Nicki Minaj & Drake May XXL Cover + Nicki's new video...

Lil Wayne might be gone ’til November, but Young Money is still in the house. Nicki Minaj and Drake take center stage next month as Weezy’s protégés grace the cover of the May 2010 issue of XXL. Both have built a deafening buzz throughout the past year and change, with standout verses and chart topping singles under their respective belts. With fans clamoring for their highly anticipated debut albums, Drake and Nicki stand on the cusp of being crowned hip-hop’s new reigning king and queen. XXL Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Satten sits down with Nicki for a candid Q&A, while senior editor Benjamin Meadows-Ingram documents Drake’s rise.

In addition to our in-depth interviews with the Young Money all-stars, this blockbuster issue also includes investigative pieces on the struggles of female MCs and the death of the New York rap star, complete with a borough-by-borough breakdown of the Big Apple’s hip-hop history. Other issue highlights to lookout for are profiles covering the triumphant return of Reflection Eternal and the tragic demise of Little Brother. Also, Bun B gives us an early preview of his upcoming Trill O.G. album and Joell Ortiz goes on a fake-booty scavenger hunt in The Cool.

XXL’s May 2010 issue with Nicki Minaj and Drake hits stands nationwide on April 20. In the mean time, stay tuned to XXLMag.com in the coming weeks for more exclusive excerpts and issue leaks.

Props to: thisis50.com

Eminem is the Punisher...

Eminem is set to cover the June 2009 double cover of XXL magazine...

Check below for choice quotes from the June cover story with Eminem and an exclusive first look of Slim Shady as The Punisher. And stay tuned for more Eminem with XXL.

On His Drug Addiction

“I wasn’t ready mentally. I wasn’t ready to give up the drugs. I didn’t really think I had a problem. Basically, I went in, and I came out. I relapsed, and I spent the next three years struggling with it. Also, at that time, I felt like I wanted to pull back, because my drug problem had got so bad. I felt like, Maybe if I take a break, maybe this will help. I started to get into the producer role more… I can still be out there with my music, like with the Re-Up album, but I don’t have to be in the spotlight the whole time.”

On Proof’s Death

“Everyone felt his loss, from his kids, to his wife, to everyone. But, for some reason, in hindsight, the way I felt was almost like it happened to just me… Maybe at the time I was a little bit selfish with it. I think it kind of hit me so hard. It just blindsided me. I just went into such a dark place that, with everything, the drugs, my thoughts, everything. And the more drugs I consumed, and it was all depressants I was taking, the more depressed I became, the more self-loathing I became… By the way, I’m just now at the point where I’m better talking about it. It took me so long to get out of that place where I couldn’t even speak about it without crying or wanting to cry… Proof was the anchor. He was everything to D12. And not just the group-for me, personally, he was everything.”

On T.I., Lil Wayne & Hip-Hop

“I stayed up on the music, and obviously I watch TV and saw what was going on. And without naming any names, it just felt like hip-hop was going downhill. And it seemed like kinda fast. You know, in them three years, it was like everybody just cares about the hook and the beat; nobody really cares about substance. But with this new T.I. album, with this new Lil Wayne album of recent, it seems like things are looking a lot better now. You can appreciate Lil Wayne using different words to rhyme and actually rhyming words that you know. Or T.I., where you hear shit and you’re like Whoa, ah, I wish I would have thought of that! You know what I mean? Or you hear all the compound-syllable rhyming and all that. It just seems like now the craft is getting cared about more.”


Source (XD the irony...):
http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=43370