The Source (magazine)
The Source is an American music magazine and website specializing in hip-hop and entertainment. Founded in August 1988 by Harvard University students David Mays and Jonathan Shecter, it began as a black-and-white, one-page newspaper promoting their college radio show. Within months, it evolved into a professionally designed, full-color magazine. Dubbed "the bible of hip-hop," primarily focused on hip-hop music and culture while also covering politics and fashion. Its music reviews held great significance in the hip-hop community, with the "five mics" rating considered a prestigious honor and a significant achievement. The ratings often sparked heated debates among both artists and fans.
At its height in the late 1990s, The Source was the highest-selling magazine on the newsstands in the United States. It launched its own compilation album series and an award show. The 1995 Source Awards were noted for their effect on the hip-hop landscape, particularly in escalating tension between the East and West Coast hip-hop communities, which ultimately resulted in the murders of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.
Several controversies embroiled The Source throughout its history, often leading to editor walkouts. The most publicized of these, its feud with Eminem, was among the factors that contributed to its decline. Financial struggles worsened as the launch of its website in the early 2000s resulted in significant losses, forcing David Mays to sell part of the magazine. These challenges ultimately led to the magazine's bankruptcy and shareholders firing Mays in 2006.
In 2008, the magazine was purchased by the publisher L. Londell McMillan, who successfully brought back major advertisers. However, in the 2010s, as advertising revenue declined and online publications became more dominant, McMillan was forced to downsize the team and reduce the magazine's publication frequency.
History
1988–1991: Early years and relocation to New York
The Source was founded in August 1988, by two Harvard University students, David Mays and Jonathan Shecter. The two had the show Street Beat on the college radio station WHRB, initially using The Source to promote it. According to Mays, the name of the magazine comes from the song "Ya Slippin'" by Boogie Down Productions. The first issue was a one-page newsletter, distributed for free. It was printed on Mays's personal Macintosh computer and funded with $200 of their own money. The mailing list of the radio show's listeners initially served as the magazine's readership. Two other Harvard students, H. Edward Young and James Bernard, soon joined the team; Young helped Mays with the business side of the magazine, while Bernard and Shecter worked on its content. With a $10,000 loan from a friend, they purchased better hardware and rented an office in Somerville, Massachusetts, which allowed them to publish 10,000 copies every two months. During its first year, the magazine adopted full-color covers, and then transitioned into a professionally designed 64-page monthly magazine during the second year.After Mays and Shecter graduated in June 1990, the magazine moved from Boston, Massachusetts to New York City. To financially support the move, the team asked for advance payments for ads from several record labels, raising $70,000. Their editorial team, called the Mind Squad, was also growing; by 1991, it included Reginald Dennis, Chris Wilder, Matteo "Matty C" Capoluongo, Rob "Reef" Tewlow, Bobbito Garcia, dream hampton, and Kierna Mayo, along with other contributors. Matty C was responsible for the "Unsigned Hype" section, which showcased up-and-coming rappers, and helped launch the careers of numerous artists, including Notorious B.I.G., DMX, Common, Mobb Deep, DJ Shadow, and Eminem. James Bernard became the magazine's coeditor-in-chief, and Chris Wilder was its senior editor. Reginald Dennis, who joined the magazine as an intern, became its music editor, responsible for the "Record Report" album review section. The Source album ratings, presented on a scale from one to five microphones, often led to hot debates, both inside the Mind Squad and outside of the magazine. Pitchfork Dean Van Nguyen wrote: "The Source mic-based rating system became the most trusted scale of quality in rap." The magazine's highest rating—five mics, signifying "a hip-hop classic"—became highly sought after. "That half-mic to five-mic system really meant something to hip-hop artists. People wanted to start fights with Source writers over reviews—and some writers got terrorized", said Greg Tate.
Since its early days, the magazine branched out from hip-hop music into topics like fashion, graffiti, and politics, highlighting various issues affecting the Black community. Adopting the tagline "the magazine of hip-hop music, culture & politics", The Source published stories on protests against police brutality, misogyny and violence against women. In 1991, the magazine hosted a summit for rappers affiliated with the Five-Percent Nation. Next year, James Bernard flew to Los Angeles during the riots and spent several days interviewing locals, publishing an article that stood apart from the coverage by the mainstream media.
By 1991, The Source had a circulation of 40,000 and reached nearly a million dollars in revenue. David Mays said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he wanted The Source to be "Rolling Stone of the next generation". Chuck D of Public Enemy praised The Source, calling it "the bible of the hip-hop industry"; the phrase was shortened to "the bible of hip-hop" and used by the magazine throughout its history. The magazine, which was previously sold via subscriptions and in record stores, now had newsstand distribution across the United States. It was also available in Canada, England, Australia, Italy, and the Netherlands. Mays, Shecter, and Bernard discussed selling the magazine to the producer Quincy Jones, the entrepreneur Russell Simmons, and the media conglomerate Time Warner. The negotiations were unsuccessful because the team thought Time Warner's offer was too low. Two years later, Jones launched a competing magazine, Vibe.
1996–1999: Growth, internal conflicts, and editorial changes
The magazine continued expanding throughout the second half of the 1990s. Apart from the award show, David Mays launched syndicated The Source Magazine Radio Network, The Source Magazine All Hip-Hop Hour television program, The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits compilation album series, and The Source Youth Foundation. By 1997, The Source was the highest-selling music magazine on newsstands in the United States, with circulation of 317,369 copies compared to Rolling Stone 169,625 copies. The same year Mays and Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner entered partnership negotiations, but the two could not agree on terms.After the original Mind Squad left the magazine in 1994, the editorial side was led by Bönz Malone, Marc "Ronin Ro" Flores, and Adario Strange, who became editor-in-chief in 1995. Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, who previously worked at The Village Voice, was chosen for the music editor position. Hinds brought more editors, such as Tracii McGregor and Ego Trip co-founder Elliott Wilson. When Adario Strange left the magazine in 1997, Selwyn Seyfu Hinds replaced him as editor-in-chief, while Elliott Wilson became The Source music editor. Edward Young, the last original partner of David Mays, also left the magazine in 1997.
In 1998, Elliott Wilson left The Source, stating that he resigned after discovering that David Mays had secretly increased the album ratings of Kurupt's Kuruption! and Canibus' Can-I-Bus. In a later interview, Wilson said that, in hindsight, he does not consider the rating change to be significant. "But you couldn't tell me nothing at that time, 'cause I'm all young and passionate, I've been done wrong and this isn't right," said the journalist. A year later, Elliott Wilson joined the competing magazine XXL as editor-in-chief. Driven by "personal resentment," he made it his goal to overtake The Source as the most popular hip-hop magazine.
The magazine further expanded in 1998 with the launch of its website. According to David Mays, maintaining full ownership was important to him. Rather than launching the website in a partnership and splitting expenses, he funded its development with a $12 million loan, using the magazine as collateral. "I took a gamble that in retrospect I shouldn't have taken," Mays said in a 2022 interview. Burdened by loan payments in the wake of the dot-com crash, in 2002 he sold 18% of the magazine to the private equity firm Black Enterprise/Greenwich Street for $12 million. Later that year Mays received an $18 million loan from Textron Financial, which he used to repay an earlier loan and cover the losses.
The circulation reached 450,000 in 1999. The same year, Selwyn Hinds resigned following a disagreement with Benzino. Made Men, Benzino's new group, was preparing the release of their debut album, Classic Limited Edition. The magazine's Source Films was working on the heavily advertised Made Men movie. After the group was placed on the cover of Rap Pages magazine, Benzino demanded the same treatment from The Source. According to Miami New Times, Hinds left the magazine after a tense meeting with Benzino, who was dissatisfied with "Hinds treating the Made Men as something less than superstars" and refusing to give them a cover story. Los Angeles Times wrote that Hinds left after the review of Classic Limited Edition was altered. In the review, written by a fictitious pseudonymous editor, the album received a near-perfect 4.5 mics rating. After Hinds' departure, Carlito Rodriguez was named the next editor-in-chief.
After a several-year hiatus, the Source Awards returned in 1999. The next two events were held in California, airing in prime time on national television. The 2000 event ended abruptly when police intervened following a fight on stage. In 2001, the awards moved to Miami, Florida, with improved security measures following the incident.
The Source launched three international editions: The Source Latino, The Source France, and The Source Japan. The French version, launched in 2003, did not meet expected readership levels, with the heavily promoted first issue selling 14,000 copies out of 70,000 printed. By the time it closed in 2005, its monthly readership had dropped to 6,500.