Peter Berry
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Articles by Peter Berry
Diamond* Reflects on the Songs That Shaped His Career
Define Me: Diamond* Interview: Peter A. Berry Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Summer 2026 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website. In an Atlanta rap scene that has suffered serious losses in recent years, Diamond* has emerged as one of the city’s most exciting new artists.
Odeal on How Common Shaped the Way He Writes His Songs and Why J Dilla Is the G.O.A.T. Original
Tunnel Vision Genre-blending artist Odeal breaks down the hip-hop influences that helped shape his sound. Interview: Peter A. Berry Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Summer 2026 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website. Odeal’s music reflects his life journey. Born in Germany and raised between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, the singer-songwriter and producer draws inspiration from sounds spanning the Black music diaspora, from Afrobeats to R&B.
A Look at the Lasting Legacy of the 2016 XXL Freshman Class
National Treasures Take a look back at the group that helped shape a generation: 2016 XXL Freshman Class. As Told To: Peter A. Berry Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Summer 2026 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website. Sometimes, immortality looks like a statue. Or maybe a jersey hanging from the rafters of a sports arena. In the era of the extremely online, it can also look like a photo-realistic tattoo of a YouTube screenshot.
A Look at the Lasting Legacy of the 2016 XXL Freshman Class
National Treasures Take a look back at the group that helped shape a generation: 2016 XXL Freshman Class. As Told To: Peter A. Berry Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Summer 2026 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website. Sometimes, immortality looks like a statue. Or maybe a jersey hanging from the rafters of a sports arena. In the era of the extremely online, it can also look like a photo-realistic tattoo of a YouTube screenshot.
Swae Lee Gets Candid on AI, Drake's Three-Album Drop and Why Rap Groups Are No Longer The Norm
Say What's Real Swae Lee gets candid about some of music's hottest topics, from AI's impact on creativity to Drake's recent three-album drop. Words: Peter A. Berry Editor's Note: This story appears in the Summer 2026 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website. If hip-hop had a Hookman of the Year award, Swae Lee would have at least a few trophies. Since emerging with Rae Sremmurd 12 years ago, the 33-year-old Tupelo, Miss.
Ako sa z Drakea stal Netflix hip-hopu
Keď Drake v jeden deň vydal tri nové albumy - Iceman, Maid of Honour a Habibti, niektorí kritici tvrdili, že ide o zúfalý pokus zvýšiť svoj význam a podporiť počty streamov či predaj albumov. Pre náročnejších fanúšikov, ktorí túžili po pätnásťskladbovom albume bez jedinej skladby, ktorú by bolo treba preskakovať, to bol len prejav nenásytného preháňania.
How Drake Became the Netflix of Hip-Hop
Photographer: Amy Sussman/Getty Images North America (Bloomberg Opinion) -- When Drake released three new albums — , , and on the same day, some critics argued it was a desperate move to increase his relevance and boost his streams and album sales. To discerning fans who wanted a 15-song effort without skippable tracks, it was just greedy excess.
Commentary: Lupita Nyong’o can’t play Helen of Troy? That’s odd
Elon Musk, steadfast guardian of all things truthful and scientific, has once again criticized director Christopher Nolan. Months after saying Nolan had “lost his integrity” following speculation that the director selected Black actress Lupita Nyong’o to play Helen of Troy in his forthcoming epic, "The Odyssey," Musk returned to the subject on X.
Commentary: Billboard’s AI music problem is obvious — so is the fix
For strict institutional gatekeepers, Billboard has been quite lax about allowing fake artists on its charts. By November, several AI performers were featured, including country music’s Breaking Rust and R&B’s Xania Monet. It’s the kind of casual absurdity that AI music startups like Suno are hoping will become, well, casual. kAm“%96 E649?@=@8J 7:?2==J 2==@HD 7@C 3:==:@?D @7 A6@A=6 E@ 36 4C62E:G6[ E@ 92G6 E96 7CF:ED @7 E96:C =23@C[ E@ 766= 7F=7:==>6?E :?
Drake’s ‘Iceman’ Is Exactly the Fun and Vindictive Comeback Record He Needed: Album Review
Toward the beginning of his new song “Janice STFU,” Drake conducts one of his customary exercises in emo theater: “You say what my work means to me will one day be the death of me / They tried to kill me once, but, darling, you just resurrected me.” It feels melodramatic, but this time, it’s fair enough.
Billboard’s AI music problem is obvious — so is the fix
For strict institutional gatekeepers, Billboard has been quite lax about allowing fake artists on its charts. By November, several AI performers were featured, including country music’s Breaking Rust and R&B’s Xania Monet. It’s the kind of casual absurdity that AI music startups like Suno are hoping will become, well, casual.
Every Drake Album, Ranked From Worst to Best
Today, ahead of his Iceman album. Okayplayer ranks Drake’s projects from absolute worst to best. As Drake says himself, they love to tell stories ’bout the man. So it’s a good thing that no one tells that tale better than the 6ix God himself. Since emerging with So Far Gone 17 years ago, Drizzy has used Bridget Jones' introspection, Simone Biles' agility and Stephen Curry's range to dominate the music industry like prime LeBron James.
Commentary: Billboard's AI music problem is obvious - so is the fix
For strict institutional gatekeepers, Billboard has been quite lax about allowing fake artists on its charts. By November, several AI performers were featured, including country music's Breaking Rust and R&B's Xania Monet. It's the kind of casual absurdity that AI music startups like Suno are hoping will become, well, casual.
Billboard’s AI Music Problem Is Obvious — So Is the Fix
Photographer: Ian Waldie/Getty Images Europe (Bloomberg Opinion) -- For strict institutional gatekeepers, Billboard has been quite lax about allowing fake artists on its charts. By November, several AI performers were featured, including country music’s Breaking Rust and R&B’s Xania Monet. It’s the kind of casual absurdity that AI music startups like Suno are hoping will become, well, casual.
Rate It Or Love It
Credit: XXL via YouTube Before writing this introductory article, I had a little housekeeping matter to consider: Do I or don’t I delete my now two-point-something-year-old “Coming Soon” post. If you made it here in the first place, you’ll see it conspicuously nestled below this piece and the first Rate It Or Love It. It was uploaded all the way back on Jan. 23, 2024. On one hand, it’s kind of embarrassing that it took me so long to get an actual post up.
Monica Is Jack Harlow’s Identity Crisis. It’s Also His Best Album.
About eight years ago, Jack Harlow trolled the fuck out of me. Or, at least, it felt like he did. Visiting XXL’s midtown Manhattan office for a video freestyle, pre-glow-up Jack — glasses, unwieldy curly hair and all — sat down in our video room with his publicist for a listening session. The point was obviously for him to play me his music so I could get a sense of where he was headed artistically. So then, I was a little … bewildered when he began playing Frank Ocean instead.
With F.I.G , Naomi Scott Is Finally Her Own Director
Midway through our February afternoon chat, Naomi Scott asks the sort of question that, frankly, should be unaskable: "What is she, where do we place her?" She's referring to herself, but she's speaking from the perspective of composite audiences and Hollywood execs trying to classify a half-Indian, half-white actress playing American roles.
Nobody Does It Quite Like Baby Keem, and No One’s Even Tried
Pigeons & Planes is all about music discovery, supporting new artists, and delivering the best music curation online and IRL. We're always listening. Pigeons & Planes is all about music discovery, supporting new artists, and delivering the best music curation online and IRL. We're always listening. Pigeons & Planes is all about music discovery, supporting new artists, and delivering the best music curation online and IRL. We're always listening.
'The Fall-Off' And How J. Cole Became Rap's Bradley Cooper
In the cruel eternity of the internet, no one gets a consolation prize for taking an L on national TV. Not even bright-eyed Bradley Cooper. After spending six years practicing one particular conductor symphony scene and donning an abominable prosthetic mask for the Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, Cooper found himself on the losing end of the Oscar race for Best Actor and a series of jokes labeling an awards season clout-chaser. We can't know for sure, but there's a chance J.
A$AP Rocky steps back into the arena, all the wiser, on the ambitious 'Don't Be Dumb': Album review
It's hard to make being Rihanna's rich, handsome boyfriend sound lame, but Drake managed to do just that on "Family Matters." Taking a moment to turn his focus from Kendrick Lamar to ASAP Rocky, the Toronto rapper accused the Harlem native of being relevant for his fashion sense instead of his mic skills: "Probably gotta have a kid again fore you think of droppin' any s**t again / Even when you do drop, they gon' say you should've modeled 'cause it's mid again." It's reductive, but fair.
How Hurricane Wisdom Turned Hard Times Into Hit Records Original
Show & Prove: Hurricane Wisdom Words: Peter A. Berry Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Fall 2025 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website. Hurricane Wisdom’s name sounds like the result of some deep spiritual introspection or maybe a moniker for a shady fortune teller. But, like the best rap names, its inspiration is decidedly functional; a nod to a hairstyle he had as a teen. “I had waves in high school,” he explains on a humid August day via Zoom.
Singer Isaiah Falls Talks Kendrick Lamar and Kodak Black Influencing His Music and Nipsey Hussle Being One of the Greatest of All Time Original
Let Em Know: Isaiah Falls Interview: Peter A. Berry Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Fall 2025 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website. Since the release of his debut EP, The Private Room, in 2023, singer Isaiah Falls has established himself as a master of sultry, nocturnal R&B, making his music perfect for the bedroom or late-night drives to after parties.
Chance The Rapper Reclaims His Narrative Without the Revenge Tour - 'I Made A Lot of People Who Loved Me Happy' Original
If Chance The Rapper is experiencing a career redemption arc, it’s unclear whether he recognizes it. On August 15, the release date of his sophomore album, Star Line, he joins a Zoom call from his hometown of Chicago. This album marks his first major release since his 2019 debut LP, The Big Day, which did not perform well, commercially. As a result, there is a lot at stake for him.
For Better And Sometimes Worse, Dave's New Album Takes You To Church
If Dave were a lazy self-mythologizer instead of a meticulous craftsman, he could’ve just called his new album Confession. Over the course of the 48-minute LP — which is actually titled The Boy Who Played The Harp — the 27-year-old Londoner turns stanzas into tense self-interrogations, exploring themes of regret and personal evolution with the unsparing clarity of a wise but mercifully unpretentious clergyman.
Lebron James Has a Sciatica Injury - Here’s What it Feels Like Original
Usually, LeBron James is spending late October defying Father Time. Instead, he’s appearing in tasteless Hennessy ads and sitting stiff as a mannequin on the Lakers bench. The King is suffering from sciatica, a nerve condition that causes pain and numbness to run through your back and to your leg. Subtle, yet intermittently debilitating, it’s the type of injury anyone can get. Especially if you’re older. It’s not as much about what you feel, as much as what you don’t. At least, at first.
New Album 'Boiling Point,' Cash Money Reunion Tour, & More
Anytime you can be a benchmark for celebrity fitness is probably pretty cool. Or, at least I thought. Standing on the sidewalk about 70 feet away from SiriusXM’s Manhattan offices, Juvenile’s just told me he needs to get his ass back in the gym, motioning to his stomach before pointing to my own gut to make his point. “I’m getting a ‘you.'” Of course, l’m really handsome and amazing, so I laugh it off and don’t silently commit to walking two miles home today. It’s no big deal.
R&B's Breakout Star Sailorr Explores Her Rap Fandom and Creates the Ultimate Rapper With Veeze in Mind Original
Sailorr As an emerging alt-R&B star with meaningful creative roots in hip-hop, Sailorr is starting to bubble. Interview: Peter A. Berry Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Summer 2025 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website. Sailorr may be a rising queen of alt-R&B, but she’s certified rap head as much as anything else.
Tech N9ne Reflects on the House That Made Him, Storytelling and Not Giving a Damn About What People Think
Tech N9ne More than 30 years in the game, Tech N9ne reflects on his new album, 5816 Forest, and his illustrious career. Interview: Peter A. Berry Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Summer 2025 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website. The album is called 5816 Forest. 5816 Forest is the address where I lived where my mom married a Muslim named Abul Hassan Khalifah. He moved us to 5816 Forest when I was 12.
TØNY: Breaking open with Overdrive and interview
“I’ve always joked I felt like a flamingo in a flock of zebras and sometimes I still do.” The Austrian pop queen in-waiting, TØNY states as she dives into her artistic manifesto behind her upcoming album, Chronically Misunderstood due next year. Read next G-Star unveils Anatomic Denim with Jordan Hemingway London charity Artbox to celebrate its work at new annual exhibition She kickstarts this journey with her most recent release Overdrive.
Molly Santana Breaks Down Five Career-Defining Songs That Shaped Her Sound Original
Molly Santana Interview: Peter A. Berry Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Summer 2025 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website. In an industry searching for new superstars, Molly Santana’s pushing her way into the spotlight. A chief manufacturer for zoomer slaps, the Los Angeles- based rapper swirls staccato flows and braggadocio into a perfectly modern combination of celestial rage raps and ethereal melodies.
Clipse Become First Rappers to Perform at the Vatican
Two months after dropping their acclaimed latest album, Let God Sort Em Out, Clipse continue their winning streak. On Saturday, the duo became the first rap act to ever perform at the Vatican. Taking the St. Peter's Square stage for the Pharrell Williams co-directed Grace for the World concert, the two performed the album opener, "Birds Don't Sing." With John Legend at their side to sing the hook, the song's regal combination of grace and spiritual power rang through in 5k.
Young Thug, Gunna, Snitching, and The Fragile Myth of the Real N***a
Young Thug was on of the realest certified street n****s hip-hop. Then somebody called him a snitch. The thing about being a gangster is that nobody is ever gangster enough - at least in the eyes of other gangsters. Or white kids who watched too many VladTV interviews about gangsters being gangsters. Young Thug got a proper education after getting accused of being a snitch last week. The snitch-shame fest began after a video of Thugger allegedly dry snitching on a friend hit the web.
Tyler, the Creator’s ‘Don’t Tap The Glass’ Trades Introspection for a Low-Stakes, Seriously Fun Dance Party: Album Review
Generate Key Takeaways Tyler, the Creator isn’t exactly a “spell it out” kind of guy, but he made an exception for his new song “Big Poe.” On Monday morning, after years of indulging in blonde bob wigs and cockroach-eating cryptics, the 34-year-old used the track’s opening words to issue an unambiguous command to fans and critics who are surely waiting to dissect his latest mosaic: “No sitting still… dance, bro.” It’s a mandate that’s easy to follow with “Don’t Tap the Glass,” a meticulous...
Tyler, the Creator’s ‘Don’t Tap The Glass’ Trades Introspection for a Low-Stakes, Seriously Fun Dance Party: Album Review Original
Tyler, the Creator isn’t exactly a “spell it out” kind of guy, but he made an exception for his new song “Big Poe.” On Monday morning, after years of indulging in blonde bob wigs and cockroach-eating cryptics, the 34-year-old used the track’s opening words to issue an unambiguous command to fans and critics who are surely waiting to dissect his latest mosaic: “No sitting still… dance, bro.” It’s a mandate that’s easy to follow with “Don’t Tap the Glass,” a meticulous yet deliberately...
Tyler, the Creator’s ‘Don’t Tap The Glass’ Trades Introspection for a Low-Stakes, Seriously Fun Dance Party: Album Review
Tyler, the Creator isn’t exactly a “spell it out” kind of guy, but he made an exception for his new song “Big Poe.” On Monday morning, after years of indulging in blonde bob wigs and cockroach-eating cryptics, the 34-year-old used the track’s opening words to issue an unambiguous command to fans and critics who are surely waiting to dissect his latest mosaic: “No sitting still… dance, bro.” It’s a mandate that’s easy to follow with “Don’t Tap the Glass,” a meticulous yet deliberately...
Tyler, the Creator’s ‘Don’t Tap The Glass’ Trades Introspection for a Low-Stakes, Seriously Fun Dance Party: Album Review
Tyler, the Creator isn’t exactly a “spell it out” kind of guy, but he made an exception for his new song “Big Poe.” On Monday morning, after years of indulging in blonde bob wigs and cockroach-eating cryptics, the 34-year-old used the track’s opening words to issue an unambiguous command to fans and critics who are surely waiting to dissect his latest mosaic: “No sitting still… dance, bro.” It’s a mandate that’s easy to follow with “Don’t Tap the Glass,” a meticulous yet deliberately...
Watch Clipse's 'Tiny Desk' Performance
Rap nerds rejoice: Clipse's NPR Tiny Desk performance is officially here. Hours after their latest album, Let God Sort Em Out, hit streaming services, the duo's lively NPR appearance began streaming on YouTube. Beginning with a performance of "I'm From Virginia," it's off to a pretty solid start, with both Push and Malice serving up showcase for stage presence and tonal control. It's a sign of rappers who, senior as they may be, remain near the peak of their powers.
Clipse’s ‘Let God Sort Em Out’ Is Stylish, Intense and Sanctimonious: Album Review
In the pantheon of prestige rap, it never gets fancier than a Clipse reunion. While Pusha T and Malice predated the whole “play this street rapper at New York Fashion Week” motif, their stylishly spare soundscapes and high-brow dexterity made them couture rap before couture rap. They could spit like a sleeker Little Brother, but there’s a nihilistic thrill in the idea that they might sell coke to your little brother, too.
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