Ranking Every XXL Freshman Class from WORST to BEST
Ranking Every XXL Freshman Class (2007-Present) from WORST to BEST: 13-6
The BOLD indicates the winner of the fan-voted 10th spot.
Hits: Indicates the artist is still very relevant in the MAINSTREAM hip-hop scene.
Mehs: Indicates either the artist was massive but significantly fell off or the noise they made was here and there.
Misses: Indicates the artist has little to no relevance. People don’t care if they drop music anymore or ever.
(The Worst)
Freshmen:
Fetty Wap, Dej Loaf, Shy Glizzy, Kidd Kidd, Tink, Goldlink, Raury, K Camp, Vince Staples, OG Maco
Hits:
Vince Staples
Mehs:
Fetty Wap, Dej Loaf, K Camp, Shy Glizzy, Tink
Misses:
Goldlink, OG Maco, Raury, Kidd Kidd
I understand why this class was put together at the time but what makes this class so bad is the severe lack of relevance now. A lot of these artists either started hot and cooled off significantly or never really blew up to begin with. Fetty Wap was MASSIVE back in 2015 and was really seen as the star of the class but as of 2017, he’s fallen off pretty hard. Dej Loaf was also on the come up but after 2017, very little was heard from her. Shy Glizzy and K Camp have their own loyal fan bases and are both solid artists but neither artist has achieved mainstream relevance. I don’t know why Kidd Kidd was even on this list. XXL can’t convince me that the fans thought Kidd Kidd — who was in his 30s when the list came out — was the next big thing. OG Maco had that really popular Vine song and that was kinda it. Don’t see why Raury made the list either as he’s not really in the rap category, in my opinion — outside of some features with Jaden Smith, he hasn’t released really any music as well. Tink had a lot of potential. And while she’s very talented, her lack of music releases ultimately led to her downfall. She waited so long to drop music that people eventually stopped waiting. Goldlink had his hit song, ‘Crew’ with Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy but that’s about the only relevant song that’s dropped since 2016; and even then the only reason the song was as big as it’s become was because of the melodic hook by Faiyaz. Vince Staples is the most relevant name on this list. The Long Beach artist has a very entertaining personality and makes great music. Big Fish Theory and FM! — which dropped in 2017 and 2018, respectively — both did great on the music charts, he has also gone into film and television.
Notable snubs:
ILoveMakkonen
PartyNextDoor
Both were approached by XXL but neither followed up and were subsequently left off the list.
Freshmen:
Amine, Kap G, Kyle, Ugly God, Madeintyo, Playboi Carti, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Kamaiyah, PNB Rock, XXXTentacion (RIP)
Hits:
Playboi Carti, Amine, XXXTentacion
Mehs:
A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Kyle, PNB Rock
Misses:
Ugly God, Kap G, Kamaiyah, Madeintyo
The biggest missed opportunity class in XXL history. When this list dropped, more people were complaining about who didn’t make the list. This list got a ton of backlash from music fans, and for good reason. Aside from a few names, this list is trash. Playboi Carti may not be the best rapper but he does make good music. After blowing up with his song “Magnolia”, Carti had a rise in popularity. Carti has built himself a sizeable fanbase that consistently supports him. ‘Die Lit’ and ‘Whole Lotta Red’ both did well, despite the latter receiving a fair share of backlash. Playboi Carti is still very relevant in the rap game.
Amine has dropped numerous great projects since being on the cover, “Good For You” and “Limbo” both did great on the charts. Kap G was an odd choice to be picked for the cover. Most people didn’t know who he was or only knew him for being in the 2015 movie ‘Dope’. Most people don’t even remember he was on the list. If Kap G drops a project, either no one will know or no one will care—probably both.
Kamaiyah isn’t a bad rapper, she’s just unbelievably boring. She has some songs here and there but nothing memorable. Most people thought Rico Nasty should’ve been picked ahead of her.
PnB Rock has been quiet as of late. He has a very interesting mix of singing and rapping in his style. But as of 2020, he hasn’t made any kind of noise. He dropped a project in 2019 called ‘Trapstar Turnt Popstar’ and that’s been it.
Kyle had ‘I Spy’ with Lil Yachty and that song blew up. He’s also broken out into acting and other ventures. He dropped ‘See You When I am Famous!!!!!!!!!!!!’ in 2020. While he’s not like a huge star, he’s still relevant in some way.
Ugly God never really got taken seriously anyway. He’s a corny, joke type rapper. He’s most famous for a diss track on himself, so I didn’t really expect much, to be honest.
A Boogie wit da Hoodie still puts out music and is a good artist. He dropped ‘Artist 2.0’ in 2020 and that did okay. He’s like PnB Rock, both are kind of hit or miss.
And finally, XXXTentacion. Easily the biggest star on the list, X has a bond with his fan base like no other. He put out great music and has a cult following. He was versatile and some might even say he influenced others in the rap game. His debut album ‘17’ went double platinum and his song “Sad” off of his ‘?’ album has amassed over 1 billion views on YouTube. Unfortunately on June 18th, 2018, X was murdered in Deerfield Beach, Florida after a failed robbery attempt. He left behind the mother of his child, Jenesis Sanchez, and a son named Gekyume. May X Rest In Peace.
Notable snubs:
Young M.A
Cardi B
Famous Dex
YFN Lucci
Young M.A felt she was too big for XXL and wanted a solo cover, XXL declined. XXL couldn’t decide if Cardi B was a bigger TV star or rapper so they left her off. YFN Lucci refused to play any music for XXL if they didn’t guarantee him a spot on the list and Famous Dex was caught on video assaulting his girlfriend. In the case of X, there was no evidence against him according to XXL and he had a greater influence on this generation so they left him on the cover. I’ll just add this last part, Lil Baby being snubbed this year is arguably the BIGGEST SNUB in XXL History.
Freshmen:
Smokepurpp, Lil Pump, BlocBoy JB, Trippie Redd, YBN Nahmir, Wifisfuneral, Stefflon Don, Ski Mask The Slump God, J.I.D
Hits:
J.I.D, Trippie Redd, Ski Mask The Slump God
Mehs:
Stefflon Don
Misses:
Smokepurpp, Lil Pump, BlocBoy JB, YBN Nahmir, Wifisfuneral
The “We Got Clout” class couldn’t maintain the clout for very long. The reason why this class is so low is that although this is a recent list, most of the bigger names have faded out of the spotlight. J.I.D has had massive success since appearing on the list with his releases generally receiving positive reviews. Easily, the most talented on the whole list, I only see J.I.D going up from here.
Trippie Redd has also seen growth from the list. He had a loyal fanbase and has released plenty of music since being on the list.
Stefflon Don is massive in the U.K. She had a big hit with French Montana a few years ago but she hasn’t made as much noise on the U.S charts.
YBN Nahmir has fallen completely off. YBN as a collective has been silent for years—losing Cordae was a big blow to the group. YBN Nahmir was actually clowned by fans for promoting businesses on Instagram leading fans to believe that he’s broke. Denying claims that he’s fallen off, he came back in 2021 with the single “Opp Stoppa” with 21 Savage.
BlocBoy JB was kind of a phase. Much like the shoot dance, he fell off fast. After songs such as “Look Alive” and “Rover 2.0”, he couldn’t stay hot. The Drake feature was huge as “Look Alive” was in the Top 10 on the US Charts for weeks, however, he’s been irrelevant as of late.
Smokepurpp is down so bad, it’s almost laughable. He finally released his debut album ‘Deadstar 2’ in 2019 and well……(crickets). Then he released ‘Florida Jit’ in 2020 but that went triple Aluminum Foil.
Wifisfuneral hasn’t released much music since being on the list. He even went into temporary retirement before dropping his debut ‘Pain?’ in 2020. Haven’t heard anything else about him.
Lastly is Smokepurpp’s tag team partner, Lil Pump—one of the biggest falloffs in XXL history. Lil Pump was on fire in 2018, easily one of the biggest young artists out at the time. “Gucci Gang” stayed on Billboard the whole damn year. So the fact that Lil Pump has to do all these little antics to stay relevant now is pretty sad. Famous for his beef with J. Cole, Cole warned the young Pump to be smart and invest in his future as something like this could happen. Lil Pump’s latest antics saw him endorse Donald Trump for re-election in the 2020 Presidential Election. He wasn’t even a registered voter. Much like BlocBoy JB, Desiigner, and some other XXL Freshmen, Pump failed to capitalize on his early success.
Notable snubs:
Lil Skies
Rich the Kid
Lil Skies claimed the list was rigged after XXL told him that he had won the 10th fan vote. Skies claimed XXL had approached him to be a Freshman before voting even started. Rich the Kid was then approached with the opportunity which he initially accepted but when he heard he was a substitute for Lil Skies, he declined as well.
Freshmen:
Plies, Lupe Fiasco, Saigon, Rich Boy, Crooked I, Young Dro, Papoose, Joell Ortiz, Gorilla Zoe, Lil Boosie
Hits:
Plies, Lupe Fiasco, Lil Boosie
Mehs:
Crooked I, Young Dro, Joell Ortiz, Papoose
Misses:
Saigon, Rich Boy, Gorilla Zoe
The OG XXL class. XXL decided in 2007 that they were going to create a list of 10 rappers people should be on the lookout for. They were trying to predict who was gonna be big in the rap game in years’ time. Lil Boosie is one of the legends off of this list. Releasing songs like “Set It Off” and “Wipe Me Down”, Boosie’s music has been a staple in the culture for years. Both songs are iconic being played at functions, cookouts, and homecomings—”Wipe Me Down” doubles as the official stroll song for the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Aside from timeless music, Boosie’s internet antics have kept him in the spotlight. His Instagram Lives are hilarious and he’s probably even more popular now than back in 2007.
Much like Boosie, Plies also has songs that stand the test of time. Songs like “Shawty”, “Bust It Baby Pt. 2” and “Hypnotized” stay in the playlists of millennials and Gen Z kids. He’s shown he’s capable of making hits when he released “Ran off on Da Plug Twice” in early 2016 and it was extremely popular. Plies is known more for his Instagram Lives where he speaks on certain topics and gives advice.
Papoose is still a bit relevant but it’s only really because of his appearance on Love and Hip Hop with Remy Ma.
Saigon never really blew up at all. As of 2020, he’s now signed to Tech N9ne’s label Strange Music but before that hadn’t dropped anything since 2014. He took a hiatus and no one cared.
Crooked I and Joell Ortiz were part of Slaughterhouse with Joe Budden and Royce da 5’9. But when the group disbanded in 2018, they went silent. Neither has done much since. Young Dro had the popular “Shoulder Lean” song and dance but that quickly died down too.
Rich Boy had one song and that was it. Plus he hasn’t released any new music since 2013 so he never really got going.
Gorilla Zoe didn’t become anything either. His last album drop was 2011 and since then he’s dropped a mixtape and a single, the latter coming out in 2018.
Lupe Fiasco is one of the most influential and legendary artists to ever appear on XXL. His music has stood the test of time. He’s still very relevant and makes great music. He’s had the best career out of everyone on this cover.
Freshmen:
Ace Hood, Asher Roth, B.o.B, Cory Gunz, Kid Cudi, Wale, Mickey Factz, Blu, Charles Hamilton, Curren$y
Hits:
Kid Cudi, Curren$y, Wale
Mehs:
Ace Hood
Misses:
Asher Roth, B.o.B, Blu, Charles Hamilton, Mickey Factz
What more can be said about Kid Cudi? One of the most legendary and influential artists of all time. He’s influenced artists such as Kanye West, Travis Scott, Drake, Lil Yachty, Juice WRLD, etc. He brought mental health and “emo rap” into the mainstream. All of his ‘Man on the Moon’ albums are well received by fans and music critics alike. One of the greatest artists to ever appear on XXL, Kid Cudi is an icon.
Wale makes and puts out good music but he’s definitely taken a step back over the years. He’ll normally have a big single every few years—similar to French Montana—and is still very relevant in the game.
B.o.B started hot with projects like ‘The Adventures of Bobby Ray’ and ‘Strange Clouds’ but after 2013 we haven’t heard anything in terms of music. He’s more famous for his belief in conspiracy theories.
Asher Roth was more of a phase than anything else. He had that one hit song and that was it.
Charles Hamilton never really caught on as a rapper. He’s been on numerous labels and has even branched into acting a bit; but otherwise, he’s forgettable.
Most people don’t even know who either Mickey Factz or Blu are and I don’t blame you. Factz hasn’t dropped anything since 2017. Blu never caught on in a mainstream sense. He’s made some noise here and there on the underground scene has yet to break beyond that.
Cory Gunz was just a failed Young Money signee. His biggest claim to fame was being featured on “6ft 7ft” by Lil Wayne on ‘Tha Carter IV’.
Ace Hood was really big at first but has cooled off significantly. He had early success with hits like “Overtime”, “Hustle Hard”, and “Bugatti” but he was signed to DJ Khaled and had a ton of issues with putting out music on the label. As of 2016, he’s an independent artist.
Curren$y is still at the top of his game. Extremely consistent, he drops music literally months at a time. He’s still alive and well in the rap game.
Freshmen:
Kid Ink, French Montana, Danny Brown, Iggy Azalea, Macklemore, Don Trip, Machine Gun Kelly, Roscoe Dash, Hopsin, Future
Hits:
Future, French Montana, Machine Gun Kelly
Mehs:
Danny Brown, Macklemore
Misses:
Iggy Azalea, Don Trip, Roscoe Dash
I always thought Kid Ink was extremely corny. He has a couple of nice songs with Chris Brown in the mid-2010s but we haven’t heard from him in years.
French Montana is someone I don’t think is a great rapper, personally, but he’s still relevant in the game. He normally has a big hit every few years. He’s one of the more successful rappers off of this cover.
Danny Brown is a good rapper, he’s just not mainstream.
Iggy Azalea is complete garbage in my opinion. She was the 10th pick for this class and while she enjoyed a bit of a run around 2013-14, it died down quickly. Even T.I, who signed Azalea back in 2012, went on to say he regretted doing so. She has since birthed a child with fellow XXL Freshmen and ex-boyfriend, Playboi Carti.
Macklemore is in kind of a weird space. He used to be huge around 2012 but now he’s in a middle ground. He’s not irrelevant but he’s not as big as he used to be. ‘The Heist’ was a great album—still didn’t deserve the Grammy that year—and compared to everyone else, he did alright for himself.
Don Trip is someone most people don’t know. He has one notable body of work since being on the cover, a trilogy of mixtapes named ‘Step Brothers’. While ‘Step Brothers 3’ did pretty well, that’s one notable album in nearly 10 years.
Machine Gun Kelly has etched out a nice career for himself. He’s not only relevant to rap but in film and other ventures. His sound has evolved from rap to many other different genres—similar to Post Malone—and he’s known for his feud with Eminem. He’s currently dating actress, Megan Fox, so it’s safe to say MGK lived up to the cover.
Roscoe Dash was absolutely massive back in 2012. Sweeping the nation with hits like “All The Way Turnt Up” and featuring on “No Hands”, many thought Roscoe Dash was gonna be the next big thing. Some even consider Roscoe Dash an influential part of the early 2010s. But much like fellow Freshmen Fetty Wap, Desiigner, and BlocBoy JB, he couldn’t maintain that wave of popularity. Dash had one of the harder falloffs in recent XXL history. He hasn’t released anything since 2014 and he was last seen driving for Uber in 2017.
Hopsin was the “lyricist” of the class and many were excited when he was announced as a Freshmen. But he’s not nearly as big as he used to be. He had a great run with the ‘Ill Mind’ series and even started his own label Funk Volume in 2009. As of 2016, Funk Volume has disbanded. After taking a brief hiatus in 2019, he announced in 2020 that an album was coming soon.
Last but not least, Mr. Hendrxx. Future is without a doubt one of the biggest artists ever to appear on XXL. Everyone knows who Future is and if you don't, why are you reading this? Many great projects and features, Future is a legend in the game. Not much has to be said.
Notable snubs:
ASAP Rocky
Couldn’t appear on the cover due to scheduling conflicts. He was on tour at the time.
Freshmen:
Kevin Gates, Vic Mensa, August Alsina, Isaiah Rashad, Chance the Rapper, Lil Bibby, Jon Connor, Jarren Benton, Troy Ave, Lil Durk, Rich Homie Quan, Ty Dolla $ign
Hits:
Chance the Rapper, Lil Durk, Ty Dolla $ign
Mehs:
Kevin Gates, August Alsina, Isaiah Rashad
Misses:
Troy Ave, Jon Connor, Jarren Benton, Lil Bibby, Vic Mensa
Kevin Gates started really good with “2 Phones” and “I Don’t Get Tired” but after spending about three years in jail, that cooled off his momentum. He released an EP in 2019 and I haven’t heard much else.
Vic Mensa had a lot of early hits when he was collaborating with Kanye West but after Kanye left, he’s fallen out of rotation. He’s been more famous for controversy lately; dissing the deceased XXXTentacion at the October 2018 BET Cypher. Many thought it was done in extremely poor taste due to X passing away just months earlier. Mensa later went on to apologize for the incident. He dropped his debut album ‘The Autobiography’ in 2017—which sold 15,000 in its first week. Mensa did release ‘V Tape’ in August 2020 but not a lot of noise was made.
August Alsina being picked for the list was already a head scratcher but he hasn’t done much music-wise since being on the cover. The last we heard from August was when he was his involvement in the Jada Pickett-Will Smith “entanglement” saga. He dropped a song with Rick Ross called “Entanglements” but that’s been about it.
Isaiah Rashad being part of that TDE clique will always keep him relevant, in my opinion. He’s a fantastic rapper and being alongside so many great talents of the game will do nothing but help his career. He dropped ‘The Sun’s Tirade’ in 2016 and it peaked at 17 on the Billboard 200 charts. He announced that another project ‘The House is Burning’ will be dropping in 2021.
Chance the Rapper is one of the bigger artists on the cover. He’s had plenty of success since appearing on XXL. He dropped his well-received project ‘Coloring Book’ in 2016 and it debuted at 8 on the Billboard 200. It’s also the lone streaming-only album to win a Grammy. He’s gone on to do commercials for Nike and Kit Kat. He co-wrote Kanye West’s ‘Life of Pablo’ album and appears on tracks such as “Ultralight Beam”. In 2019, Chance finally dropped his debut album, I love my wife, the album…. I mean ‘The Big Day.’ It was met with poor reviews but due to his solid footing in the game, it will be hard for him to truly be irrelevant anytime soon.
Lil Bibby was actually the last person picked for the list, filling in for Young Thug—more on that later. Soon after being on the cover, Bibby dropped ‘Free Crack 2’ earning positive reviews and fanfare. But unfortunately for Bibby, that’s the most notable thing in the last 7-8 years. He hasn’t dropped any music since 2018, citing label issues. He even started a #FreeBibby hashtag back in 2018.
Jon Connor and Jarren Benton are both very talented rappers but neither blew up from being on the cover. Connor hasn’t released any music since a single with Keke Palmer in 2016 and Benton has a project with Roc Nation coming out soon but…….(crickets).
Troy Ave is only known for his controversial incident he was arrested and charged with attempted murder back in 2016 with popular podcaster, Taxstone. Much like Vic Mensa, you don’t really hear about his music. Outside of that, he has a feud with Joey Bada$$ in which Troy Ave came after Joey’s deceased friend, Capital Steez, who committed suicide in December 2012. Those two incidents are Troy Ave’s whole rap career.
Lil Durk is one of the biggest artists on the cover and could arguably be the biggest rapper on here as of 2021. 2020 was the year for Lil Durk. He would drop some great projects such as ‘Just Cause Y’all Waited 2’ which debuted at 5 on the Billboard 200, ‘The Voice’, and a hit single with Drake “Laugh Now, Cry Later”. Durkio has finally ascended to the upper echelon tier of hip hop. Although he lost his close friend King Von in 2020, I don’t see Lil Durk stopping anytime soon.
Rich Homie Quan had a ton of hype going into 2013-14 and it’s no surprise he got picked for the class. But after 2015, he stopped making music. He made a brief return in 2018 dropping his project ‘Rich As In Spirit’ but that’s one notable thing in the past 7 years.
Arguably the biggest artist on this list is Ty Dolla $ign. Who doesn’t have a feature with this man? He is on just about every hook on the damn Billboard hip-hop chart which was fitting his 2020 project was titled ‘Featuring Ty Dolla $ign.’ He’s only going to continue to climb and get better.
Notable snubs:
Young Thug
He literally no-showed the day of the shoot. He just didn’t show up.
Freshmen:
Mulatto, 24KGoldn, Fivio Foreign, Calboy, Lil Tjay, Baby Keem, Lil Keed, Jack Harlow, Chika, Rod Wave, NLE Choppa
Since it’s early these are only PREDICTIONS
Hits:
Mulatto, Jack Harlow, NLE Choppa, Rod Wave
Mehs:
Chika, Lil Tjay, Fivio Foreign, 24KGoldn, Calboy
Misses:
Lil Keed, Baby Keem
Mulatto has a very strong fanbase behind her. Women support her so I predict she’ll be around for a while.
Jack Harlow, I can see having a Post Malone type of career. He’s very entertaining and is a great rapper. He’s also well rounded musically and can fit into multiple genres.
NLE Choppa consistently drops music and has a solid fanbase so I think he’ll be here a while.
Rod Wave is one of the faces of this melodic, neo-soul type of rap. He’s also very consistent, dropping plenty of music. He has a very unique sound and has a great fanbase.
Although Chika is very talented, I don’t see her blowing up in a mainstream sense.
Lil Tjay to me is like A Boogie 2.0 so I believe his music will get old after a while.
Fivio Foreign I don’t really see sticking around in five years, he’s not even really a massive artist now.
24KGoldn is another artist I like. He’s a good artist and makes upbeat enjoyable music but I don’t see him blowing up into anything too big.
Calboy is a solid rapper and drops consistent music, his problem is that people don’t really look for him given that he doesn’t have a core fanbase.
Lil Keed sounds just like Young Thug, there’s nothing ordinary about Lil Keed in my opinion so I don’t see him sticking around. I already forgot Baby Keem was on this list so that pretty much sums that up.
Notable snubs:
Pop Smoke
Don Toliver
Pop Smoke was actually the first Freshmen selected for the 2020 cover but was murdered before the shoot could take place. Don Toliver wanted to only take the photo. He didn’t want to participate in the XXL freestyle or cypher which turned XXL off.