Several rappers have gone back to where it all began, revisiting the childhood homes that shaped them. 🏠 Ye returned to his Chicago home after a street was renamed for his late mother, JAŸ-Z visited his old building in the Marcy Houses, J. Cole toured 2014 Forest Hills Drive ahead of the album’s release and Eminem stopped by the Detroit house he was raised in, which appears on The Marshall Mathers LP cover.

Travis Scott, Future and Loe Shimmy link up at Drake’s star-studded 40th birthday celebration. 🔥 📸 Juan Galarza

What’s the greatest mixtape of all time?

The former employee who sold Eminem's unreleased tracks faces up to five years in prison. xxlmag.com/eminem-former-emp…

Whether confirmed or not, everyone could have a twin out there somewhere Here are a handful of rapper doppelgängers that will blow your mind. xxlmag.com/rapper-doppelgang…

Seven years ago today, Lucki dropped Days B4 III 💽 What’s your favorite song on here?

Cardi B treats herself to some expensive birthday gifts, including a $3 million Rolex Daytona Barbie watch. ⌚ xxlmag.com/cardi-b-3-million…

12 years ago today, Drake dropped “6 God” 🔊

Kid Cudi is set to direct and star in a biopic about the late Jean-Michel Basquiat titled JEAN after writing the script himself over the summer. xxlmag.com/kid-cudi-basquiat…

Seven years ago today, Ye released Jesus Is King 💽 What’s your favorite song on here?

XXL breaks down the staggering numbers behind the 2016 XXL Freshman Class a decade later. From billions of views and chart-topping songs to Grammy wins, platinum plaques and more. youtube.com/watch?v=xL8tY1iG…

The Weeknd surprised fans with a brand-new song during the opening night of his four-show run at Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong 🗣️

🕊️ In Memoriam 🕊️ This year, hip-hop has had to say goodbye to a number of influential names who helped shape its sound and history. xxlmag.com/hip-hop-artists-l…

JAŸ-Z and Blue Ivy share the stage at SoFi Stadium for night one of JAŸ-Z 30 in Los Angels, with Blue on the piano for “The Story of O.J.” 🔥

On this episode of XXL's 2 Piece With the Chief, we discuss hip-hop's new documentary wave, Cardi B's stellar Tiny Desk moment and more. youtube.com/watch?v=GW6VBDij…

14 years ago today, A$AP Rocky dropped “F**kin’ Problems” featuring Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar 🔊 Who had the best verse?

Drake receives a red Ferrari as a gift for his 40th birthday. 🏎️🎉

Ye is reportedly planning a fashion show at the new Yeezy store in Los Angeles to showcase the brand's newest designs. xxlmag.com/kanye-west-yeezy-…

DJ Akademiks digs up an old Blueface tweet from 2023 dissing streamers, and a clash between the two follows. "A 31 year old man Ina room on twitch thanking people for donations playing with him self could never be me at 31," the rapper tweeted years ago. Ak pulled up the tweet and acknowledged that Blue is a "pretty entertaining streamer," but he likely thinks differently now. Blue has focused more on streaming since he got out of jail in 2025, and has been largely successful on different platforms. "Ppl grow and change. Blueface is a pretty entertaining streamer. I’m sure he thinks different of this tweet now. No need to dunk on him. 💪," Ak tweeted on Oct. 22. The Akademiks TV X page also posted, "Reminder folks Akademiks is never wrong just early." On Friday (Oct. 23), Blue, 29, responded to the page, writing, "I’m not 31 but I’m glad you waiting I should be done by then akademiks is 53 now ?" Ak hit back at Blue, telling him that he "shouldn't be upset at the job you have paying the bills…" "Bro there’s nothing wrong with being a streamer. Your primary job rn is to stream .. there’s no expiration date. Ur super entertaining and u stream keep it up. Don’t be upset at the job you have paying the bills…"

Drake gave a speech at his 40th birthday celebration at Casa Cipriani in New York City last night. 🎉🥳 "Surprisingly enough, Frank Sinatra used to give out a jacket to his best friends and on the back of it it said, 'Living well is the best revenge. F**k ’em all.'" "Tonight is not about a tour or album release... tonight is just about being alive, you know, staying alive."