Which 2024 XXL Freshman Refused To Freestyle? Is XXL being Too Hard On Artists? 

asking people to freestyle who rap is being too hard on emcees???!! what has happened to hip hop.....

I think XXL should've stood on business and left him off the cover. If we keep watering down what Hip-Hop is and about it will lose its soul like all of the other genres. Freestyles have always been the litmus test for real MCs. It also shows the integrity and work ethic of MCs. Are you writing your own rhymes and are you working at your craft? It's about survival of the fittest on the mic. This is not up for debate. Show what makes you great or don't even participate. His bowing out was not a mistake.

“Any Verse Over Any Beat, if you practicing your craft!” …. 👏🏽

Honestly... if you too cool to rap then don't do the cover. Bruh August Alsina, Fridayy, Ty dolla Sign all did it AND THEY AREN'T RAPPERS like cmon

Refusing is Wild! …. If you can’t do it, spit a written but outright refusal is non cipher.

If you can't do the basics of the craft, YOU CAN'T DO THE CRAFT!!!

how you wanna be a rapper that dont wanna rap

You take a look back at the 2016 freshman class. None of those guys in that cypher are lyricists: 21, Yachty, Lil Uzi, Kodak, Denzel (you can argue for). But those guys had fun in the cypher and still performed. There’s nothing wrong with expecting a cypher if you’re in the freshman class. It’s part of the culture. A lot of people pay attention to see who see who they need to tap into next.

I don't understand wanting to be a rap artist and not wanting to showcase your skills anywhere unless you're insecure in your skills. If I was an up and coming rap artist, I don't care if it was in front of Walmart or a bookstore. I'm rapping something and if it's trash, guess what I've learned my lesson. Either I grow from it or say this is not for me.

“A rapper with a ghost writer? wtf happened?” How you asking too much to ask a rapper to rap during a promotional event? That’d be like Lebron refusing to dribble the ball in a Nike commercial because he “didn’t prepare”.

if they want to keep alive the XXL freestyle format they need to promote real emcees instead of getting up & coming popular artists or at least limited the number of non-traditional rappers

The sad thing about the freshman freestyle's over the last few years is that the quality of the rappers has gone way down. Some rappers now seem to care more about the vibes, vice what is being said. So you put them in front of a mic with a random beat and they spit a ho-hum harmony, adlib, garbage verse. At this point we are lucky if one or maybe two of them are decent.

THANK YOU for saying redveil and Kenny mason, those are elite, young lyricists. We as a audience sometimes complain we dont have lyricist anymore but do people put in the work to really find them or give them a chance?? Thanks again for your insights and enjoy your 4th!!

Commenting while watching but the classes of the early 2010’s would’ve never had a problem. Can you imagine King Crook, Lupe, CyHi the Prince, Kendrick, Big Krit, Mac Miller, Joel Ortiz etc running out when asked to freestyle??? XXL needs to face the fact that for the last 5/6/7 years they’ve been choosing some talentless rappers

Those high end brands never advertised in hiphop mags because 95% of commercial rap songs/video are already advertisements for them. No point when most of the culture is already obsessing over that crap.

I used to look forward to the list every year, and it meant so much to my generation that loved “ hip hop” and wanted to see new rappers popping off. I guess there are other ways to discover artistes now and the value of the magazine is at an all time low due to our attention span as is every other thing today too. Everyday I live with the motto, expect nothing in life, that’s just life. It evolves. They might as well just do a list like every other platform

That xxl 2009 issue was special man Charles Hamilton , wale ,bob all them cats was really bringing something different to the game

Idk man. These are rappers. They should be able to spit something. Even spit some unreleased stuff. I can understand the freestyles because they have all been pretty bad for a whole now and SHORT. But the cypher!? Naaaaah you should be able to do that. These rappers dont rap anymore is the main thing. Or dont write. And they dont wanna be exposed. Look at that dude from the class with Meg and DaBaby. Mosey?? He embarrassed the hell out of himself. I get being afraid but this is what you want, the attention and the big stage. You gotta perform for that.

i don’t understand why a rapper of any status wouldn’t want to showcase their pen in any cypher-type setting

I look forward to the XXL Cyphers and Freestyles because I’m an old head not in age but when it come to the music, my taste is the Em, Nas, Hov, etc. so when the XXl come around it helps me a bit find the newer artist that are popping and maybe I’ll like them, so refusing to do the freestyles or cyphers removes some new listeners that may have never heard of you.

I remember watching the movie Brown Sugar seeing the rappers Ren and Ten as extreme parodies. In reality some rappers have strayed even further not even wanting to showcase their 'talents'.

Facts!!! 💯

The standard is the standard. Maybe their not really rappers (no quration they're not MCs). In my eyes, a lot of these dudes say their rappers, but they aren't. They wanna be singers who hide behind auto tune so it comes off as rap but its really singing.

Cyphers are a major part of being an mc and the XXL list. So, if "rappers" are unwilling to RAP it's time to call what they do something else. Maybe TC, for turn up controller instead of MC. 😅

God forbid XXL asks artists to do the thing that got them on the cover in the first place.

It’s Wild That Mfs Cant Do A Simple Freestyle, Me And My Peeps Would Kill For That Opportunity.

Rap has felt like such a capitalist venture for a few years because so many of these “rappers” don’t want to acknowledge core tenets of Hip-Hop; it seems like they’re just in it for the superficial aspects. In the past 3 years, I’ve worked with “rappers” who don’t wanna freestyle, don’t wanna write, and don’t wanna spend time with music. They just wanna punch in and out and look cool. To me, it’s disrespectful. I don’t like it.

Man...i heard a few of these names but haven't listened to any music. Free's are normally my entry to new artist if im curious. Unless they drop a banger that cant be ignored. To hear there were refusals is crazy. Rappers (especially new rappers) not wanting to rap is disrespectful to the game Shout out to the one dude who went unprepared but still did it. Id rather that than nothing at all.

This is just further proof that a lot of these new rappers (not MCs or artists, because that’s not what they are) are just in it because Hip Hop has turned solely into a popularity contest. The XXL Freshmen cover used to have as much excitement and credence as The Source’s mic rating system at one point, but now it’s a try-to-match-the-name-with-the-face-game of “Who the f*ck is that?”. Lol. Dipping off right before the freestyle cypher then lying about it online is nasty work.😂

Mexican OT for me...but XL shouldn't change....gotta show & prove...

I really wanted to say something but you said everything 😂 - gotta take whatever craft you do serious if you're in for the long game. This comment is for the algorithm.

Def not asking to much. If you dont wanna look bad then prepare...even desiigner tried to have fun 😂

I think the artists should know the platform they're going on and XXL should know the artists they're approaching. I'm for letting go of calling everything black rap or r&b and letting the music evolve naturally. If these kids don't relate to hip hop aesthetics, that's cool just let there be differentiation. And because they let the kid play with them and still keep his spot, it will happen again.

They're not asking to much. Especially when in past cyphers some had real short ones others had longer ones. Which is why I'm sure they would have fit him in a group so it would come out ok regardless of his ability.

would Rob create a list every yr tho or somethin seasonal...? 🤔😏😅 mirrored sentiments tho 💯 #Anotha1 💪🏽🔥

Withstanding any production restraints, he should have been left off the cover. I see why the old heads used to complain about younger generations. They have no respect for the craft and it’s disgusting.

Do freestyles have to be off the top? Based on my understanding the original meaning meant free form/no hook

Why would you accept an XXL spot if you didn’t wanna cypher when that’s 100s apart of it

I would be upset if XXL takes the Freestyle part goes away...I judge who to take a close look at based on their verse..That's how you get fans...We're all deciding to be fans based on your raps..

Gotta be honest. This is lame. Artists get a chance to show out and get some great publicity, and they complain? I’m a reporter, too, and this strikes me as a case of complaining about media to complain about media.

Xxl is literally giving these young emcees the ability to showcase themselves in a way they usually dont get too. If you cant perform when it comes down to it then you dont belong there. 🤷‍♂️ im a fond believer that if youre calling yourself a hip-hop artist then you had better be ready to do hip-hop things.

2:15 Some of you will laugh at what he did bc he's poppin anyway so it aint nothing *Animorphs into an old man for a minute* You see that's exactly the problem with the youngins today. They think it's ok to disrespect other people just bc you're popular. Fame is fickle, but memories are long. Remember that. *Reverts to regular self* But for real, respect the people that are there to help you rise. Don't ever think you're to big for basic human decency.

A lot of these new guys that get the attention are in it for the money and hustle but not the craft.

I had to pause the video to test my freestyle skills. I'd murder that cypher off top fr

How far in advance of the shoot so the artists know they’re on the freshman list? Is it weeks to prepare or months?

Great commentary regarding this subject. Tbh, XXL should not change the format. How do you call yourself a rapper & are unable to at least rap one of your own verses. We have to stop allowing mediocrity to be the norm. It should be considered a privilege to be acknowledged for your craft. I respect Cash Cobain totally because even though he was uncomfortable doing something that he wasn't extraordinary at, he did it scared...he did it anyway. The rapper who walked off got rewarded for his unprofessional behavior. The least he could've done was communicated. That was a slap in the face to all the other cover artists.

If ur a rapper u should be able to rap and it’s not up for debate

Nope. Everybody understands that 90 percent of them can't freestyle from the top of the head. The audience wants to see a live stage presence , charisma and character. If they can't do it in studio... How can fans expect artist to perform on stage ? Loads of new artists, say "We don't write lyrics. We just turn beat on and improvise with flows" So.... Isn't it freestyle? Clowns. New rappers can't perform songs live. No surprise though. Most of them are one hit wonders. They do music for streaming, content 😵‍💫 Labels don't work with talent , cos they know. In a couple of months some new kids will go big. So what's the point of teaching them stage craft? Waste money on teachers? That's why old artists can sell out tours and do shows. Fans know - they can perform. Kendrick and friends show - is a prime example. Remember your story about Kebdrick and xxl fresmen list ? He was ready to take J coles place ) and new guys are running away. Its embarrassing

They pulled up to the job site with no tools smh

They shouldn't make them do freestyles if they can't. Or a bare minimum, give them the beat early so he can rap.

Why aren't Coast Contra on XXL?

It’s never the nice ones that try to pull these stunts, at least I know no who not to check for

before i even watch .. in regards to the title .. NO ! if you don't want to RAP , then don't become a RAPPER .. also, plenty of people have been on the list and didn't participate in every event that comes with: it .. ard now ima watch the video lol

Are we seriously asking this question?Do pilots need licences ? Smh .This generation of rappers.They should have rescinded it.😟😟😟..

10:23 me, for one!

Change the format? Why? Because these new aged rappers can’t rap?! I don’t understand, if you can’t freestyle on the spot then why not write something beforehand that could fit almost any beat? I don’t even rap but I know that is possible. So then I have to ask do you even really know music if you don’t know you can do that? What this rapper basically said is this new generation is not good at rapping so the bar should be lowered. That’s crazy. No keep the format to separate the boys and girls from the men and women. But if you really cannot freestyle then don’t take the opportunity. You don’t have to take it. Decline it if you don’t want to freestyle. To want this opportunity but not want to showcase your skill is crazy. But I agree about the lack of preparation part. They know they will be expected to free style and they will have to come up with something but they lack so much care that they don’t want to spend the time and energy to prepare. Sad.

Nas, you are truly a prophet 😪

It'a a lack of skills as an emcee Rob. #CFAF

That was real ???

XXL been a joke for years now. if you cant freestyle as a rapper, then thats a problem.

How come Christian Hop-Hop artist aren't Freshmen ever?

I’m not about this lame behavior But to be fair this isn’t a new thing Remember how Baby Keem didn’t do the group cypher ? Remember how drip to hard Gunna refused to rap? Remember how Trippy Reid said nah Glorilla didn’t hop in To me it just speaks to how XXL needs the artists way more than the artists need them at this point. Personally I would just give the spot to another upcommer if they won’t participate in the rapping stuff without good reason

Who was it!

Sent my b**** to the store 'cause we ran outta soda. B****, I'm tryna cook this yola.

Kodak black didn't like the sorry ass beat he still did it tho 😂

Is asking a surgeon to perform a surgery too harsh? 😂

PRESERVE HIP HOP

I think XXL should've stood on business and left him off the cover. If we keep watering down what Hip-Hop is and about, it will lose its soul like all of the other genres. Freestyles have always been the litmus test for real MCs. It also shows the integrity and work ethic of MCs. Are you writing your own rhymes and are you working at your craft? It's about survival of the fittest on the mic. This is not up for debate. Show what makes you great or don't even participate. His bowing out was not a mistake.