XXL (magazine)
XXL is an American hip hop magazine, published by Townsquare Media, founded in 1997 by James Bernard and Reginald Dennis, both former co-editors of The Source Magazine.
History
In August 1997, Harris Publications released the first issue of XXL. It featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 2006, XXL took over the struggling hip-hop producer and DJ magazine Scratch, re-branding it as XXL Presents Scratch Magazine. However Scratch shut down less than a year later in September 2007.Other titles with limited runs have been launched under the XXL brand, including Hip-Hop Soul, Eye Candy and Shade 45. XXL has released many other special projects including tour programs, mixtapes and exclusive DVDs. XXL also maintains a popular website, which provides daily hip hop news, original content and content from the magazine.
In 2014, Townsquare Media acquired XXL, King and Antenna from Harris Publications.
On October 14, 2014, Townsquare announced it would continue print publication of XXL. In December 2014 the company reported that the magazine would be published on a quarterly basis. Later it was changed from a quarterly basis to a monthly basis.
Past editors
The magazine's past editors include Reginald C. Dennis, Sheena Lester, Elliott Wilson and Datwon Thomas .In May 2009, Datwon Thomas resigned from XXL and executive editor Vanessa Satten, who had been with XXL'' since 1998, was named the new editor-in-chief.
Special releases
The magazine commissioned A Great Day in Hip Hop, which is a black-and-white photograph of over 200 hip hop artists and producers in Harlem, New York, taken by photographer Gordon Parks on September 29, 1998. It was commissioned by the magazine as a homage to Art Kane's A Great Day in Harlem, photographed in 1958.In August 2005, Eminem and XXL teamed up to release a special issue titled XXL Presents Shade 45, designed to simultaneously give maximum exposure to his radio station Shade 45, the station's associated radio DJs, the Shady Records label as a whole, and G-Unit Records' artists. XXL executive publisher Jonathan Rheingold stated that typically magazines based around particular artists were not favorable, but "since Shade 45 is a truly authentic and uncensored rap radio channel, the marriage with the XXL brand made sense," feeling that it would interest rap fans.
In September 2006, XXL released a 90-minute DVD titled XXL DVD Magazine Vol. 1, which featured exclusive interviews and content with rappers such as 50 Cent, Ice Cube, Fat Joe, Paul Wall, and Mike Jones.
In November 2008, XXL released XXL Raps Volume 1, which included music from 50 Cent, G-Unit, Common, Jim Jones, and Fabolous.
On August 20, 2013, XXL marked its sixteenth anniversary by releasing its 150th issue, which featured the first solo cover on the magazine from Drake, along with rappers such as Kendrick Lamar and B.o.B reviewing classic albums.
Annual Freshman Class list
Beginning in 2007, XXL releases its annual "Freshman Class" list. The issue features 10-12 artists-to-watch, all appearing on the cover of the magazine. The list has a history of showcasing unknown/underground rappers, as well as artists considered to be on the rise. The list creates significant marketing buzz among listeners and artists alike, and is credited for giving many artists their first taste of fame.The 10th spot winners are highlighted in bold.
Additions to the list
Occasionally, the Freshman Class list may contain extra additions to include more rappers. The 2011, 2013, 2019, 2021 and 2024 Freshman Class lists, for example, had 11 rappers. In the case for the 2013 list, XXL added an honorary extra spot for Chief Keef due to the artist being in a six-day jail stint and therefore being unable to attend the photo shoot in New York City. For the 2025 list, EBK Jaaybo, who was the 10th spot winner, was arrested prior to the photo shoot resulting in him being unable to attend. However, he was still officially included on the list. In 2014, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2025, the Freshman Class lists included 12 rappers.Artists that declined the cover
For most Freshman covers, after the list has been announced, an artist will come out and say that they were offered a spot on the cover by XXL but chose to decline it. Other times, XXL themselves will reveal someone that they asked to be on the cover and were directly told by the artist that they were not interested. Below is a list of rappers who have declined the offer of being an XXL Freshman, and the various reasons why they declined.| Year | Artist | Reason | Ref. |
| 2010 | Drake | Respectfully declined and felt they were chosen too late in their respective careers. In an interview with MTV, Nicki Minaj spoke on why she and Drake declined the cover by saying "With all due respect, we felt like we kinda had graduated from the Freshman Class. We felt XXL missed the mark when they didn't put us on the cover prior to that. They have to pay for that". | |
| 2010 | Nicki Minaj | Respectfully declined and felt they were chosen too late in their respective careers. In an interview with MTV, Nicki Minaj spoke on why she and Drake declined the cover by saying "With all due respect, we felt like we kinda had graduated from the Freshman Class. We felt XXL missed the mark when they didn't put us on the cover prior to that. They have to pay for that". | |
| 2011 | Vado | In an interview with Shade 45, Cam'ron revealed that he spoke to the Editor-In-Chief Vanessa Satten about putting Vado on the 2011 issue. However, Cam'ron wanted Vado to be the center focus and not share the cover with multiple other artists. When Vanessa revealed that she couldn't guarantee that Vado would be the "main highlight" of the cover, Cam'ron respectfully declined the offer on behalf of Vado. | |
| 2011 | Tyler, the Creator | Respectfully declined. | |
| 2012 | ASAP Rocky | Respectfully declined. Schedule was too tight due to touring. | |
| 2014 | Young Thug | On Sway's Universe, Vanessa Satten revealed that the day before the photoshoot took place, someone from Young Thug's camp called XXL at 10:30 pm and directly told them that he wasn't coming to the shoot the next day. | |
| 2015 | ILoveMakonnen | Not responsive to XXL. | |
| 2015 | PartyNextDoor | Not responsive to XXL. | |
| 2016 | Tory Lanez | On April 15, 2016, Tory Lanez said on Twitter "I passed on the XXL cover. Don't b confused". Although he didn't give an official reason, it is believed that he felt he was chosen too late in his career. | |
| 2016 | Post Malone | Stated he was tired and was not up to flying to New York for the photoshoot. However, XXL editor-in-chief Vanessa Satten claimed Malone's publicist stated that Malone did not want to be boxed in as a hip hop artist. | |
| 2017 | Young M.A | Felt beyond the list. She asked to have a solo cover but they disagreed and said that she needed more attention to her name before that could happen. | |
| 2017 | YFN Lucci | YFN Lucci initially refused to play music for XXL and said he didn't want to play any music if he wasn't guaranteed a spot on the list. He later changed his mind days before the shoot but it was too late. | |
| 2017 | Cardi B | Although not technically a "declined offer", XXL stated that Cardi B wasn't selected to be a freshman because they weren't sure if Cardi was leaning more towards having a career in television or in music. | |
| 2017 | Famous Dex | XXL stood away from adding Famous Dex after there was evidence shown that he beat up his girlfriend. They further spoke on XXXTentacion's addition to the 2017 list, saying that although he was accused of beating up his ex-girlfriend, the incident was not caught on camera, XXXTentacion had not been found guilty, and that he was arguably having a major influence on his generation. | |
| 2018 | Lil Skies | On Instagram Live, he explained that he respectfully declined due to XXL apparently telling him that he would be the 10th Spot Freshman before the voting process even began. Although he respected some decisions made on the 2018 list, he claims that the list was mostly rigged. | |
| 2018 | Rich the Kid | He "happily declined" after hearing that the reason XXL asked him to be on it was because Lil Skies declined the offer. | |
| 2019 | Juice Wrld | Respectfully declined. | |
| 2019 | Benny the Butcher | Jay-Z advised him not to accept, believing that declining would be beneficial over time. | |
| 2020 | Pop Smoke | Pop Smoke agreed to be on the cover but he died before he could attend the shoot. XXL originally planned to add him on the cover to honor him, but Pop Smoke's team asked them not to do so. Although XXL was not able to add him on the cover, they included an unreleased interview to honor him in the issue. | |
| 2020 | Don Toliver | Don Toliver only wanted to be on the cover and did not want to take part in other aspects of the list, such as the freestyles and cyphers. | |
| 2023 | Ice Spice | Schedule was too tight. |