XXL Freshman Classes Ranked Worst to Best 

Need to do "The Source" magazine countdown. Best top 10 magazine covers, top 10 Unsigned Hype talent, and Best 5 mic albums or 4 mic albums.

Wild to not mention Blu or Charles Hamilton in the 09 class. Some of the best lyricists that didn't get the proper label treatment. Also Lil B deserved his spot. Way more than Krit. Sorry not sorry. Also top pick is WRONG LMAO Gibbs bias is corny

Great ranking I didn’t expect this. Now we need XXL to have all of the freshmen cyphers from previous years to be uploaded in quality on their page.

09 Made the Wave So Everybody can Walk

Drake and Nicki was supposed to be in the 09 class but turned it down.

That comment about “missing out on Tory Lanez” almost caused me to burst out into laughter. 😂 Yeah…..We missed out on him being a freshman. That’d be like if there were a R&B/Pop equivalent of XXL’s Freshman classes and someone said that we missed out on having Chris Brown as a freshman especially after the legal trouble he’s gotten into. Tory and Chris are folks where they both likely wouldn’t deserve said crowns. I’m willing to bet the Breezies will get butt hurt by what I said and I don’t care.

2009 will always be my favorite freshman rap class

I think we can all agree that 2015’s class has aged like spoiled milk with only two of the freshman having any good bars during the cypher (those two being Tink and Raury). The rest of them varied with either being disappointing or terrible with them cyphers. Idk how their freestyles were since I haven’t heard them in awhile.

Gibbs did not help Griselda off the ground lol

Great video 🔥

2009 class shouldve been higher they set up the blog era the fact u said cult followings and dont mention charles hamilton at all is wild alot of recent bias 2009 was the class of artist getting hot from the mixtapes created they own following through their own blogs and mixtapes alot of misses in this list....but 2009 deserve more respect

The top 3 freshman classes are 2011 2013 & 2016

The disrespect for Hopsin is INSANE

Okay, the Asher Roth erasure in 2009 is kinda disappointing, dude's first major label album was trash sure but dude was getting cosigns from Don Canon and DJ Drama, that's got to account for something worth mentioning

My exact rating 2010 was 🔥🔥🔥

I already know this ranking gon be ass let's do it 🔥

Why everybody hates/dislikes Kid Ink? I still rocks with his music. He’s always been great.

Here’s the List Artists that was originally picked for their respective XXL Classes but turned down their spots. Imma put some artists that some people didn’t know that they declined, wasn’t picked due to circumstances and or in other words was snubbed from being in that years class. 1. Cassidy (2007) 2. Drake, Nicki Minaj and Michael Barber (2010) 3. Tyler, the Creator & Childish Gambino (2011) 4. A$AP Rocky & Earl Sweatshirt (2012) 5. Young Thug (2014) 6. PartyNextDoor & iLoveMakomen (2015) 7. Tory Lanez & Post Malone (2016) 8. Famous Dex, NAV, Young M.A., Cardi B, Joyner Lucas and YFN Lucci (2017) 9. Rich the Kid, Lil Skies, 6ix9ine, Youngboy NeverBrokeAgain and Lil Baby (2018) 10. Juice WRLD & Benny The Butcher (2019) 11. Pop Smoke, Lil Tecca, Don Toliver and King Von (2020) 12. $NOT (2021) 13. Yeat, Kenny Mason & Destroy Lonely (2022) 14. Ice Spice (2023) 15. Sexxy Redd, Yuno Miles & Lil Mabu (2024) Here’s the List comment on name who you think that I left off Lmk.

Babytron just got a Eminem feature dude is the best out of that 2022 class

Luh Tyler is fire. Crazy you didn’t even mention him

what cj left out is this, kevin hart is on the 2011 xxl freshman

Okay wale imo represents the gap between old and new sooo much. Dude is imo the epitome of a generic post Ye, Post Lupe, rap star. Imo he never did stand out as much as his contemporaries. J cole did the lyrical hitmaking thing better Drake makes better songs for girls(according to girls) Future took trap somewhere else Kendrick became the voice of a generation after Ferguson and Freddie Gray(I cant even remember half these guys being killed by the police just dude who got killed for selling illegal tobacco cigarettes) Tyler the creator shaped gen z's sense of humor Earl Sweatshirt became Mr sadvillainy and has a goated discography Danny Brown is an underrated storyteller and imo a character Chief keef is proud of raising the murder rate of Chicago and being a public health hazard. Joey's mixtape run was nuts Flatbrush zombies go in Big krit imo needed better management And Wale What did he do to stand out ? Nothing He really did feel like a generic post kanye rap star. And the market was too saturated to continue that.

2016 over 2011 is criminal lol

Need that Kid Cudi ranking

Bro why u skipped Blu in 09??? Prob the best rapper alive rn

babytrons the best rapper in that 2022 class

How you shit on Kid Ink but big up Roscoe Dash?? Kid ink had a whole two summers on lock and the radios ringing off

The one with Crooked I and Kidd Kidd are rigged

2016🤣

2007 was the best then 2009, other than that the rest were trash

2016 will forever be the best XXL class.

Wow! What a great video. Awesome content 🔥🔥

I just miss when the publication attempted a balance between lyrical and melodic rap.

babytron has the most potential in that 2022 class to be a star he got lyrical lemonade connections

I own all 18 issues! my favorite is 2011

12:29 lol you serious? By the time of the cover Vince had the one song on the “Earl” tape and a mixtape that barley had traction. It wasn’t till summer 2013 when Mac Miller produced his album that people was checking for him. By that time Ian Connor had collaborated with GLC, Bun B..toured with Krit, had a Don Cannon hosted tape, & worked & signed to Dre. Rhapsody is okay but at the time (and maybe still now) nobody was checking too much from her if the song wasn’t produced by 9th. Wasn’t till Mac Miller took her on the “Incredibly Dope Tour” and showed she was more versatile other than the NC scene

that last CHIKA album was fire too, same with tjay's just not to the same degree. just curious are u judging these mostly on like artist sound/ability or sucess?

2011 gotta be my favorite class

Solid Video/Content