The Enduring Legacy of the XXL Freshman Class
The XXL Freshman Class has become a cornerstone of hip-hop culture since its inception in 2007. This annual tradition, presented by XXL magazine, spotlights rising rap talents poised to become influential figures in the industry. While the selection process and the subsequent careers of those chosen have often sparked debate, the Freshman Class remains a significant platform for emerging artists.
The Genesis of a Hip-Hop Institution
In 2007, when XXL magazine featured rising talents like Lupe Fiasco, Plies, and Papoose on its cover with the tagline "Leaders of the New School," few could have predicted the evolution of this concept into one of hip-hop's most important institutions. Eighteen years and eighteen Freshman magazine covers later, XXL has knighted plenty of promising rookies poised to become staples of the culture.
Evolution of the Freshman Class Concept
The XXL Freshman Class has undergone several transformations over the years, reflecting the changing landscape of hip-hop. The 2009 cover is literally stacked, as the artists are divided into three dope ensemble shots laid atop each other to open the mag. In 2011, the class theme went literal, with the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Mac Miller portrayed in a school setting. By 2013, classes were being compared to those of the past (we wondered aloud and on the cover line if Travis Scott, ScHoolboy Q and Logic's class was G.O.A.T. level). Chance The Rapper sported overalls with no shirt in 2014. The 2016 and 2017 classes were color coordinated, with the former crew having an all-white party and the latter artists rocking all-black on a set drenched in red. In 2020, the likes of Polo G, Rod Wave, NLE Choppa, Lil Tjay and Mulatto appeared on the cover. Out-of-this-world artists for the 2021 XXL Freshman Class included 42 Dugg, Coi Leray, Pooh Shiesty, Flo Milli and Rubi Rose, among others. For 2022, Nardo Wick, Doechii, Saucy Santana, Babyface Ray and SoFaygo were a few of the rappers who broke the mold. The 2023 class was comprised of spitters like GloRilla, Central Cee, Finesse2Tymes and 10th spot winner DC The Don, to name a few.
Selection Process and Notable Snubs
The selection process for the XXL Freshman Class has often been a subject of scrutiny. XXL unveils a new class of hip-hop neophytes that we've stamped as names you need to know (plus, one fan-voted pick per year). Industry insiders, personal opinions, friends, and industry data all play a role in the selection process, which may not always align with the general public's perception. This has led to accusations of bias and bandwagoning when the chosen artists fail to achieve mainstream success.
One notable instance of controversy involves Drake and Nicki Minaj, who both declined to appear on the 2010 cover. According to RapRadar.com, Drake said recently, “[Nicki Minaj and I] were freshmen when [XXL] didn’t put us on.” In an interview with MTV, Nicki Minaj spoke on why she and Drake declined the cover by saying "With all due respect, we felt like we kinda had graduated from the Freshman Class. We felt XXL missed the mark when they didn't put us on the cover prior to that (2009).
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Other artists have also declined the offer for various reasons. Cam'ron wanted Vado to be the center focus and not share the cover with multiple other artists. Stated he was tired and was not up to flying to New York for the photoshoot. Felt beyond the list. YFN Lucci initially refused to play music for XXL and said he didn't want to play any music if he wasn't guaranteed a spot on the list. On Instagram Live, he explained that he respectfully declined due to XXL apparently telling him that he would be the 10th Spot Freshman before the voting process even began. Pop Smoke agreed to be on the cover but he died before he could attend the shoot. XXL originally planned to add him on the cover to honor him, but Pop Smoke's team asked them not to do so.
Missed Opportunities and Untapped Potential
Over the years, the XXL Freshman List has faced criticism for overlooking artists who later achieved significant success. The Kid LAROI, for instance, had already gained considerable recognition by 2020 but was not included in that year's list, likely due to the absence of an official project at the time. YoungBoy Never Broke Again, despite consistently generating impressive streaming numbers, was not offered a spot on the 2018 list.
Migos, who broke into the mainstream in 2013 with their single "Versace," were also notably absent from the Freshman Class. Lil Baby, who had built a strong following in Atlanta and collaborated with Drake on the hit single "Yes Indeed," was surprisingly excluded from the 2018 list.
The Class of 2008: A Look Back at What Could Have Been
XXL debuted the feature in 2007, with a lineup that included Lupe Fiasco, Gorilla Zoe, and Lil Boosie, but took 2008 off before returning in 2009 to hype Kid Cudi, Curren$y, and burgeoning radio stars like Wale and B.o.B. So who would have been the 2008 class? Which rappers would have slid onto the infamous cover in that moment as a new decade loomed and rap’s adoption of the internet was being felt more heavily than ever?
Here's a hypothetical look at who might have been included in a 2008 XXL Freshman Class:
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- Black Milk: A multi-talented rapper/producer from Detroit, Black Milk had been generating buzz in the underground scene for several years. His debut album, 2005’s SOUND OF THE CITY, was a great exercise in flow and introduction to his lyrics for new listeners. He has since signed to a major label, Fat Beats, and also released another album in 2007, POPULAR DEMAND, where he really flexed his talents as a producer, sampling mostly from soul records from artists like Aretha Franklin, The Originals, and The Supremes.
- The Cool Kids: This duo, consisting of Antoine “Sir Michael Rocks” Reed and Evan “Chuck Inglish” Ingersoll, met on MySpace and created a unique blend of alt-hip hop. Traces of Run-DMC and the duo’s initial internet meeting touchpoint, Eric B. & Rakim (who they even sample on the body-contorting “Pump Up The Volume”), can be heard on their debut EP, TOTALLY FLOSSED OUT, a rambunctious collection of bizarre and breathy alt-hip hop.
- Drake: Before achieving mainstream success, Drake, known for his role on DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION, was making waves with his music. Last year, Drake made headlines with the summer jam “Replacement Girl,” and since then has been schemin’ up while on tour with Young Money Records founder, Lil Wayne. Last September’s release of COMEBACK SEASON marked the second mixtape for the Canadian-born rapper and proved that he can go from 0 to 100 pretty damn quick.
- Hurricane Chris: Hailing from Shreveport, Louisiana, his sharp regional accent is a unique spin atop the high-pitched synths and drums that coat most of his debut album, 51/50 RATCHET. The album is fully loaded with tracks that will excite Southern house parties and late night club goers for the foreseeable future.
- Illa J: Following the passing of his brother, J Dilla, Illa J decided to pursue music and continue his brother's legacy. He’s set to release his debut album, YANCEY BOYS, later this year, a record entirely produced by his late, great brother and given to Illa J by Mike Ross, founder of Delicious Vinyl.
- Max B: Jim Jones may have just lost his golden boy, fellow ByrdGang member and Harlem native Max Bigavelli. In the past two years, the 30-year-old has already released four mixtapes, each jam-packed with certified bangers.
- Santogold: With a blend of new wave, hip hop, and electronica she’s been drawing comparisons to M.I.A., but over a very quick several of months we’ve seen her go from virtually unknown to releasing one of 2008’s most memorable albums. Sometimes a straight alternative rocker, sometimes a pop star, and sometimes a fire-spitting bounce artist, you can’t quite pin down Santogold.
- Soulja Boy: As Kanye West’s GRADUATION showed us last year, the future of mainstream rap is bright and pulsating with arena intentions, house and indie rock undercurrents, and an infectious neon buzz. No other rapper this past year has pissed off more people than the man born DeAndre Cortez Way, a scrappy upstart from Chicago taking the world by storm as the vanguard of what the kids are calling “ringtone rap.”
- Uffie: After making some serious waves in the Myspace community with her electro-rap bauble “Pop the Glock” in 2006, Uffie went for the victory lap a year later with her feature on Justice’s “TThhEe PPaARRtTTY.” With barely a handful of singles to her name, she’s already managed to trailblaze in a scene becoming saturated with sound-alikes.
The Class of 2009: The Blog Era
Lucky for them, the culture was experiencing a new wave of artists flooding the game through an entirely new method of breaking the industrial barriers: blog success. At the time of the list’s publication, B.o.B was the fan favorite as he took the mainstream over by storm with arguably the perfect radio records created by an artist in the blog era. The shift in perception was brutal as the golden boy that resembled this generation’s Andre 3000 would become a shelved afterthought in the years to come. B.o.B was still fortunate enough to salvage some of his image to mold an independent path for himself, but it was never enough to match his undefeated prime run.
Coined as the begrudging creator of hip-hop’s least innovative sub-genre, “frat rap”, Asher Roth has come a long way since his early days of sleeping in the bread aisle. After trusting his intuition and following his own creative direction, he was labeled a bust as he wasn’t able to meet the industry requirements that they laid out for him. Surprisingly enough, this worked out for the better as Asher was finally able to detach himself from the overbearing machine of mainstream record labels and found a better fit as an indie artist.
Wale is quite arguably the most polarizing name on this list. At one point in time, Wale was placed on a pedestal next to the Drakes and Kid Cudis of the hip-hop world, wooing lyrical analysts while putting the DMV on the map. The combined effort of touching poetic content and vibrant go-go music helped him stand out in the diverse landscape of the early blog era days allowing him to become the people’s choice for the voice of their generation. Thankfully, Wale continues to see success today in all of his creative endeavors but the grass wasn’t always green as the trajectory of his career went through many peaks and troughs over the years.
Easily the most intriguing “what-if” cases of this time period, Charles Hamilton once wielded the talent and position to turn himself into a generational artist. If you think rappers nowadays have terrible PR, Charles reputation took a hit that no artist could ever recover from. Struggles with mental illness coupled with legal issues were enough to bury Charles Hamilton’s career alongside everything attached.
Ace Hood’s tenure at the top of hip-hop’s food chain was a short but sweet run. Fully backed by DJ Khaled’s We The Best imprint, Ace Hood quickly became a force to be reckoned with as he built himself to be the era’s most notorious hustler. From the outside looking in, it looked as if Ace Hood would go on to share the same success as the culture’s most beloved hustlers such as Jadakiss or Cam’ron; and while he did completely take over the game for a minute, his reign was very short lived.
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Though he experienced glimpses of success throughout his temporary tenures at No Limit and Cash Money, Curren$y didn’t really pop off as a solo act until the blog era. A breath of fresh air in NOLA’s bounce-heavy scene, Curren$y aka the Hot Spitta found his niche simply by going with the flow of his weed-oriented raps. Just like the grand majority of this list (and blog artists as a whole), Spitta had no plans on conforming to any trends allowing him to thrive as a trail blazer in his own right.
An immediate standout amongst his peers and a hero to an entire generation, Cudi was the only artist aside from Wale who was truly projected for mainstream success. Each name mentioned in this list had their own run on radio in one way or another, but what Cudi was able to do in this time was truly unique and was able to sustain a typically unattainable level of longevity. Seriously, ask any artist who debuted past 2010 who their main influence is and nine times out of ten Kid Cudi will be the answer.
In a time where Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint was preparing to lift off the ground, Weezy would find a solid signee in the son of a New York hip-hop legend. Heir to the acclaimed Bronx-native, Peter Gunz, Cory Gunz would continue the tradition of hip-hop in his bloodline by seeking his own tenure in the culture. Fortunate for him, it was fairly easier to gain traction in his career then compared to when his father was coming up as his battle-rap style bars led him to an opportunity past his city’s borders. However, things didn’t really work out all the way for Cory Gunz and we would’ve hoped.
Just like his style, Blu was an odd standout on this list. This isn’t sayin that he wasn’t talented to make the list - as a matter of fact, he’s overqualified for a placement on this list - but the LA native had already existed across hip-hop forums for two years and some change. Blu already wielded a unanimous underground classic with the Exile-produced, Below the Heavens, but at this point, it seemed like the bizarre emcee was ready to take things to the next level.
Mickey Factz as an option for a list of this caliber was a no-brainer. At the time, Mickey was a key contributor to the blog influence on hip-hop, sharing the same spotlight with artists such as The Cool Kids and Drake. Though he was projected to become one of the big dogs of the new generation, it sadly didn’t exactly pan out as planned for Mickey as he never really reached the same pinnacle of his early days; but through thick and thin, he weathered the storm as he consistently released mixtapes and continued to sharpen his pen. This allowed for Factz to build a dedicated fanbase that would uplift him to the point where he would in the position to open his own rap academy.
The Freshman Class as a Barometer of Success
The XXL Freshman List is often seen as a predictor of future success, but its accuracy has been debated. While some alumni have gone on to become superstars, others have faded into obscurity. Lil Mosey put it best when he remarked, “When you a (XXL) Freshman and, shit, you either made it or you the next to go crazy.” This sentiment captures the essence of the XXL Freshman List, serving as an affirmation of talent, promise, and star power from the hip-hop community to its rising prospects.
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