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Cardi B Just Announced Her New Album’s Release Date — And it’s Apparently Already Gone Platinum

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Cardi B Just Announced Her New Album’s Release Date — And it’s Apparently Already Gone Platinum

Cardi B has officially announced the release date and cover art for her long-awaited sophomore album. The Bronx-born rap diva broke the news via social media on Monday, June 23: her new album is called Am I The Drama? and it will drop on Sept. 19. It’s been seven years since the release of Cardi’s hit debut, Invasion Of Privacy. "Seven years, and the time has come," Cardi said in […]

todayJune 25, 2025

2025 XXL Freshman Revealed

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2025 XXL Freshman Revealed

Hip-hop's most-talked-about time of year for new artists is here. For 18 years, the XXL Freshman list has established itself as the go-to platform for discovering emerging rap talent. The streaming era has significantly broadened the landscape for artists, transforming a smaller pool of talent into a vast ocean of skill.Despite the influx of new rappers entering the scene, only a select few truly stand out. This year, out of 68 artists […]

todayJune 25, 2025 1

Steven Hyden’s Favorite Music Of 2025 So Far

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Steven Hyden’s Favorite Music Of 2025 So Far

Looking back on the last six months, it feels like 2025 might be remembered as a turning point for music in the 2020s. Every decade has a year like this, where you can see in real time one generation of musicians begin to retreat a bit from the mainstream as another group arrives to take their place. This year, several artists whose work I generally like put out records I […]

todayJune 25, 2025 1

Clipse Share Kendrick Lamar’s “Chains & Whips” Verse

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Clipse Share Kendrick Lamar’s “Chains & Whips” Verse

Clipse’s new album is already generating some serious buzz — and it’s only getting louder. A track featuring Kendrick Lamar leaked online Monday (June 23), and was quickly pulled. Both Clipse and the track’s producer, Pharrell, briefly shared a short clip via Instagram stories, and the leaked track resurfaced across social media platforms and on various websites.Kendrick’s appearance on the track has been at the center of controversy and label […]

todayJune 25, 2025 1

Greet Death Interview: ‘Die In Love’

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Greet Death Interview: ‘Die In Love’

On behalf of my friends and neighbors, I’d like to pronounce Greet Death as honorary citizens of San Diego. Like countless childhood friends who came of age in the early 2000s, co-vocalists Logan Gaval and Harper Boyhtari initially bonded over Blink-182 and, to this day, their press materials ask listeners to “think of them as small-town Michigan’s Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus.” By the time they were writing their first […]

todayJune 25, 2025 1

Here’s What Every XXL Freshman Class Has Brought to Hip-Hop

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Here’s What Every XXL Freshman Class Has Brought to Hip-Hop

From the very first Freshman class in 2007 to this year’s 18th anniversary, every artist inducted over the last decade-and-a-half shares one thing in common: this milestone moment in their careers helped serve as a catalyst for their stardom.Over the last 18 years, XXL has proudly and confidently assumed the responsibility of predicting the next rap stars to take over hip-hop. Every day, new artists burst onto the scene with the makings […]

todayJune 25, 2025 1

Tyler The Creator Still Hates Podcasts: ‘That Sh*t Is Gross’

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Tyler The Creator Still Hates Podcasts: ‘That Sh*t Is Gross’

Back in December, during an interview with Billboard, Tyler The Creator took issue with the recent proliferation of podcasts, which have seemingly taken over all of our favorite streaming services and social media feeds. At the time, he said, “If I was president, the first thing I would do is take podcast mics away from n****s.” It’s a little over six months later, and it doesn’t appear his opinion has […]

todayJune 25, 2025 1

Mac DeMarco Announces ‘Guitar’ And Shares ‘Home’

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Mac DeMarco Announces ‘Guitar’ And Shares ‘Home’

The last time we heard from Mac DeMarco, it was with the release of a 199-song album, One Wayne G, in 2023. More recently, he announced a huge tour, and now there’s an album behind it: Today (June 24), DeMarco announced Guitar. He also shared the chilled-out single “Home.” DeMarco calls it “a song I wrote at my home in Los Angeles about what home means to me” and says […]

todayJune 25, 2025