Meet Some Members of the XXL Awards Board on XXL Magazine Cover

The XXL Awards 2022 will kick off in the new year, and to celebrate the occasion, XXL has established an official board to choose who gets a trophy. The illustrious members of the XXL Awards Board include music industry executives, A&Rs, marketing experts, managers, producers, DJs, publicists and some select veteran artists. Many of the board members grace the cover of XXL Magazine’s Winter 2021 issue. Artists were not asked or expected to take part in the covers, but the amazing Lil’ Kim wanted to show her entire support for XXL and the awards and graciously attended a NYC shoot. The covers were snapped by the beloved Travis Shinn, who shoots the XXL Freshmen Classes every year.

Celebrating hip-hop and honoring artists’ excellence the right way are just some of the reasons why the XXL Awards were brought back after initially being launched in 2013. While the XXL staff will nominate the rappers in each category, the XXL Awards Board members—all 158 of them—will vote for the winners. These board members are the people who truly know the culture and most of them have dedicated their professional lives to helping the rappers within the hip-hop community thrive. Artists selected for the board have played an active role in giving back to the younger generation of hip-hop. So, it only makes sense to offer all of these folks the opportunity to crown the winners.

XXL’s People’s Champ Award will be open to the public to vote on starting Jan. 10, 2022. This is when fans will also have a chance to make their vote count. Both the nominees and winners for the 12 categories will be announced on Jan. 24, 2022. Right now, there won’t be an actual awards show. Maybe one day, maybe not. For now, the XXL Awards will live online at XXLMag.com.

See who is on the covers:

Cover 1: Just Blaze, Tresa Sanders, Amina Diop, DJ Clue, DJ Self, Noah Friedman, Alan Grunblatt, Roberta Magrini, Rob Caiaffa, Ray Daniels, TT Torrez, Giovanna Melchiorre, Drew “Dru Ha” Friedman, Bill Wilson, Gabrielle Peluso, Orlando McGhee, Traci Adams, Wendy Washington, James Cruz, LaTrice Burnette, Natina Nimene, Leesa Brunson-Boland, Marsha St. Hubert, Mike Kyser, Lil’ Kim, Sydney Margetson, Thea Mitchem

Cover 2: DJ Whoo Kid, Mike Caren, Laura Stylez, Big Boy, Ghazi Shami, Laura Carter, Nicole Wyskoarko, J Grand, Yves Pierre, Chaka Zulu, Dana Meyerson, Tim Hinshaw, Echo Hattix, Theola Borden, Steve “Steve-O” Carless, Lenny “Lenny S” Santiago, Dallas Martin, Shawn Barron, Jean Nelson, Gee Roberson, DJ Drama, Leighton “Lake” Morrison, Kathryn Frazier, Mark Pitts, Erika Montes, Kevin Liles, Phylicia Fant, Kendell “Sav” Freeman, Gaby Acevedo, Amir Boyd, Doc Wynter, Mona Scott-Young

Cover 3: Kawan “KP The Great” Prather, Steve Rifkind, Chris Atlas, Fadia Kader, Caroline Yim, Zach Iser, Simone Mitchell, Wayne Hampton, Jeff Vaughn, Caroline “Baroline” Diaz, Pierre “P” Thomas, Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, Ezekiel Lewis, Melissa Victor-Burkhardt, Rick Sackheim, Tramiel “Twin” Clark, Shawn “Tubby” Holiday, Kenoe Jordan, JD Anderson, Girvan “Fly” Henry, Terrence “Punch” Henderson, Emmanuel Cuny, Bu Thiam, Dr. Kevin “Coach K” Lee, Britney Davis, Ebonie Ward, Tammy Brook, Sylvia Rhone, Ethiopia Habtemariam, Courtney Lowery