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The Source Reveals Massive Relaunch

The Source has bounced back from bankruptcy to relaunch with a 20th-anniversary issue and the goal of becoming hip-hop's bible once again.

"It's a very seminal period, an opportunity to both celebrate 20 years of content and the fact that The Source was a leader in chronicling the culture of hip-hop," L. Londell McMillan—a media/entertainment lawyer who purchased the magazine earlier this year alongside investment banker Jeffery Scott—told the Associated Press. "I'm on a mission to restore it to the community that gave birth to it and open the door to those that currently enjoy and influence that hip-hop culture."

One of the ways McMillan hopes to do this is through a new focus on weightier, "multigenerational" issues, including pieces on lifestyle, travel, education, business and more. Not just reviews and features about rap music, in other words. "What we're trying to do is evolve it as hip-hop has evolved," McMillan explained, "and become an international force, to evolve it without losing its core essence that was the centerpiece of its earliest beginnings and greatness."

While they're currently seeking a new editor-in-chief and redesign, The Source's anniversary issue hits stands next week with four different covers, all shot by Spike Lee: LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Queen Latifah and Nas. Magazine industry analysts are mixed on the relaunch idea.

"Nobody can deny the force or the power of The Source," Samir Husni, the journalism chair at the University of Mississippi, said. "But is it the same as it was five years ago? No. It does not deliver with the same punch that it used to."

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
08.14.08