Temperature’s Rising
Meteorologist Nick Kosir is making it rain across social media with hip-hop-fueled forecasts and viral content creations.
Interview: Joey Echevarria
Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Summer 2026 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website.
By day, Nick Kosir appears on TV from New York City, delivering the forecast as a meteorologist and cohost for FOX Weather. By night, the 42-year-old Cleveland native becomes the Dancing Weatherman, a content creator whose blend of hip-hop and comedy has earned him more than 10 million followers across social media.
Nick, who’s been a rap fan since childhood, worked as a radio DJ while attending the University of Akron from 2003 to 2005, and became then known as “The Rapping Weatherman” for delivering rhyming forecasts during his first full-time meteorology job at KBTV in Beaumont, Texas, in 2008.
In 2019, Nick’s life changed when a video of him dancing to Mr_Hotspot’s “Slide Like This” went viral. Now, he sneaks Drake’s Iceman and Cardi B’s “Outside” references into weather reports and his popular “Issa Snow Day” parody of 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” has millions of views. Here, the Webby Award winner and the Academy of Cinema and Entertainment 2025 Influencer of the Year discusses hip-hop’s influence on mainstream culture, memorable moments he’s shared with rappers, his top five and more.
XXL: How would you describe how you feel about hip-hop music and the culture it represents?
Nick Kosir: Hip-hop culture is one of the most influential forces in the world when it comes to shaping trends, fashion and the way people express themselves. What fascinates me is what starts in a hip-hop song, if it’s popular, it eventually makes its way into mainstream culture. We’ve seen it for decades. Whether it’s style or dance or words like bling bling, there’s something infectious about hip-hop and rap culture. Hip-hop doesn’t follow trends, it creates them.
Who are your top five favorite rappers?
I’ve always wanted to have somebody relevant ask me this question. This list might make some waves, but I’m sticking to it. Number one, Lil Wayne. As a millennial, he’s our rap God. His wordplay, his metaphors, the mixtape run, the sheer volume of work. Number two is Biggie. I don’t have to explain much about that. He’s an icon. Number three, Eminem. I don’t think any other rapper has ever dedicated as much energy into the technical skill and the rhyming structures that he has.
At number four, 50 Cent. If an alien landed on Earth and said, “Nick, what’s rap music?” I’d give them Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Then, I’m going Drake, number five. He’s polarizing, but he’s been running the show for 10-plus years. When the dust settles, we’ll have to sit back and think about Drake as a top five artist.
Who would you consider to be the “Nick Kosir” of the rap game?
I would say Soulja Boy. What I have always loved about him was that he leaned into the internet way before social media became the center of entertainment and music promotion. He understood virality before most people even really knew what that word meant. I’ve leaned into social media a lot, certainly more than I think most traditional media figures have. We both recognized earlier that you have to go to where the audience is at rather than trying to convince them to come to you.
What are some of the best interactions you’ve had with rappers?
Back in 2019, Lil Nas X tapped me to make a video for him to open up the MTV Video Music Awards. That was huge. I’ve hung out with Flo Rida a few times. He comes and performs at my job. Recently, I had Fetty Wap in the studio, which was so cool. He’s just a special dude.
At one point, we started talking about how he was considering getting into the HVAC business. I started telling him about the impacts of how the weather could influence HVAC. It’s me talking to a platinum-selling rapper about heating and cooling.
How would you like to further incorporate hip-hop into your line of work?
I incorporate the rap lyrics and stuff into the weather forecasts. That’s had success. That shows me that there’s an appetite for rap on TV. I’ve always been told that I’d be a good game show host. I feel like there could be a cool game show, maybe a trivia competition type of show, like a hip-hop Jeopardy! I think that would bring all of the generations of rap fans together.
Nick Kosir’s interview in the 2026 XXL Freshman issue is available to purchase here. In addition to interviews with the 2026 XXL Freshman Class and DJ Drama, there are also conversations with T.I., Swae Lee, Sexyy Red, Young M.A, Diamond*, Cash Cobain, Skilla Baby, Lil Tjay and more, plus a look back at what the 2025 XXL Freshman Class has been doing and explore the cultural impact of the 2016 XXL Freshman Class and where its members are today.
See 2026 XXL Freshman Class
