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  1. Uplifting says:

    Thats wat im talkin’ about!!! 😀

  2. ZDavi says:

    Why does Drake look like Obama on this cover lol

  3. DunkDonDaDa says:

    I wish these fucks would flop and drop off the hip hop map already
    XXL loses all credability with this cover. This reminds me of the source circa 2003-04

  4. no shots…but how many “Whats Wrong With New York Hip Hop” stories are going to be written?

  5. Julie says:

    well…at least Drake isn’t pursing his lips? He actually looks normal. Nicki on the other hand…

  6. Julie says:

    @ ZDavi

    “Why does Drake look like Obama on this cover lol”

    hahaha.. not quite sure why I’m so amused by this

  7. RBi says:

    CO-SIGN>>>

    no shots…but how many “Whats Wrong With New York Hip Hop” stories are going to be written?

    enough is enough, aint nothing wrong w/ NY hip hop. they’re doing them. with good results lately too …

  8. Osiris says:

    I have the feeling the internet will find a way to throw a bitch fit over this cover

  9. EGHCK says:

    LOL @ Drake being Photoshop into the picture

  10. Uplifting says:

    Lol ppl bout to be madd, and how u wish sumone to fail, wow, thats messed up, big up them for their continuing success and let it inspire u to wanna win at wat u do, i think its great, uplift everyone trynna do positive things and eat

  11. B.Dot says:

    @maurice garland
    no shots…but how many “Whats Wrong With New York Hip Hop” stories are going to be written?
    ^
    tell ’em what he’s won johnny.

    @DunkDonDaDa
    XXL loses all credability with this cover. This reminds me of the source circa 2003-04
    ^
    u sound stupid. These are two of the biggest and most relevant rap acts right now. Why NOT put them on the cover. It’s slim pickings.

  12. bgirl says:

    The cover should say, “How to hit it big in hiphop when you have no talent”

  13. CheckPlz says:

    @ZDavi
    They tryna say he just like Obama; promoting change in Hip-Hop……. Wtf?

    Time to get ignorant: drake is an Illuminati lmao idk how to make the connection but “somethin wrong with this picture must be photoshop” Joe Budden voice

  14. what’s wrong with new york hip-hop? um, how about new york dj’s are being payola’d to death by record companies pandering to retarded 16 yearolds by playing a bunch of shitty southern music? because flex, angie, clue, enuff–they don’t like this shit because they know it’s wack. they play it cuz they’re paid to, not cuz people NEED to hear BedRock 22 times a day. Assholes.

  15. Toya says:

    Nicki and Drake are hip-hop royalty? Seriously? They’ve only been around for half a second. I didn’t know who Nicki was until that BET cypher, and I didn’t know who Drake was until he did that “Forever” song with Eminem.

    “The Struggle of Female MCs”… Hmmmm… That has to be the first time a magazine has addressed that. I thought I was only one wondering what happened to the women representation in hip-hop..

  16. RapMusic23 says:

    Wow that was a boring cover

  17. […] hits newsstands on April 20th. Via RR. Pages: Tags: Drake, Nicki Minaj, XXL Cover Category: THE HOTTEST MAGAZINE COVERS, THE HOTTEST […]

  18. REAL says:

    I find it amazing how ppl think they kno everything about the music industry but have no idea, if ur so called DJ’s and radio personalities really didn’t like wat they were forced to play they wud leave and stand up for real hiphop and go start their own radio station, but do they NO, cus they really dnt give a fuck cus they want their money so don’t paint DJ’s and the radio like they being forced to do anything, they can leave anytime

  19. Dashing says:

    Fact of the matter is that these 2 are the “hottest” most discussed rappers in the game so it makes sense that they’re on the cover. I’d rather see Jay Electronica though, maybe that added spotlight would force Just Blaze and him to release Act 2 already.

  20. TheCollinB says:

    this shit looks turrble (c)Barkley

  21. money Mitch says:

    Drake looks like he went in a tannin bed or sone shit I would have sworn he was more tiger woods than Obama like 3 shades whiter

  22. yaboitone aka FIRST KID ON THE WAY!!!! says:

    DARE I SAY IT?!?!?!…..THE FIRST DRAKE PHOTO IN THE HISTORY OF HIS CAREER WHERE HE DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A FAGBOY?!?!?

    love his music. im happy for him. lol.

  23. A.C.E says:

    yo ooooooooo I can’t stop laughing at the Drake Photoshop Obama look… XXL Stop playin !!!
    That shit is funny!!! We all know this dude does not look like that !!! LOL yo that shit is hilarious !!

  24. A.C.E says:

    Wait! as a matter of fact is that while photo of him photoshoped????
    , to all my CS pros out there peep the hand in the pkt placement and the arm bend. Not a natural
    pose….. hmmmmmmm XXL playin games.. better get a better photoshop tech, that shit is weak…

  25. A.C.E says:

    Got my whole IT dept peepin the photo… The whole anatomy is fucked up!!! a real person can’t even stand up the way they got Drake.. Dudes all twisted the fuck out…. YO XXL this is sum ole Source back in 2000 shit ya’ll trying pull.. RR you guys need to blow them up for this BS.. LOL….

  26. So Icy Boi! says:

    @ReyTheHussein ???? so why they dont get paid to play New York shit? …. because NY music is TRASH!! haha basically you sayin more SOUTH artist are signed then NY artist? LMAO NY stay lossing …. “whats wrong with NY hip-hop” ? maybe if yall stop hatin and make some good records and stop sayin ima bring that real hip-hop bullshit back

  27. King JuggaNott says:

    LOL @ Drake with the vulcan stare in the pic. LOL….he got tired of people ragging on him with the puppy dog faces he was making in his other pics i guess. LOL

  28. TEFLON DON! says:

    they both wackaholic

  29. H.N.I.C. pt. 2 says:

    I hate drake but he kinda deserves the cover!
    nikki on the other hand…. every website i find with her mixtapes she has VERY LOW listens and downloads, now this tells me ppl dont listen to her music they just think shes hot. so how can two mixtape artists be the THE NEW RAP ROYALTY?!?! GTFOH!
    the only kings in this rap thing are NAS, ICE CUBE, and T.I., i guess you could give eminem the king of the midwest

  30. H.N.I.C. pt. 2 says:

    most of this new shit that they put out and alot of the cats from the south ARE NOT RAP!!!
    it is the weakest form of hip hop mixed with pop and is heavily influenced by drugs such as lean, x and kush. this would be okay except most of these southern boys dont know how to act when there fucked up so they sound like a bunch of fuckin retards(gucci, wayne,)
    nikki and drake ARE NOT RAP! and most of that south shit sucks, your fagboys wayne and gucci ruined it ppl WILL get sick of this retarted shit and that type of music will only be popular in the south.
    real rap is coming back to the forefront! distant relatives, relapse 2, i am the west, red album, detox, reflection eternal!

  31. DunkDonDaDa says:

    @ b dot.
    Im sorry I ruffled ur feathers, but who r these 2 relevent to, teenagers and and the z100 crowd fuc outta here. And say what u want xxl is the new source the numbers ain’t the same as they were when ur boy yn use to son them every month in his editorials

  32. DunkDonDaDa says:

    Domination my ass

  33. It’s a great look. Very big of Drake to share the cover with Niki. He sees her value and that’s dope. I’ve said once, I’ll say it again, niggas who don’t f*** with Niki are typically young boys, fags, and old ass heads who don’t like anything that has come out past 1996

  34. PEACE andMUSIC says:

    WOW, THERE IS ALOT OF HATERS ON HERE.
    (SEND THE HATERS ALL MY LOVE X&O, -CONGRATULATIONS)

  35. H.N.I.C. pt. 2 says:

    @itswhatisiad
    everone is entitled to there opinion. im 24 and i can tell you waka flacka is better then this bitch, you need to go kill yourself faggot. there is no value in this bitch moron and it will show in just a few short years when you see YM shut down and baby clearing house cause of all the misfortune these shitty fucks will cause, faggot

  36. […] Nicki Minaj & Drake Cover XXL (May 2010) Told cha so. On newsstands April 20th. XXL […]

  37. hendrixmcflyy says:

    THE TOTAL COMBUSTION OF ALLTHINGS HIP HOP …..IT BEGINS NOW…..ik too dramatic …2 cornballs making cornball music for other cornballs.. its corny..im done

  38. DWAYNE LANE says:

    COMPLEX COVER > XXL COVERS

  39. mac DIESEL says:

    NOBODY BUYS MAGAZINES NO MORE N THESE TWO COOKIE CUTTER INDUSTRY IMPLANT RAPPERS ARE SO BEYOND OVERRATED!!!! STOP FEEDIN’ US THIS NONSENSE ALREADY!!!! JUST STOP IT!!!!

    DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!

  40. Aishya says:

    Im happy for everyone in this business. everyones knows they put things like the rebirth of rap royality to get niccas ta respond lol…. dont feed into that shit hahahaha. and nicki and drake, yall keep being yall-do yall thang. cuz aint noone in yall shoes

  41. Will says:

    @Mac Diesel

    I bought this past freshmen cover becuz I actually believe that in the end at least 4 of them guys are going to huge and that will be one of the pictures you wont be able to get like

    Yea still think Drake and Nicki wouldve been a better look on the freshmen cover 1st off it wouldnt have caused such a stir its causing right now and 2nd at least they wouldve had somebot to replace Oj Da Juicemane

    this concept<<<<<<<<<<<<XXL Freshmen

    I think they fucced up by not doing the cover becuz to be honest neither one of them had great music out when or at least Better Music them last ten guys Except Mickey Factz wacc ass I think Drake couldve replaced Mickey Factz Last year and I think Nicki shouldve got on that freshmen cover becuz Beam Me Up Scotty is not older than BAGNN Vol.3

  42. Ac@pella! says:

    @Toya

    U must not get out much sweetie…or watch tv, or listen to the radio, or maybe ur new to the internet. How could u NOT know who Drake and Nicki are?!?!?!?!? Not dick ridin’ but it’s proven that he’s the most hyped up cat in rap and she has the most female features this year alone. Wtf r u on babygir?…

    Anyways, this cover IS kinda boring, but since both artists are talented and have a hella huge buzz, it’s acceptable…And did anybody notice how quick it took to put out a new issue of XXL??? That issue w/ Gucci on the cover must’ve been out for at least 2 months on newsstands, but the Freshmen 10 issue dropped, finally, and this one is about to drop in a few weeks. It’s like they’re sayin’ “Yeah, the freshmen 10 are dope and they had their shine, but fuck them, we’re about to put that issue wit Nicki and Drizzy on the cover out!” Lol….U know I’m jus fuckin’ witchu YN, but it’s the truth. 🙂

  43. mac DIESEL says:

    @ Will

    XXL HAD THE AUDACITY TO PUT “DOMINATION” UNDER THEIR NAMES!!!! WUT “DOMINATION”??? THEY HAVEN’T MAD ANY REAL IMPACT IN HIP-HOP!!!! DO U REMEMBER WHEN WU-TANG BIGGIE 50 CENT DMX CAME OUT??? THEY DOMINATED THE GAME FOR A MINUTE!!!! THESE TWO AIN’T REALLY DO SHIT BUT DO COLLABOS ON OTHER NIGGAS TRACKS!!!!! DOIN’ RADIO FRIENDLY SAFE COOKIE CUTTER SONGS THAT SOUND LIKE EVEYTHING ELSE!!!! I WISH NIGGAS WOULD STOP GIVIN’ THEM PROPS FOR NOT DOIN’ SHIT!!!!
    DOMINATION???? FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!! SHOW N PROVE!!!!!

    DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!

  44. Nathaniel says:

    @mac DIESEL

    ^the man makes a very valid point. they’re implants, nicki and drake are. they haven’t demanded attention with undeniable music…but they’re being shoved down our fucking throats with their features.

    now they’ve both released wack ass singles. the whole industry knows it. the magazines know it. radio knows it. but they’re gonna keep telling us “no this is hot, no this is hot, yes this is domination” when they should have a spread with somebody clowning how wack the singles are. <—that's hip hop shit. all this trendy manchurian candidate ass rap world shit is making me sick to my stomach.

    B.DOT you know just as well as any nigga who has been around that the masses embrace whomever the media machine puts money and publicity behind. it's that simple.

  45. Nathaniel says:

    and u know what? fuck these magazines man. this is not just a nicki and drake problem. hip hop as a whole is fucked up. not because of any coast, but because of all the internal forces that make the upper level decisions and all the institutions down the hierarchy who support what they decide. we always knew it wasn’t about the music to the jews who own the majors and some of the big A&Rs and other label execs. as well as clear channel and these radio entities.

    but Radio DJ’s, “people who document the culture” and all the forms they come in, have sold the music out. sold the culture out. period. you muthafuckas otta have enough knowledge of hip hop history, and at the same time an open enough mind to help guide the way things go. why? because if true representatives and active participants don’t, the corporate schmucks above all our heads will. yall niggas have zero integrity. straight up.

  46. mac DIESEL says:

    @ Nathaniel

    PREACH FAM!!!!! PREACH!!!! COSIGN 100000%!!!!

    DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!

  47. @mac Diesel @Nathaniel… I see whats wrong with NY hip hop and hip hop in general. THE FANS!

    ask yourself how many people REALLY like Michael Jordan? now ask how many of those people still like the bulls?

    you won’t see the same amount of hands.. why?

    cause the phenomenon is gone. this time Last year, DRAKE had the internet goin crazy with SFG and the mainstream was picking up on it. now this year hes overrated, he’s not dominating, his singles are wack. but this is the same guy with a RAP Grammy nod off a MIXTAPE? like really..

    i’m pretty sure you two downloaded SFG so you help create this MONSTAR we see now, but you mad cause all the hype actually got him everywhere and liked by everyone and not just ya blog friends and classmates. NOW you tired of seeing him? it was all good just a year ago.

    you two are the ones that wake up on Christmas morning mad cause the feeling is gone. NO more toys, NO more act of surprise, now its credit card debts & returns…NOW you HATE Christmas.

    You right this is bigger than Drake, this is what happens to all who launch a massive mainstream attack. Lil wayne went through it as well and he was 5 lps deep before it started.
    now granted the media kindof shove him and others down our throat but they do it cause thats what the people are interested in now. don’t hate HIM cause YOU grew tired of seeing him now. he’s gonna come on the 25th….just like Christmas… get ya pockets ready.

    DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!! <—-ditto

  48. GTFO says:

    @Ricky Retardo I couldn’t have said it better. If you was passing a collection plate I would put money in for that sermon. Chuuuuuch!!!!

  49. Nathaniel says:

    @Ricky Retardo

    nigga i have a very functional brain of my own, and i haven’t been impressed from jump. and no, i didn’t download So Far Gone. but yes i listened to it. as well as some shit from his previous 2 mixtapes. i’ve felt the same way about drake in particular since i first heard him. he hasn’t proved himself yet. and as a jewish kid that grew up famous on a canadian dawson’s creek, his metamorphosis into “drizzy drake” is just inauthentic to me. his flow is one-dimensional, and his subject matter is surface. but so what? like i said, the shit i’m talking about isn’t about drake. like i said it’s much bigger than just a rapper. i hope the nigga gets a brand and image that can last, and continues to work on his craft.

    but that still doesn’t change the fact of the way the industry is a fine tuned system of chosen trend mongrels. and michael jordan is a bad example, joe. everything about him was undeniable. EVERYTHING.

    you making all these assumptions about what niggas do on the daily…do i know you? hmmm, nah i don’t.

  50. B.Dot says:

    it is what it is. too much too type. lol.

  51. GtownHoyasDC says:

    Rebirth of Rap Royalty?!?! These two haven’t even came out w/an album yet. Total Bullshit, XXL…
    ….But, considering the hype they have brought in, they ‘deserve’ this cover. I was caught up in the Drake hype last year, but it has faded away. Nicki Minaj has always been known to bite other people’s rapping styles, so I’m really not feeling her anymore, either…

    …Young Money’s gonna flop worse than G-Unit……….

  52. GtownHoyasDC says:

    Drake is overrated. I mean, he said he was studying Nas and Andre 3000. I damn sure didn’t see that with that ‘over’ single. If Drake wants real respect from the real hip-hop heads, he’s gotta step up in his lyrics…
    No one really listens to Minaj because of her rapping ability, but b/c she’s sexy. If these two are our future in hip-hop, than hip-hop is dead…

    Don’t blame the South, either. Hip-hop has taken a fall everywhere…..

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