It’s kind of odd that this would be my first post of 2010 since this issue features one of the clowns that I loathe. He’s on the top 10 list of people I wish would be stung by HIV infected jellyfish and then eaten by vampire turtles. Yeah, I think him and Kobe are running neck and neck at the top of that list. But XXL saw fit to put him on the cover of their first issue most likely because Biggie was deceased and hip-hop was going hip-pop at the speed of light. On the other hand, I have to give credit to my favorite former Source employee, Reginald Dennis, who was forced out in 1994 and bounced back to get XXL off the ground in ‘97, bringing along Miss Info for the ride. They set a pretty good foundation for the future of the magazine, with the exception of their iffy record reviews. Let me know what you think.
XXL #1 featuring Jay-Z
happy New Year Vince, thanks for the first issue of XXL
ReplyDelete@iza - He's severely overrated to me. Also, I only think that his first album is good (4 mics). The rest are 3 mics to me.
ReplyDeleteyo Vincent, if u hate Hov, i cant say nothin about that. i like the old Hov personally and i do have this issue! classic issue!
ReplyDeleteBut that hatin Kobe? cmon now, Vincent u mans and all that, but at least lay off my man Kobe. Thats my heart right there. i put him in a higher categorie over Jay.
Kobe is my nigga 4 life.
Hov was cool from '96-'03.
@brandan - Kobe's an idiot. My wife hates him even more than I do. You know Chris Paul should have won that MVP award over Kobe. He carries a mediocre team every single game.
ReplyDelete@vincentlopez man you dont even like blueprint? you might be the first person i know that doesnt like it or atleast think its 4 mics and above
ReplyDelete@iza - The Blueprint is ok. It's 3 mics to me. Remember, 3 mics = good, according to the rating descriptions.
ReplyDelete@yeah but man, just with the production on that cd it should put it at 4 mics, just imagine if someone like ghostface had those beats
ReplyDeleteAAAHHHH HOLY SHIT!i been hoping you would start doing XXLs! i remember for some dumb ass reason the newsagency i went to used to put XXL in the sport section so for the first 2 issues i thought it was just some sport mag that interviewed rapers or something. then i finally picked it up & in the beginnning i liked it more than The Source. please do more XXL if you can!
ReplyDelete@davey dave - That XXL issue took a long, long while to scan so you won't see the next XXL for a few months.
ReplyDeletei was just lookinh through it now, i forgot how many ads they had in there damn! it's all good tho
ReplyDeleteI have not met one person from Philly that likes Kobe,lol.When I am back in the States,I reside outside of Seattle and the "Kobe Stans" that are out here have the nerve to try and argue with me about why Kobe is better than Mike,while wearing a pair of Jordans,lol.Like I have said to many people before,Kobe is Diet Mike/Mike Light.
ReplyDeleteJay,from 97-04 was the best breathing.But the last few albums are nothing but pop music and he seems to whine too much as of late..."oh don't hate because I drink from the same waters from the pope"..."don't hate because (fill in the blank)"...and I haven't heard BP3 yet,so I can only imagine,but I will purchase it alone with everything I have missed the last 7 months when I get back to the real world.
I like Jay-Z!
ReplyDeleteHowever I think the constant dickriding and just the overall passes he gets that irks me. Musically very talented even though he has a few overrated albums though (ie. Blueprint IMO).
If we had the same Jay-Z today minus Beyonce and minus all of his success than people wouldn't jock him as much and thats just a fact. Not taking anything away from his talent though.
Appreciate the link and I was gone for a little while so i didn't have a chance to wish everybody a happy new year...so happy new year to all of you!!!
Happy New Year, and thanks, bro'! I never had a chance to read XXL way back (90's) because my country was ''embargoland'' that time. So, thank you and keep doin' this-you makin' us happy! Respect!
ReplyDeletethanks for the post vincent. thought I had this one... but I think it was some other long-gone now 98 era hip hop mag. should make an interesting read. good looking.
ReplyDeletethanks for the issue never read a XXL before
ReplyDeleteAlso while im not the biggest fan of jay-z (largely because of his quantity over quality discography), i can't be mad at him because he has blessed us with Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint
yo vincent, cmon Vincent u know Kobe shoulda won that, heck Kobe should at least have 2-3 MVPs.
ReplyDeletethats my mans right there, soon as MJ retired Kobe stepped into that role as da man!
sorry bro, but im rollin wit him to the death!
but people like Jay & Nas dont have to rap no more, they legacy is already set. they doin it now just to do it. but the '90s alone solidified their postion as the best ever emcees! it brings back memories lookin at this XXL issue again. i miss 1997 alot!
Chris Paul should have won the MVP but they gave to Kobe because of seniority. I've read that the reason Jay-Z got this cover is because Biggie was supposed to get it but he died so they gave it to his "side-kick". Do any of you guys listen to Jay Electronica? He's incredible.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vincent! All I can say is I'm not a fan of Jay-Z, at least not the music of his songs.
ReplyDeleteI remember that when I was young and Hip Hop wasn't mainstream (radio/tv) we were wishing that it would be. Then came Jay-Z amongst others and somehow this wasn't what I wished for..
But I do think he has skills! (and 99 problems always sounds good)
Greets, Marthijn
thanks for this, vincent!
ReplyDeletegood choice for the first post in 2010!
Downloading this one now. Thanks for the upload. Coming from the UK all of these issues are new to me, so cheers.
ReplyDeleteI was born in '84 so these 1997/98 mags re from just when hiphop was reaching my conciousness. It's likey I'll be downloading a bit more now as the artists featured will be more relevent to me.
Thanks for posting this issue. I remember. I remember having this one back in the day.
ReplyDeletedope issue, a piece of rap magazine history; I didn't know Reginald C. Dennis was the founder of XXL; thanks for the info
ReplyDeleteJay-Z was a lyrical genius, especially at his first LP... the rest of his work is just entertainment