''Ego Trip'' was a hip hop magazine started in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1994. It lasted four years and 13 issues and distinguished itself based on its irreverence and defiant attitude, eventually adopting the tagline, "the arrogant voice of musical truth."

Description

The roots of the publication began with a hip hop newspaper called '' Beat-Down Newspaper'', founded by Haji Akhigbade and

Sacha Jenkins Sacha Jenkins (born 1971) is an American television producer, filmmaker, writer, musician, artist, curator, and chronicler of hip-hop, graffiti, punk, and metal cultures. While still in his teens, Jenkins published ''Graphic Scenes & X-Plicit L ...

in 1992. Sacha and Haji met and brought aboard both Elliott Wilson and later Jefferson "Chairman" Mao. All three (Jenkins, Wilson, and Mao) also had extensive freelance backgrounds writing for other publications such as ''

Rap Pages Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

'', ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' and '' URB''. Technically, Jenkins and Wilson founded ''Ego Trip'' (with photographer/documentarian

Henry Chalfant Henry Chalfant (born January 2, 1940) is an American photographer and videographer most notable for his work on graffiti, breakdance, and hip hop culture. One of Chalfant's prints is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Ne ...

given honorary status as co-founder as well), though Mao was a part of the staff from the first issue and eventually became editor-in-chief after Jenkins left to become music editor at ''Vibe''. Likewise, the fourth core member, Gabriel Alvarez, was formerly an editor at the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based ''Rap Pages'' until ''Ego Trip'' recruited him, eventually making him managing editor. The last core member was designer Brent Rollins who joined the magazine in their third year and took over as art director. ''Ego Trip'' covered a range of so-called "underground" scenes, including

skateboarders Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. ...

and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

ers before those scenes became as commonplace as they are today. However, it was most identified as a hip hop magazine.

Covers

The 13 issues featured the following rap artists on the cover: *Vol. 1, Issue 1 (1994):

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

*Vol. 1, Issue 2:

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...

*Vol. 1, Issue 3: Smif-N-Wessun *Vol. 2, Issue 1 (1995):

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

*Vol. 2, Issue 2:

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

*Vol. 2, Issue 3:

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

*Vol. 2, Issue 4:

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

, Large Professor *Vol. 2, Issue 5:

Wu-Tang Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affil ...

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

*Vol. 2, Issue 6: Redman *Vol. 3, Issue 1 (1997):

Biggie Smalls Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

*Vol. 3, Issue 2:

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

*Vol. 3, Issue 3:

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2 ...

*Vol. 4, Issue 1 (1998):

Def Squad Def Squad is an American rap supergroup consisting of Erick Sermon, Redman, Keith Murray, Hurricane G, and Jamal. Before officially forming as a group to release an album in 1998, they had each been featured on tracks by each other. The Def ...

Post-''Ego Trip''

After closing the magazine, the ''Ego Trip'' team (Jenkins, Wilson, Mao, Alvarez and Rollins) continued on to a series of multimedia projects, such as the old-school rap music compilation '' The Big Playback'' (

Rawkus Records Rawkus Records was an American hip hop record label known for starting the careers of many rappers. Rawkus started in 1995 with releases in hip-hop, drum and bass and fun-dustrial (Dystopia One). Label heads Brian Brater and Jarret Myer then s ...

, 2000), inspired by their first book, ''Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists'' (St. Martin's Press, 1999). Their second book ''Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism!'' (Regan Books, 2002) spawned a relationship with the VH1 cable network. The staff have written and produced three television shows for the cable network, including "TV's Illest Minority Moments presented by Ego Trip," the three-part "Ego Trip's Race-O-Rama!", ''

Ego Trip's The (White) Rapper Show ''Ego Trip's The (White) Rapper Show'' is an American reality television series created by '' Ego Trip'' magazine that first aired on VH1. In the show, ten white rappers compete with each other for the chance at a $100,000 grand prize. The show ...

'', and ''

Ego Trip's Miss Rap Supreme ''Ego Trip's Miss Rap Supreme'' is an American reality television series that airs on the VH1 cable network. It is a follow up to 2007's ''Ego Trip's The (White) Rapper Show''. In ''Ego Trip's Miss Rap Supreme'', contestants compete to win the t ...

''. 'Ego Trip' is currently authoring a book on the history of white rappers.

Books

''ego trip's Big Book of Racism!'' by Sacha Jenkins, Elliott Wilson, Chairman Jefferson Mao, Gabriel Alvarez and Brent Rollins

''ego trip's Book of Rap Lists'' by Sacha Jenkins, Elliott Wilson, Chairman Jefferson Mao, Gabriel Alvarez and Brent Rollins

References

External links

''ego trip'' website
{{Italic title Defunct magazines published in the United States Hip hop magazines Magazines established in 1994 Magazines disestablished in 1998 Magazines published in New York City Online magazines with defunct print editions Online music magazines published in the United States