Music Life After Death: The Complete History of Dead Rap Magazines

So many hip-hop magazines have folded in recent years that it’s hardly a surprise when we hear another one has closed up shop. But when urban powerhouse VIBE shut down operations last month, the news was too big to ignore. Since most of us here at Complex Media got our respective starts at various rap publications, we got to reminiscing about the good ol’ days when you could walk into a newsstand and be greeted by shelf after shelf of hip-hop magazines. Though each presented its own unique perspective, the constant was that they were all created out of a shared passion for the culture. Sounds cheesy, but some of you have no idea about the blood, sweat, and tears that go into making a print magazine. Truly a labor of love.

Thus inspired, we dug—and we mean dug—deep into the archives to unearth, document, and rate every dead rap magazine ever created. Yeah, we had to rate them, but in the end, everybody associated with these publications deserves an “A” for effort. Yep, even you, Benzino…

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT COMPLEX’S HISTORY OF DEAD RAP MAGAZINES!