2023 marks five decades of hip-hop, and in celebration of the constantly-evolving art form’s anniversary, Men’s Health spoke to rappers and game-changers Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent, Ludacris, Method Man, Common, and Wiz Khalifa for our “Hip-Hop Is Life” issue.
The six innovators, all of whom appear on the September 2023 cover of Men’s Health, opened about what hip-hop means to them, and how the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of Black men has always been a core principle in the genre.
“Hip-hop did guide a lot of us who weren’t introduced to the concept of health and awareness,” Common explains in his in-depth profile, citing influences like KRS-One and Rakim who rapped about living healthy lives. “I’ve seen it evolve as a lot more people are talking about mental health as part of the health conversation.”
These frank discussions of the issues facing Black men seem to have been well-received on social media. However, much of the reaction to our hip-hop issue on social media was in response to just how good all six of these “rap zaddies” look.
Our photos of “fine as hell” Method in particular have received a lot of attention online—but the man himself isn’t necessarily courting that kind of reputation. “I’m not a sex symbol,” he told Men’s Health during his interview. “Put the words together. Sex and symbol. What’s the symbol? I’m not doing anything.
“I’m not going to lie, I love every freaking minute of it, but I don’t want to be that guy that, when the clock starts winding down, he’s still trying to be that sexy,” he added. “You get to a certain age where you just stop caring, and I think that’s the sexiest thing in the world right there.”
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Philip Ellis is News Editor at Men’s Health, covering fitness, pop culture, sex and relationships, and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV, and he is the author of Love & Other Scams.
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