So what have we here? I've been appointed the new EIC of XXL. Was gonna wait until my first in mag editorial to give my view of the recent good news, but will break my code of silence for you loyal KING-MAG readers of my blog (yep, all 7 of you. Ha!). Just something short and sweet to say that I'm ready and willing, chillin like a villian, the meaning of my position, is to dead all competition...pardon, I had a Big Daddy Kane moment.

Taking on the reigns at Hip-Hop's most important print information center is serious biz. I was there from the beginning of the mag's formation. The first generation of editors that founded XXL were true blue hip-hop journalists who pioneered the genre all us "hip-hop writers" live off of. The mag was created in the wake of their dissention from The Source magazine a few years earlier. To see my favorite writers/editors rock a new mag and for them to deem me talented enough to join them was a dream come true. However, the dream was short lived. After a fallout with the publishers, the original team broke out, leaving me with the choice of "stay or bounce, it's on you." I stayed. Worked my butt off and among a whole bunch of other shit the sun has risen to find me in the hot seat of manning "Hip-Hop on a Higher Level".

I won't take the job lightly. The game is in a tough spot. Lagging sales, declining buzz, warring factions, creative slump and various other factors make the details of my job tougher than expected. I'm here though, ready to grip up and bust some for a culture that's slipping into uncharted territory that looks a little grim. The fact that a lot of good hip-hop is still out there helps make my job that much easier. I, with your help, will find that hip-hop and give it the platform that it rightly deserves. Wish me luck, I'm going in... Datwon

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