“What people don’t take into consideration is the reason that I was eligible for certain agreements that they weren’t eligible for was because I made myself a useful member of society. Most muthafuckas catch cases and get time. My nigga, you wasn’t doing shit when you was out here, so wasn’t no reason for them to keep you out here. Please understand the G code that I learned from, if you speak out your mouth that a muthafucka is telling on somebody and you can’t come with indisputable, irrefutable facts to support that statement, that makes you the sucker. You are now in violation of the G code. And there ain’t nobody, nowhere in naan jail sayin’ I was on they paperwork,” T.I., XXL Magazine July/August 2010

XXL celebrates the 25th anniversary of Def Jam Records.

Mr. Blueprint himself covers the October issue of XXL.

“The Boss” has been thrust into the spotlight yet again — and this time its got nothing to do with baby mamas, fur coats, or 50 Cent. Apparently, Rick Ross thought it would be a good idea to floss some knockoff Louis Vuitton shades he copped down on Canal Street for the cover of the May issue of XXL. On Monday, the editors of XXL received this letter from LV concerning the counterfeit sunglasses featured on their May 2009 cover:

Dear Editor:

Michael D. Pantalony, Esq.
Louis Vuitton Malletier

After a three year hiatus from the industry, Eminem is set to grace double covers of the June issue of XXL, on newsstands May 5, as he prepares for the May 19 release of his fifth studio album, Relapse.

A special collector’s edition, features Em as Marvel Comics’ vigilante The Punisher.

Eminem On His Drug Addiction:

“I wasn’t really mentally. I wasn’t ready to give up drugs. I didn’t really think I had a problem. Basically, I went in, and I came out. I relapsed, and I spent the next three years struggling with it. Also, at that time, I felt like I wanted to pull back, because my drug problem had got so bad. I felt like, Maybe if I take a break, maybe this will help. I started to get into the producer role more…I can still be out there with my music, like with the Re-Up album, but I don’t have to be in the spotlight the whole time.”

Eminem On The Current State Of Hip-Hop:

“I stayed up on the music, and obviously I watch TV and saw what was going on. And without naming any names, it just felt like hip-hop was going downhill. And it seemed like kinda fast. You know, in them three years, it was like everybody just cares about the hook and the beat; nobody really cares about substance. But with this new T.I. album, with this new Lil Wayne album of recent, it seems like things are looking a lot better now. You can appreciate Lil Wayne using different words to rhyme and actually rhyming words that you know. Or T.I., where you hear shit and you’re like Whoa, ah, I wish I would have thought of that! You know what I mean? Or you hear all the compound-syllable rhyming and all that. It just seems like now the craft is getting cared about more.”

Crime Pays, Cam’Ron’s first album in three years, drops on April 24.

Here’s A Sneak Peek At XXL’s April Cover Story With Cam

Lil Wayne in a spacesuit on the October 2008 cover of XXL Magazine.

T.I is featured on the August 2008 cover of XXL Magazine.

Game on the May 2008 issue of XXL.

Ice Cube is featured on one of two covers (Other features Game) for XXL’s May 2008 issue.