From the very first Freshman class in 2007 to this 12 months’s 18th anniversary, each artist inducted during the last decade-and-a-half shares one factor in frequent: this milestone second of their careers helped function a catalyst for his or her stardom.
Over the past 18 years, XXL has proudly and confidently assumed the accountability of predicting the following rap stars to take over hip-hop. Day-after-day, new artists burst onto the scene with the makings of the following J. Cole or Kendrick Lamar, two former XXL Freshmen from the 2010 and 2011 lessons, respectively. Yearly, a gaggle of artists, whether or not it’s 10, 11 or 12 (and one 12 months even 9), grace the quilt after showcasing the qualities of a hitmaker, turning into a long-standing artist, possessing respectable rapping abilities and extra. No two artists are the identical. Since 2007, XXL has highlighted and supplied a platform for these buzzing abilities, who ultimately change into hip-hop figures in their very own proper.
The query of what makes a Freshman is commonly requested, however when assessing the 194 artists who proudly maintain the coveted title, every rhymer or rap-adjacent artist gives one thing totally different and distinctive to themselves, in addition to the music group as an entire. And should you handpicked a top quality out of a hat, whether or not it is cerebral lyricism, dynamism, grit, eclectic bars after which some, there’s a person within the Freshman household that provides simply that, after which some.
For the 18th anniversary of Freshman, XXL takes a glance again at what every class of artists have provided from their induction 12 months to now.
See What Each XXL Freshman Class Has Delivered to Hip-Hop
What’s your favourite Freshman Class?
