XXL 14

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.