0 Drake Covers GQ Magazine's "Style Bible"

Gentleman's Quarterly has selected Drake to grace 1 of 4 covers for their first "Style Bible" issue. Below are a couple excerpts from Drizzy's interview which will hit newsstands next week:
 
On finding inspiration for creating music...

  "I'm trying to find the same feelings that I had for women when I had very little going on, which is tough," he says. "When I was in my mom's house, I had nowhere to go, no real obligations. My girlfriend at the time, if she was mad at me, my day was all fucked-up. I didn't have anything else. And that made for some of the best music, I think, to date. Records where I felt small. That feeling is hard to capture when you're sitting out here in a space like this." He gestures to the pool, the tennis court, the volleyball court, the stables. "It's really difficult for me to find something that makes me feel small."

 On Past Relationships..

"There's just a time where it was like, just getting pussy. Where I was in that sort of 'I'm young, I'm going to disconnect from my emotions and just do what everyone else tells me I should do and just be a rapper and have my fun.' And for me as a person, it just doesn't work. I just need something else. The seconds after a man reaches climax, that's like the realest moment of your life. If I don't want you next to me in that fifteen, twenty seconds, then there's something wrong."

Click Here To Read More

0 T.I. Covers VIBE (December / January 2011)

Even whilst behind bars, T.I still manages to grace the cover of Vibe Magazine, with whom he did his last official interview with before heading to Forrest City, Arkansas to serve his 11 Month prison sentence. You can catch a glimpse of the interview below and watch the making of the cover by Clicking Here

Vibe: I’ve heard you mention how the good that you’ve done is easily forgotten. Do you feel that you’ve been treated unfairly?

T.I: If I place my value in the way humans treat me, then maybe. But they’re human, man―they can’t help themselves. They do that to people they know personally. So how can I expect them to treat me, only knowing me through television? They did that to Jesus. They did that to Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali. They did it to every great person you could possibly think of. When it was all good, they was with them. When things got bad, then they was against them.

Vibe: But in this case things didn’t “get bad.” It’s something you did.

T.I: Let me just say this: [he sits up on the couch] If you look at a guy who came up, no pops in the house, moms on welfare, food stamps; started selling dope when he was 12, 13 years old, came up handling guns, being in shoot-outs; started going to jail when he was 15. In all of this chaos and this mischief and lawlessness, the person who was just in jail for machine guns and silencers turns his life around. And now you want to crucify him ―for what? Three pills. I mean, of course it’s wrong and unacceptable and inexcusable. No problem. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s rather petty. It’s rather petty to hold someone’s feet to the fire for something so small when they have overcame things that were so big. All that could have been going wrong―if I was riding with more guns, or if I had gotten into a shoot-out and killed somebody, then I could see that. But just think about it. I’ve gotten it down to this much.

Vibe: How did you get a drug habit?
T.I: I had a lot of work done to my teeth. Oral surgery, extractions, six, seven, eight root canals. Between January to February. As soon as I got out, I had a lot of stuff done. In the joint, you eat shit that is unhealthy for you. I had fillings that fell out and stuff that had to get dealt with. Of course for the pain they gave me oxycontin and hydrocodone. And, mind you, on October 13, 2007, I had cut off everything―weed, alcohol. Then I get these pills and I start taking them for the pain at first. And then I’m like, Wait―this shit makes me feel good. And it’s legal. After the pain went away, I kept taking it. I had like five, six prescriptions. So I had, like 80 pills. Everybody else might have a drink or smoke a blunt, I took a pain pill. Times when I had 18-, 20-hour days, I’d take a pain pill. And eventually I developed―I guess―the beginning stages of dependence.

Vibe: Have you talked to Eminem about addiction?

T.I: Sure. We got a record together, and we talked a lot. I asked him how he knew he was an addict. Basically if you put yourself in harm’s way… if you risk that, you’ve got to assume that there is something fundamentally wrong with your thought process.

0 Jay-Z & Warren Bufett Cover Forbes Magazine!

oooooo so thats what that meeting was about eh? Jay-Z becomes the first hip-hop artist to cover Forbes. On newstands now, just purchased my copy today. Clap for em'!!!!

0 T.I Covers Upscale Magazine (September / October 2010)

T.I is literally putting in "Double" overtime in the latest issue of Upscale Magazine. The Septembers /October issue offers two alternate covers as they talk candidly with Tip on everything from his new album: "King Uncaged" to his personal life as a husband and father. You can peep the alternate cover by Clicking Here and also catch an except from the interview below:

On his new album:
This project just like all of my projects will be a open window into my life, what I’m going through, how I feel and where I am right now.

On where he is:
I’m still learning and growing everyday. I do believe this project is in some ways the final installment of a trilogy. TI vs. TIP being the first one…. I hope that events of my life are captured in music in all of my records. So they were there for the beginning, they saw the middle (with Paper Trail) and now the only thing left to be seen is the conclusion.

On the advice he’d give to young Clifford Harris:
I would say man, if you knew what I knew, you would chill out… I would tell myself you’re going to be alright later on, all you have to do is cool out, you might not see it right now, but you have a reason to fall back. I just hope that I would listen.

On his best and worst character traits:
I can manage to be arrogant or confident as well as be humble and possess a certain level of humility. I can be aggressive and I can also be mild mannered.

On his future in hip hop:
I know I still have the ability to do it, but I don’t know if I have as much passion to do it as I once did… I might find that I’m more effective in another capacity, but I won’t know if I don’t ever try. I have other talents and abilities that I may not be paying any attention to because I have this first one that I’m very fond of and I’ve grown attached to… As an artist I still would like to be better, but as an artist, I think TI has had a stellar career already.

On loyalty getting in the way of business:
…If I say I’m gonna ride with you, I’m gonna ride with you. That’s personally, professionally. So even if I know that you might not be all what everyone else thinks you’re cracked up to be, I’m still gonna ride it out with you. It does get tiresome and it does get gruesome at time, but I don’t know no other way to be.

On being a daddy:
I make them look up different places and ask them where would they like to go. I just spend time with them. I try to stimulate their interests and build on that.

On his favorite quality in a woman:
Just having that instinct of when to take charge and when to fall back.

Props YBF

0 Dr. Dre & Eminem Cover Vibe Magazine (Aug/Sep 2010)

One of hip-hop's most influential duos, Eminem and Dr. Dre, will be covering the August/September issue of Vibe Magazine. You can get a sneak peak of the interview below:

THE BEST EMINEM DISS TRACK ACCORDING TO EM:

Vibe: What was the best thing someone said about you? Was there ever a hot Eminem diss?

Eminem: Um, no. [Laughs.] Nah, I’m kidding. Shit, there was a couple of lines Everlast said like, “You ain’t running up on me with no empty gun.” I know that there is a lot of shit that I would have said about me.

ON BEING HAUNTED BY DEATH:

Vibe: Do you think about your own death?

Eminem: Yeah, I do. A lot. I think about it a lot. I try not to think about it but I do and it creeps me the fuck out. It creeps me out because they say that if I got to the hospital two hours later then I would be gone. I think about that a lot. When I lay in bed at night is when I think about it the most. It creeps me out man.

ON THE DETOX HOLD-UP:

Vibe: When you first announced Detox did you think it would take this long?

Dr Dre: Absolutely not. I thought it would take at worst case a couple of years. For example, actual work time on The Chronic was nine months and actual work time on my last album, 2001, was about 10 months. The actual work time on this album is about half of that, where I’m seriously focusing on it. There is always something coming up. Like signing talent, old and new.

ON DEALING WITH MUSIC LEAKS:

Vibe: So “Under Pressure” leaking was killer.

Dr. Dre: It was a little bit more frustrating because at least “Crack a Bottle” had a hook on it. I wouldn’t be as mad at a leak if the song was done.

Vibe: Can you blame the fans for wanting to hear something after all this time?

Dr. Dre: Absolutely not. I’m not mad at the fans. I’m mad at the person that leaked the shit. I have no idea how it got out. It’s not even worth looking to see who did it. It happens. The most painful part about it is that I’m passionate about what I do so people should hear it in the right form.

0 Nicki Minaj Covers Vibe Magazine

Young Money's leading lady graces Vibe Magazine's June Issue. In it, she discussed everything from her new-found fame to her use of "funny voices" on her records. You can read a few excerpts of the interview below:

“People don’t get when you’re off, or you’re having a bad day,” she says, obliquely referring to the photograph that bounced around the blogs of her hand- in-hand with Diddy, looking especially miserable. The speculation was inevitable: Had she been crying? Was she just tired? Are they doing it? -

Nicki Minaj On her musical influnces

“When I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly,” she says. “The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot . . . and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing.” -

Nicki Minaj On her Use of "Funny Voices"

“I’m not abandoning the funny voices. I just did a crazy tribute to ODB’s ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya,’” she says, perfectly impersonating the late Wu-Clansman. “But it’s coming up more with the album. I had a teacher in elementary who would stand on her table and whisper. We’d all turn around like, ‘What is this lunatic doing?’ But she would achieve what she wanted. She wanted us to stop talking and listen. I feel like I need to mellow it down so people can hear what I have to say.” -

0 J. Cole Talks "Who Dat", Drake Collabo, Cosigns & More w/ Vibe Magazine

In the first of many online cover stories to come, Vibe Magazine chops it up with J. Cole about his 1st single "Who Dat", the possibility of him and Drake working together, groupies vs. relationships, getting cosigned by Nas & More. You can peep an excerpt of the interview below:

VIBE: Everyone knows how important first singles are. Why was “Who Dat” the one?

J. Cole: First it was all feeling, just the sound and excitement behind it. Instead of shooting for an obviously commercial song, I love [“Who Dat”] because it’s really about the beat and the raps and not much more. It’s an introduction to those that were unfamiliar and also something for my fans to brag about as opposed to hearing it on the radio and being like ‘Ehhh.’ I also thought it was real ill, that I’m rapping on that the way I used to always rap… raw, aggressive. Those used to be the only raps I wrote, but as I get older, I barely do those anymore. It’s kind of interesting because the rest of my album is so far from that. That’s probably one of the only braggadocios raps, maybe one more. Everything else is conceptual storytelling with substance and meaning. Putting that out first, kind of reflects my growth as an artist.

VIBE: You’ve been on a lot of other people’s tracks, but it’s usually not the reverse. Is that changing for your debut?

J. Cole: Right now there’s really no big features on my album and I plan on keeping it like that. I kinda like the idea of having an album that’s all me. If I do a feature, I want to do it because I really love it, not because they’re what’s hot now. I want to do a track with Rich Boy, even though his last single to blow was a couple years ago. But I still want to work with him because he has an incredible rap style. I could be like Jeezy’s on fire, let me get him, but that’s not how I operate. If I do a feature it really has to make sense, not that I don’t want to work with Jeezy, because I would love that, but you know [laughs].

VIBE: About a month ago, Drake mentioned the possibility of you jumping on a Thank Me Later bonus cut. Fact?

J. Cole: Man, me and Drake have been trying to get something done. Actually, if he reads this, tell him to send the shit he supposed to send. [Laughs] I understand we both busy and we spoke about doing some shit, but I guess schedule wise it hasn’t worked out. That would be ill, but as of now it’s not done.

VIBE: What’s an actual conversation like between you guys? Is it past a ‘What’s good’ and ‘Congrats’?

J. Cole: It’s not that type of relationship yet. Right now, it’s a mutual respect, like I see what you’re doing, you’re killing the game, I’m a fan or whatever the case is. We’re both young and even though he’s more established and has hits, he still doesn’t have an album out. He still has to prep for that. So we’re not in the position to be best friends. We can save that for when we’re both laid up and chilling, but right now we both have work to do. There’s not many rappers who I feel I really know. I think Wale is one of the few that I have a real friendship with. Not saying that won’t happen with Drake because you never know, but right now it starts with respect.

Click Here To Read The Full Interview

0 P Diddy Lands First XXL Magazine Cover

This is Diddy's 1st time ever covering XXL Magazine, so congrats to him.

Diddy stalled hopping on his Last Train to Paris to spend a little time with XXL. The hip-hop mogul appears in XXL magazine’s upcoming June issue and it’s his very first time being featured on the publication’s cover.

In the comprehensive interview written by Thomas Golianopoulos, Puff gives insight into his ubersuccessful business mind, his new album, Last Train to Paris and he reflects on his grind to the top to become hip-hop’s number one mogul.

He also looks back at his overall impact on the industry and culture. “I am the champion of hip-hop” Diddy says in the 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.”

Click Here For The Full Story

0 J. Cole Covers The Source Magazine

On Newsstands everywhere March 23rd.

1 XXL Magazine's '10 Freshman (Cover)

Relax and take notes ’cause class is in session. After months of speculation over which rappers made XXL’s 3rd annual Freshmen Class cover, the list of the 10 Freshmen for ’10, was completely revealed last week.

Now is the unveiling of XXL’s April issue’s cover featuring the 10 Freshmen for ’10. Hip-hop fans got a sneak peak of the mag’s special cover yesterday on MTV2’s Sucker Free, when it was first seen publically and today (March 1) it hits the web.

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.

Click Here For The Full Story

0 Lil Wayne Covers Rolling Stone + Speaks On Carter 4 & Going To Jail

For a decade, Lil Wayne has been hip-hop’s great unstoppable force, a
24-hour-a-day recording machine without an off button. But on February 9th, Lil
Wayne will have to stop — for 12 months, when he reports to prison to serve a
sentence for gun possession stemming from a 2007 arrest in New York City.
Rolling Stone stays up all night with Weezy as he prepares to get locked down in
our new issue, which is on sale at newsstands today.

“I don’t like to stop,” Wayne tells RS‘ Chris Norris. “I believe you stop when you die.” So in the weeks before he reports to Rikers Island, Wayne is keeping busy — recording tracks bound for Tha Carter IV (the album Cash Money staffers call “C4″ because it’ll be the bomb), shooting videos with his Young Money protégés, spending time with his growing family, and deliberately not asking anyone for advice about life on the inside. “This is Lil Wayne going to jail. Nobody I can talk to can tell me what that’s like,” he says. “I just say I’m looking forward to it.”

Click Here For The Full Story

0 Spin Magazine Names Drake Best Rapper Of 09'

Heads Up

0 Game Covers The Source Magazine

January/February 2010 Issue

0 Behind The Scenes Of Eminem's Cover Shoot for Complex Magazine

Complex takes you behind the scenes of Eminem's latest Cover with Complex Magazine. The Cover was shot in mid-town Detroit, which I personally think I cool because I'm in that area almost everyday.

1 Behind The Scenes Of Drake's Cover Shoot With Vibe Magazine

VIBE Relaunch Issue With Drake

0 50 Cent Covers of XXL’s 2009 Dec/Jan Issue

Via XXL:

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!!!!

0 50 Cent & Tia On The Cover Of Smooth Magazine

0 Mick Boogie Presents: Peter Bjorn & John - Re-Living Thing (Mixtape)

It’s finally here! The long awaited, Mick Boogie curated remix project for one of the world’s coolest bands, Peter Bjorn & John! I got together with some of my favorite producers and emcees and came up with a Mick Boogie classic! All your favorite PBJ songs from their “Living Thing” album completely remixed and reworked, and I think you’ll love them all.

Track List:

1. Naledge & Mickey Factz: Blue Period Picasso (remixed by nVMe)
2. Freebass 808 & Christian Rich: Living Thing
(remixed by Apple Juice Kid)
3. Bun B & The Kid Daytona: Losing My Mind (remixed by 6th Sense)
4. Big Pooh, Chaundon & Phil Nash: Stay This Way (remixed by Jazzy Jeff)
5. Trouble Andrew & GLC: Lay It Down (remixed by The Kickdrums)
6. Talib Kweli & 6th Sense: I Want You
(remixed by William Russell / Good Life Mike)
7. 88 Keys & Outasight: 4 Out Of 5 (remixed by 6th Sense)
8. U-N-I: Last Night (remixed by Remot)
9. GZA, Buckshot & Tabi Bonney: The Feeling (remixed by Marco Polo)
10. Big Sean, Black Milk & T3: Just The Past (remixed by nVMe)
11. Kardinal Offishall, Donnis & Henok Achido: It Just Don’t Move Me
(remixed by Jet Audio)
12. Wale, Young Chris & Rhymefest: Nothing To Worry About
(remixed by The Kickdrums)
13. Evidence, Jerreau & Fashawn: Amsterdam (remixed by Cookin’ Soul)

Click Here To Download

Also, Check Out Complex Magazines: 10 Mick Boogie Mixtapes You Should Download Now

0 Excerpt From Jay-Z's Interview With O Magazine (Talks Drug Dealing Past, Beyonce, Being Shot At & More)

Via OK Magazine:

In the upcoming October issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, hip-hop impresario Jay-Z opens up to to Oprah Winfrey about his rise from teen drug dealer to superstar to being Mr. Beyoncé.

On dealing drugs at 13:

Jay-Z: It was natural…

Oprah: Because drug dealers were your role models. There wasn’t a teacher or lawyer or nurse of doctor or and accountant in the neighborhood?

J: Well, we were living in Marcy by then, so no. And if anyone did become something like that, they moved out. They never came back to share the wisdom of how they made it. If anyone made it, you never knew it. That’s why I’ve always said that if I become successful, I’d come back here, grab somebody, and show him how it can be done.

On being shot at:

O: Weren’t you shot at three times—within six feet—and you lived to talk about it?

J: That was divine intervention. Divine intervention, and nobody knew how to shoot.
O: What happened in each situation?

J: It was one situation, three shots.

O: So he had a bad shot?

J: Well, no one really practices shooting a TEC-9 machine gun, right? And when you’re a kid with little bony arms—no wonder nobody could aim.

On the use of the N word:

O: Do you believe that using the N word is necessary?

J: Nothing is necessary. It’s just become part of the way we communicate. My generation hasn’t had the same experience with that word that generations of people before us had. We weren’t so close to the pain. So in our way, we disarmed the word. We took the fire pin out of the grenade.

On his wedding to Beyoncé:

O: Can I ask how in the world you kept your wedding a secret?

J: Late planning!

O: How many people knew?

J: Very few. The sad part is that we offended some. But people who love you understand. Because at the end of the day, it’s your day.

The Full Interview Will be in "O Magazines" upcoming October 2009 Issue

0 Jay-Z Covers XXL's October Issue

Here are a few excerpts taken from Jay's interview with XXL:

ON CRITICISM OF “D.O.A.”
“I’m not hating on young people. Like, when people say that, I’m like, What are you talking about? It’s just stupid. I’m not hating on young people… I’m not Bill Russell, [saying] Michael Jordan ain’t shit. I’m saying Lil Wayne and Kanye are like LeBron and Kobe. My job as someone at the forefront of the game is to leave it in a better position than when I came in. Same way that Russell [Simmons] left it to me. ’Cause this thing saved my life. Literally. So I have a responsibility to it karmically. And after that it’s on you. I did my part. I made ‘D.O.A.’ I said it. I made the statement. I made the push. Here, y’all take it from here.”

ON HIS LEGACY AS FORMER DEF JAM RECORDS PRESIDENT
“So if you ask me to grade my performance as the president, I’d say A-plus. No one can bat a 100. It’s impossible. I mean, everyone is looking at my shit. But if we really looked under the hood [of] every single [record exec] and the acts they put out in that time, I’d be comparable to anyone.”

ON HIS STANDING IN THE GAME
“But when I say I’m the best, I don’t say that outta my ass. I say that with all my stats behind me. I put that against anybody. I mean anybody. I really believe that… I believe in a lot of things. 
I believe that ‘SportsCenter’ is the best thing on TV. I shouldn’t have to prove it. But I do have these stats to prove it. I’m talking about real run. I’m not talking about years off. I’m talking about straight—boom, boom, boom—back to back. We’re not talking about heritage acts either. We’re not talking about respect what I’ve done. I’m talking No. 1 [albums] 10 times. The Beatles is the only one [to have more 
No. 1 albums]. They got 19, and if I get a surge of creativity, I could make nine albums next year.”

On Newsstands September 15th!!!