Nas, The Game and will.i.am on the cover of the March/April 2007 issue of Scratch

Scratch is a magazine about the art of creating hip-hop. It features articles regarding producers, musicians and DJs that make beats for rap records, and details the secret methods, stories, partnerships, philosophies and equipment behind the music. The magazine's tagline is "The Blueprint of Hip-Hop". Image File history File links Size of this preview: 443 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (450 × 609 pixel, file size: 55 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This images fair-use status is disputed, because of the following concern: no fair use rationale given If you can address this concern by adding... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 443 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (450 × 609 pixel, file size: 55 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This images fair-use status is disputed, because of the following concern: no fair use rationale given If you can address this concern by adding... For other uses, see Nas (disambiguation). ... Jayceon Terell Taylor (born November 27, 1979 in Los Angeles,[1] California), better known by his stage name The Game, is a multi-platinum American rapper signed to Interscope Records. ... William James Adams Jr. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Scratch is owned by Harris Publications, the same company that publishes the popular hip-hop magazine XXL, as well as King, Rides and Slam. It debuted in January 2004, and is currently published bi-monthly. Various hip-hop producers, DJs and rappers have graced their cover, including Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, RZA, Lil Jon, Kanye West, DJ Drama, Timbaland, Jermaine Dupri, Mannie Fresh, Just Blaze and Eminem. Harris Publications is the publisher of King Magazine, XXL, SLAM, Scratch, Rides, Donk, Box, and Bubbles and among other titles. ... A 2005 cover of XXL, featuring Snoop Dogg and The Game. ... King magazine is a monthly mens magazine geared toward African-American and urban audiences. ... The first issue of SLAM, featuring cover athlete Larry Johnson. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... The Neptunes is the name for the record production duo, consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who have created the sound for some of the most successful Hip Hop, R&B and Pop artists of this decade. ... RZA (IPA pronounciation: //) (born Robert Diggs, July 5, 1969 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, USA) is an American hip hop producer, rapper and actor. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Kanye Omari West (pronounced /kɑn. ... DJ Drama (Dramatic) (born Tyree Cinque Simmons on April 22, 1978 in Philadelphia) is the official DJ for Grand Hustle/Atlantic recording artist T.I., but he is most well-known for his achievements in the mixtape game, producing the popular Gangsta Grillz mix tape series. ... Timothy Z. Mosley (born March 10, 1971), better known as Timbaland, is an American musical composer and R&B record producer and rapper whose style influenced both genres even helping to blur the distinction between the two, as well as Pop and Dance music. ... Jermaine Dupri also known simply as JD (born Jermaine Dupri Mauldin on September 23, 1973) is an American record producer and rapper. ... Mannie Fresh (born Byron Thomas on March 20, 1974 In New Orleans, Louisiana) is the former in-house producer for the successful New Orleans-based record label Cash Money Records. ... Justin Smith (born in Paterson, New Jersey on January 14, 1978), better known as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop music producer. ... Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known as Eminem or Slim Shady, is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning American rapper, record producer and actor from the Detroit, Michigan area. ...

Starting with its March/April 2007 issue, Scratch was relaunched as XXL Presents Scratch. It is now operating under the wing of XXL Magazine, with XXL's former Senior Editor, Online, Brendan Frederick, acting as the new Editor-in-Chief and XXL's current Editor-in-Chief, Elliott Wilson, overseeing the magazine as the Editorial Director. A 2005 cover of XXL, featuring Snoop Dogg and The Game. ...

Since the relaunch of the magazine, and at points beforehand, fans of the magazine have been very critical about the content of the magazine. Many letters have been published in the magazine calling Scratch a Source clone and that is used to focus on the producers that have pioneered the sound of Hip-Hop (i.e. Boogie Down Productions, Dr. Dre, RZA, Marley Marl), but it now focuses only on mainstream Hip-Hop, sub-par production and generic rappers who don't produce, such as Young Jeezy, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, and the like. See The Source (magazine) for the hip-hop magazine. ... Boogie Down Productions (1989) Boogie Down Productions was originally composed of KRS One, D Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... RZA (IPA pronounciation: //) (born Robert Diggs, July 5, 1969 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, USA) is an American hip hop producer, rapper and actor. ... {{Infobox musical artist 2 |Name = John Dixon |Img = JohnDixon. ... Jay Jenkins (born September 28, 1977 in Columbia, South Carolina) formerly known as Lil J currently known as Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Lil Wayne (also known as Lil Wayne, born Dwayne Michael Carter on September 27, 1966 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a American, Grammy-nominated rapper and is known as the president of New Orleans, Louisiana-based label Cash Money Records and Young Money Entertainment. ...

External links

• Scratch's official Myspace
• Scratch's official website