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''Rap Pages'' was an American
music magazine A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and culture in music cognition, music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with ...
, one of the first publications dedicated to
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
. The first issue was released in October 1991. Originally published by
Larry Flynt Publications Larry Flynt Publications, or LFP, Inc. is an American independent business enterprise that owns, manages and operates the adult entertainment businesses founded by American entrepreneur Larry Flynt. Founded in 1976, two years after Flynt began pu ...
, the magazine was closed in October 1999. It was sold to Timaj Publications in May 2000, who released several more issues, but by the end of 2000 stopped publication. ''Rap Pages'' set itself apart from other contemporary music magazines, particularly ''
The Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...
'', with its comprehensive coverage of
West Coast hip hop West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...
artists, something they believed other publications lacked.


History

''Rap Pages'' was founded by the publisher
Larry Flynt Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. (; November 1, 1942 – February 10, 2021) was an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). LFP mainly produces pornographic magazines, such as '' Hustler'', pornographic videos, and three p ...
. According to Sheena Lester, a later editor-in-chief, one of Flynt's bodyguards came up with the idea for the magazine. ''Rap Pages'' was one of the first magazines dedicated to
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
. The first issue was released in October 1991. It featured a
pick-up shot Pickup(s), pick-up, or pick up may refer to: Film * Pick-Up (1933 film), ''Pick-Up'' (1933 film), a crime film starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft * Pickup (1951 film), ''Pickup'' (1951 film), an American film noir directed by Hugo Haas * Pick ...
of the rapper
Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...
on the cover, as the magazine was not shooting its own covers at the time. The magazine was based in Los Angeles, California. At the time, the West Coast artists believed that ''
The Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...
'', which was the leading hip hop magazine, did not represent their scene adequately. ''Rap Pages'' was launched with the editor-in-chief Dane Webb announcing a goal to shift the focus to West Coast, citing the perceived East Coast bias of ''The Source'' as the reason. Another goal Webb proclaimed was to improve Black communities, with him encouraging people to " end less time drinkin' them damn 40s, spend less time on the corner and more time in them books". ''Rap Pages'' started as a bimonthly magazine, eventually switching to one issue every six weeks, and then switching to a monthly format in October 1995. According to the writer Jeff Weiss, ''Rap Pages'' was the only magazine that offered a full-time coverage of West Coast hip hop. In October 1999,
Larry Flynt Publications Larry Flynt Publications, or LFP, Inc. is an American independent business enterprise that owns, manages and operates the adult entertainment businesses founded by American entrepreneur Larry Flynt. Founded in 1976, two years after Flynt began pu ...
halted publication of ''Rap Pages'' and put the magazine up for sale. They received multiple bids, and sold it to Timaj Publications in May 2000. Under the new management and with the original editor-in-chief Dane Webb the magazine was relaunched, with plans of launching a separate Spanish-language version. However, after releasing several more issues, ''Rap Pages'' once again ceased publication by the end of 2000. ''
The Jersey Journal ''The Jersey Journal'' was a daily newspaper, published from Monday through Saturday, covering news and events throughout Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Journal'' is a sister paper to ''The Star-Ledger'' of Newark, ''The Times'' of Trenton a ...
'' reported in January 2002 that ''Rap Pages'' was a defunct magazine. In 2014, a website Rap Pages TV was launched.


Covers

Despite using a leftover portrait from another photo shoot as the cover of its first issue, later on ''Rap Pages'' started producing their own photos for the covers. The magazine hired the photographer Brian Cross, who was its photo editor from 1993 to 1998. Describing his time in ''Rap Pages'', Cross said: "We had a team of A-list editors who all went on to do important things in hip-hop, and we would just sit around and have these loose, funny conversations, which is how we came up with a lot of shoot concepts." In his book ''Totally Wired'', the writer
Paul Gorman Paul Gorman is a British-Irish writer and curator. Gorman's journalism has appeared in magazines and newspapers; his books include ''The Life & Times of Malcolm McLaren'', ''The Story Of The Face: The Magazine That Changed Culture'', ''Straig ...
praised ''Rap Pages'' as a magazine that "showcased inventive layouts and striking front covers", noting that it occurred during Sheena Lester's tenure as editor-in-chief. ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' magazine also commended ''Rap Pages'', saying that "in its prime ''Rap Pages'' ... oastedhigh-quality reporting, niche hip-hop coverage, and some very original covers". The publication placed several ''Rap Pages'' covers in its list of the 50 greatest hip hop magazine covers; some of the covers included are an
Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), known professionally as Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan, which forme ...
's parody of
Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...
's ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' cover, which shows him standing behind a topless fan, covering her breasts with his hands, a cover depicting
Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American musician. She is celebrated as one of the most influential musical artists of her generation. Hill is credited with breaking barriers for female rappers, contributing to the popular music, m ...
as a four-armed goddess, and a cover depicting the group
Pharcyde The Pharcyde is an American hip hop group, formed in South Central Los Angeles in 1989. The original four members of the group are Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown (Romye Robinson), and Fatlip (Derrick Stewart).C ...
wrapped in a recording tape. Another ''Rap Pages'' cover, which ''Rolling Stone'' magazine called "iconic", was the portrait of
the Notorious B.I.G. 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 the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...
wearing a crown. The photograph, titled ''King of New York'', was taken by Barron Claiborne, three days prior to the rapper being assassinated on March 9, 1997. It was the last photoshoot of the Notorious B.I.G. The portrait quickly became one of the most well-known photos of the rapper. In 2020, the plastic crown used in the photo, originally purchased by Claiborne for $6, was sold through an auction for $594,750.


References


Works cited

* * * {{cite book, author-last=Tobak, author-first=Vikki, author-link=Vikki Tobak, title= Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop, date=2018, publisher=
Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...
, isbn=978-0-525-57388-3 Hip-hop magazines Magazines established in 1991 Defunct magazines published in Los Angeles African-American magazines Defunct music magazines published in the United States 1991 establishments in the United States