A piano can be a confessional, a carnival ride, and a rocket launchpad. Few artists have proven that truth like Elton John. From barroom tenderness to arena sized uplift, his catalog maps a lifetime of melody and partnership, especially with lyricist Bernie Taupin. These ten songs capture the range that made him a fixture on […]
Need ItX-Games gold medalist snowboarder Zeb Powell is dead set on bringing hip-hop culture to the mountaintop.Interview: Joey EchevarriaEditor’s Note: This story appears in the Summer 2025 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website. World-class snowboarder Zeb Powell is just as passionate about hip-hop as he is about the world […]
Velvet grit and Sunday morning light. That is how Al Green turns a room into a sanctuary. His voice can smile, plead, tease, and testify within a single verse, while the Hi Rhythm Section lays down grooves that move like warm rivers under city lights. Producer Willie Mitchell paints with horns, organ, and strings that […]
With the lyrics of Gunna‘s The Last Wun track “Just Say Dat” focusing on “the driver that go with the Maybach,” it’s only right that the song’s new music video features a small fleet of the luxury cars rolling through his old neighborhood in Atlanta. The video opens with comedians Desi Banks and Reggie Conquest […]
Johnny Cash sang like a train that had seen the desert and the courtroom and still believed in morning. That baritone could be warning, blessing, apology, and promise without changing shirts. He carried the snap of Sun sessions into folk confession and gospel thunder. Bass strings thumped like a boot on a pine floor. Guitars […]
Hip-hop artists flip samples, hustle new business moves, and showcase innovation as an art. Creativity and creation is in its DNA, so it should come as no surprise that hip-hop is at the forefront of digital payments and cryptocurrency now as both integrate into daily life. “New money” has a new meaning, and hip-hop is […]
Edwin Starr sang like a fuse already lit. His voice was gravel and gold, a trumpet and a sermon, a smile with its sleeves rolled up. From Detroit sidewalks to global stages, he turned rhythm into resolve and pleasure into purpose. Horns punched like sunshine through blinds. Drums marched with the certainty of a crowd […]
The cover for Sabrina Carpenter’s new album made quite the kerfuffle online, but in the weeks since, she’s revealed that it’ll have multiple alternate covers that are a little less… controversial. After sharing a cover for Man’s Best Friend that was “approved by God,” Carpenter has revealed one last cover that might just be the […]
Miley Cyrus can turn a hook into a headline and a diary page into a sing along. Her voice moves from husky confessional to brass bright power without losing the smile in the vowels. Guitars crunch or shimmer. Synths glow like city signage. Beats stride with a confident tilt. Through reinventions and left turns she […]
JID is back with the new album God Does Like Ugly, and he brought a whole duffle bag of bars with him to solidify his spot as one of the elite spittas in the game. Released on Friday (Aug. 8), GDLU features 15 songs and guest appearances from Clipse, Vince Staples, EarthGang and more. JID’s technical proficiency is […]