Wu-Tang fans already know, “The Sun” wasn’t the only track that didn’t make Bulletproof’s final cut. “The Watch”—another classic Starks song that listeners were only able to hear on underground mixtapes—wasn’t added to track listing because Barry White didn’t approve the sampling of his, “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby.” In addition, the original beat for “Flowers,” the collaboration between Ghost, Rae and Method Man on the album, also had to be changed due to sample clearance issues.

If everything would have gone as planned, production issues aside, the Shaolin wordsmith believes the album would have been able to stand up next to his most critically-acclaimed LP, 2000’s Supreme Clientele, as one of his best works.

*cancels life subscription at that quote*

While the teacher expressed his love and respect for the Def Jam brand, he also fingered them as the reason for hip-hop’s demise.

“Def Jam is the dopest label in hip-hop, in the culture of hip-hop,” he said. “There really would be no hip-hop as we know it today if it wasn’t for Def Jam. But you don’t get that respect without also being the label that single-handedly destroyed hip-hop.” – XXL

PREVIOUS: KRS-One & Buckshot – We Made It f. Slug (Atmosphere)