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'', '' Vibe'' 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 N ...
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. S ...
indie rock
Indie rock is a 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 music they produ ...
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 o ...
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 ...
*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 alternati ...
,
Large Professor
William Paul Mitchell (born March 21, 1972), better known by the stage name of Large Professor (also Extra P. and Large Pro), is an American rapper and record producer. Based in New York City, he is known as a founding member of the underground ...
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 ...
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 ...
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
''Ego Trip's The Big Playback'' is a 2000 compilation album released by the American record label Rawkus Records on April 11, 2000. The album was released with the collaboration of the writers for '' Ego Trip'' magazine and made as a companion pi ...
'' ( Rawkus Records, 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 i ...
'', and '' Ego Trip's Miss Rap Supreme''. 'Ego Trip' is currently authoring a book on the history of white rappers.