Vibe Magazine Relaunches, Taps Drake and Chris Brown for Cover

After going under this past June, Vibe Magazine will officially be back on newsstands next week. The new issue will feature dual covers with singer Chris Brown (wearing a shirt asking 'R U Still Down?') and rapper Drake (wearing a shirt stating 'Unstoppable') under the title 'Everybody Loves Drake, Everybody Hates Chris.' The company made the announcement via its Twitter page and Web site, plus released footage of both photo shoots. "Vibe has meant a lot of things to me," Drake said. "Vibe always had vivid imagery so its something I gravitated to as a kid. I used to flip through it and think 'this is what I want my life to be."

Although the reincarnated magazine's promotional tactic pits Brown against Drake, Brown seemed honored to share the cover spot with his somewhat nemesis. "I feel like it's the rebirth of me," Brown said of being on the cover for the third time. "I get a fresh new start. I get a chance to change up and show people who I really am, as an adult. I collaborated with [Vibe] and wanted to be on a whole different level, hopefully both of us can elevate our status."

As previously reported the urban magazine, which was founded by producer Quincy Jones in 1993, went under in June due to slumping sales. "The print advertising collapse hit Vibe hard," said Steve Aaron, CEO of Vibe Media Group. "Key ad categories like automotive and fashion, which represented the bulk of our top 10 advertisers, have stopped advertising or gone out of business."

Upon hearing of Vibe's demise, Jones, who sold the company to a New York based private equity firm, vowed to save the magazine. "I'm trying to buy my magazine back now," he said in an interview. "They just messed my magazine all up, but I'm gonna get it back. You better believe it, I'm [going to] take it online because print and all that stuff is over." Vibe, which continued to maintain a presence online, will re-launch in print as a quarterly publication. Both issues hits stands Dec. 8.