EX-XXL Editor to Launch Online Hip-Hop Magazine

Do we need yet another Hip-Hop blog? According to Elliott Wilson the answer is yes! Wilson, the former editor of XXL magazine plans on entering the already crowded online hip-hop magazine business. RapRadar, slated to launch March 9th (interesting date choice), will attempt to create a voice that, according to Elliot, “has been lacking among Web sites that cover rap—that is, something akin to Perez Hilton.”

There are a lot of sites out there that do news, and a lot do gossip,” says Wilson: “But not a lot of them can put it into the proper context, where it’s journalism versus pure gossip. I want to raise the bar journalistically. The public is hungry for both.

Wilson also plans to allow artists and producers the opportunity to post entries a la Huffington Post (haven’t we heard this before?).

If Jay-Z wants to express his feelings about Obama, there’s not really a forum where he can do that right now,” he said. (Wilson’s Soul of a Hustler, an authorized biography of Jay-Z, is scheduled to published in Spring 2010 by Atria/Simon & Schuster.)

Wilson—whose wife, Danyel Smith, is the editorial director of Vibe—still thinks rap magazines are viable, and is hoping Rap Radar will eventually make its way to print.

Source: FolioMag