So, XXL dropped their long awaited Freshman year list a few days ago, and the internet went up into flames. Why? Because XXL left off so many obvious candidates for whatever reason.
There were a number of obvious snubs, and it makes no sense why certain artists were left off. There’s a lot of new talent out right now, and the magazine missed out on some potential stars. Who knows? Maybe they turned down the cover. XXL will always have their reasons as to why someone made the cut and who didn’t, but we’re here to talk about a few obvious choices.
Congrats to those who made it, but here are five artists that could have stood in those artists places instead of some that actually made the list.
Name: Tee Grizzley
Age: 23
Hails From: Detroit, Mi
Essential Listening: First Day Out, My Moment
This is the biggest snub of the year on this list. What’s even more confusing is XXL is clearly hip to Tee Grizzley’s music, as they post him pretty often. Tee has a hotter track than anyone currently on the list. “First Day Out” > “Caroline,” “Everyday We Lit,” “Magnolia” and whatever else. We’ll probably hear that song for years upon years. Tee Grizzley gave us what maybe the hardest track since Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares,” honestly. It’s four minutes of literally all bars, and as his first showing, dude showed us he can really rap. If that wasn’t enough, he then followed up with his debut mixtape My Moment. He tried his hands at just more than rapping, and added a few tracks singing, but the ones that were raps, Tee flexed some great lyrical chops. If he keeps at it, he’ll have a very long tenure in the rap game, because his authenticty and ability to rap are both unmatched.
Come on, XXL.
Name: Smino
Age: 25
Hails From: St. Louis, MO
Essential Listening: Blkswn
Smino has one of our favorite albums this year. We got hip to him because of a friend out in Missouri, where Smino’s from, and fell in love with the music. No ones making shit like this guy. No one’s making the melodies he’s making, and dude still has bars. He’s super witty, and uses the most simple of words to describe things. “Coconut beamer, oiled up, switching lanes/Chocolate interior, that’s a bellyache.” No one is using those type of metaphors, and he often times mixes his bars with singing and rapping effortlessly. Paired with producer Monte Booker, he’s always given a beautiful sound palette to lay down his vocals and does the most with them. Even though he just dropped his debut, we can’t wait to hear what he has in store next. If you get a chance check him out on that Swanita tour, because we’ve only heard good things from it.
Name: YFN Lucci
Age: 26
Hails From: Atlanta, GA
Essential Listening: Wish Me Well 2
YFN Lucci has been buzzing around Atlanta for a time now, and after Wish Me Well 2 dropped, his buzz picked up in way more places than that. He then started to roll in the features, and that’s where he gained more popularity. He dropped bars on songs for 2 Chainz, Migos, Lil Durk, Meek Mill & more. He really hit paydirt with the Quavo assisted “Key To The Streets,” which quickly shot up the charts. Just when he could have cooled off, he dropped a hit with PNB Rock on “Everyday We Lit,” and blew up even more. Currently those two songs sit at 53 and 30 million views on YouTube. To keep the streets fed, he just recently released the tape Long Live Nutt.
Go cop that and keep up with him as he keeps dropping hits.
Name: 6lack
Age: 24
Hails From: Atlanta, GA
Essential Listening: Free 6Black
More heat from Atlanta. We don’t know how XXL missed 6lack because this was pretty much a given. He’s dropped arguably the best R&B project in the last year, and easily one of the best. Free 6lack is stacked from beginning to end with banger after banger, and every song he remixed like Future’s “Perky’s Calling” he did justice on. In addition to that, he’s been on tour with The Weeknd, and that’s giving him a massive help as far as getting more exposure and more fans. People are clamoring for his next project, and whenever that drops we’re sure he’s going to blow up even more.
Name: Noname
Age: 25
Hails From: Chicago, IL
Essential Listening: Telefone
We can see how XXL missed this one. Noname is no gimmicks, no publicity, none of that. She’s all music and no talking. She started rapping alongside Chance The Rapper and gave him a run for his money on almost every verse she opposed him in. She dropped loosies on Soundcloud for a time, before finally liberating her debut tape Telefone. Noname hails from Chicago, and you can hear it through her music effortlessly. She speaks on the violence, oppression and other problems that the inner city faces, but the wide range of flows she has keeps you guessing and interested. She dropped a great verse on Smino’s “Amphetamine, and we might want to cherish it, because she said that’s the last she’s dropping for a minute. Given her history, we believe her. XXL missed out on this her, but we’ll let them slide because of her demeanor.
Honorable Mention: Don Q
Age: 26
Hails From: Bronx, NY
Essential Listening: Corner Stories, HOT 97 Freestyle
How did XXL put A Boogie on but forget his labelmate Don Q? That’s like putting on Lil Bibby without G Herbo. Oh wait, they did that too. So if that’s any indication, maybe we’ll see Don Q next year. He had the chops to make it this year, though. Easy. Don has been getting great verses off for awhile now and with each mixtape, his fan base grows. He’s one of the best from New York in quite some time, and if you don’t believe us just listen to that freestyle above. He can really rip given the chance. He has a lot of progression in him, so as time goes on he’s only going to get bigger. He didn’t get his shot this year, but hopefully XXL gets hip before next.