Do We Need the XXL Freshman List?
In a world where new things are constantly needed because humanity seems to have the entire attention span of a goldfish, Hip-Hop is strangely stuck in older ways. It's true that older members don't accept newer interpretations of the art form, just as new cats don't respect the generations that have paved the way for them. What's common is that fresh meat needs to be tested. They need to be proven and tested so that they can be accepted and respected. The community creates its stars by listening to their music on a daily basis yet we have the XXL Freshman Class, that delivers to us from eight to ten artists that have made a name for themselves and are on the come-up. But does the Culture really need it?
I took the time to analyse all of the freshmen from 2007 to 2017 - as 2018 is too close to truly determine their overall impact - and the results were startling. Of the 93 rappers to showcased, only seven of those rappers can be put in the argument of being in the Top 5 rappers for an extended period of time (Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi, J. Cole, Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar, Future & Chance the Rapper) and only one of those being worthy of being mentioned in the top twenty of all time, that being Kendrick.
Now, as I look at the chart that I created, ranking their overall rapping ability and success, the standout year is 2011 with big names such as Kung Fu Kenny, Macklemore, Machine Gun Kelly, Hopsin and Iggy Azalea all being in conversations of getting the status of a bonafide celebrity/icon. The year of the bust is sadly enough four years later with Raury, GoldLink, OG Mac and Kidd. There were a lot of busts that year. The final impressive fact that comes from my chart is that out of an overall possible score of 100 - or 90 in some years - when I said that GOAT conversation was worth 10 points, Top 5 was 7 points, Celebrity was 5, Great was 3 points, Good was 2 points and Bust was 1 point, the highest score was a 41, established in the aforementioned year of 2011.
There are a multitude of arguments that go against the XXL Freshman list, the first of which being the Cyphers. While they seem to be entertaining whenever they trend on YouTube, many of them are bad. They offer less and less substance and more and more mumble every year, exposing the lack of lyricism and technique from this generation of rappers. The perfect example comes from most of the "freestyles" that came from the 2016 edition, where it was obvious that they were either pre-written or a bore to listen to - the number one offender being Desiigner's "verse" that he repeated for what seemed like a few hours but was actually around a minute and a half at most.
The next big criticism comes from the lack of big stars on certain years that seem like shoe-ins. There are three notable examples of this and the first being Drake, who many debate should've been on the 2009 cover after the release of the So Far Gone mixtape, but that he didn't accept being on the 2010 edition because he didn't feel like a freshman anymore. Another obvious miss was Young M.A, whose been making moves in the underground for a hot minute, releasing "OOOUUU" to critical acclaim and having arguably one of the best 2016's for any Hip-Hop artist. The Editor-in-Chief of XXL Vanessa Satten explained that Young M.A had said that she was beyond it,, which proved that the list was too late for the fire that was there for Young M.A so that they could capitalize. Finally, Cardi B was omitted because, as Satten said:
We were on the fence. And felt, was it more TV or was she going to go more in the Hip Hop direction with the music? Where would the career kind of more be? It felt like it was very much TV heavy. She was definitely on our radar, but she just didn't come in the final ten for us.
Let us take this time ro remember that Cardi B is the only female rapper to ever top the Billboard Hot 100 twice.
I believe that the XXL Freshman list is a good idea; an opportunity to showcase new talent and media fodder, but it can definitely be reworked so that the slips in the cracks can be filled. Instead of releasing it in the middle of the year, I'd put it out in December as the opportunity to highlight the best the year had to offer in terms of new talent. It gives a chance for the magazine to catch the people who splashed at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year. It would be an incredible honor to be a part of the XXL Freshman Class, but does the Culture and the community need it? I say that it is something that new artists and that the fans need because rappers aren't really paid in album sales, but in public appearances and concerts. So the real question is why should we be against seeing new artists getting an opportunity to get paid?