''Word Up! Magazine'' was a popular

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...

entertainment

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

that debuted in August 1987. It focused on

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. Hi ...

music and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

artists. The magazine was name-checked by

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 ...

in his 1994 hit song " Juicy": "It was all a dream; I used to read ''Word Up!'' magazine." A spin-off of '' Right On!'' magazine, ''Word Up!'' was headquartered in Paramus, NJ, Enoble Media and John Blassingame with Gerrie Summers as founding editor-in-chief, shortly after replaced by Kate Ferguson . In the 2020s, both magazines were purchased by Cynthia Horner, former editor-in-chief of ''Right On!'', forming Right On! Media Holdings, LLC. Its principal photographer was Ernie Paniccioli, who later claimed the magazine's mention in "Juicy" was intended for him. Without knowledge of the original owners, the estate of the Notorious B.I.G. and

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

produced two special editions of ''Word Up!'' in 2023, celebrating the artist and the 30th anniversary of ''

Ready to Die ''Ready to Die'' is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and distributed by Arista Records. The album features productions by Bad Boy founder Sean Combs, Sean "Puffy ...

''. John Blassingame's son, the founding style editor of Word Up Publications resurfaced Word Up Magazine on Instagram (http://wordupmagazine_hiphop) to reintroduce the publication via his streetwear platforms using the materials that he produced for the magazine and had been building the platform since 2018. Marcus has plans to honor his family's legacy via multiple media platform including his interview with Ernie Paniccioli as seen on IN BLVCK MEDIA https://inblackmagazine.com/2023/11/16/ernie-paniccioli/ . The relaunch was not sanctioned".

References

African-American magazines Entertainment magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Music magazines published in the United States Defunct teen magazines published in the United States {{entertainment-mag-stub