Peace To The God

Pic jacked from Rizoh.

I laughed when I first saw the headline. I really wanted to. I mean, for a guy like Elliot "YN" Wilson, a nigga who built up XXL Magazine, then saw to it that The Source was exposed for what it was (a shell of its former self), all the while gaining alliances with Interscope, putting out CDs, releasing a DVD, and helping mold xxlmag.com... it's odd to think that this nigga would be gone, I mean, this nigga was unstoppable. Kind of like The Wire's Omar (minus the homothug): a man who lived by a code, stayed true to hisself, and struck fear in the hearts of many a rapper. His road to the top was bumpy, and it was all the more strange when today, with a silent shriek, it was reported that YN has been fired from XXL Magazine.

His blog? Silent. Nah, it's fucking disappeared. XXLMag.com? Silent. No word from eskay or anyone else. Vanessa Satten, who has been stepping up as of late (those who actually read the print mag over the last 6 months or so have seen her pen the opening letter), is the interim EIC, and Rizoh said that music editor Leah Rose walked out on XXL as well. Strange times.

The ideal assumption is that Harris Publications wants to see both the print mag and the website go off into a different direction. This sounds like a bad move, seeing as though the whole rise of XXL was directly due to YN's pursuit of dominance. HE achieved it, and kept it going. The XXL family has lost a firecracker.

I'm not apologizing for YN. I didn't always agree with him, nor did I always condone hsi brash personality. Thing is, he kept it all the way real, and in terms of Hip-Hop journalism, whether it was with Rap Pages or ego trip or XXL, YN has been the man towing that line: keeping it both street and right, making sure that while he paid the bills with the high-caliber pieces, the respect for quality was always there. I don't buy much of anything these days, but I never hesitated to cop XXL when I saw it. I probably still will (is this 100th issue his last official issue?)... but just like when I thumb through The Source nowadays, something will be missing.

YN, I have no doubt that you will jump right back on the horse and bring us something equally as fresh and new. And I appreciate your tenure as a writer and as a personality. I guess this is some of the shit I've always wanted to say, ever since I really started following XXL (around Fall of 2001). Keep your head up, and please don't keep us wondering about where you will pop up next.

Peace, (yellow) nigga.

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