The Legacy Of The XXL Freshman List & Why Artists Have Turned It Down
The American hip-hop magazine XXL has been around since 1997, premiering their annual Freshman Class list in 2007, beginning a legacy that took the rap world by storm.
The XXL Freshman List is recognised as nothing less than iconic. To be chosen as a Freshman would be a high point in an artist’s career. The list was known to snatch the hottest, up-and-coming hip hop artists early in their careers and was the go-to to see who was the baddest in the game or who was going to be. For most artists, being on the Freshman list made them distinguished and it was definitely an “I made it” achievement. It would give them a bigger platform, expose them to more fans, new audiences, as well as, being the next big step in growing their career. Wiz Khalifa, class of 2010, says that XXL Freshman “was super dope. It was really monumental in my career. It actually predicts who is and isn’t going to be dope, or who does or doesn’t have the potential to be dope. And it really is up to the artist to follow through, but the list is always accurate for who has potential. [XXL Freshman] was probably one of the bigger steps I took in my career”.
The annual XXL Freshman Class has had multiple big names over the years, including Kid Cudi, J. Cole, Nipsey Hussle, Kendrick Lamar, Meek Mill, Future, Travis Scott, Chance the Rapper, Schoolboy Q and so much more. The list is credited for giving many successful artists their first taste of fame. So, it begs the question, who would turn down such an opportunity?
On June 20th, the 12th annual 2019 XXL Freshman Class was announced to the world and since then has received mixed reactions from fans. The list features 11 artists including, Gunna, Blueface, Rico Nasty, YBN Cordae, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Mosey and more. The Freshman list has received a lot of criticism over the last couple of years for not choosing artists that most fans believed should’ve made it on the cover. They have also received criticism for putting artists on the list who have already established their career, veering from its original purpose of putting unknown and underground rappers on.
This year, there has been a lot of speculation as to why certain artists weren’t in the 2019 Freshman class. Juice WRLD was one of the artists many fans were predicting to be on the list and they were left unhappily venting to Twitter when to their surprise, he was not on it. Juice WRLD jumped on Instagram live 3 days later saying he was offered to be a Freshman but he turned it down. He did not specifically say why but he insinuated on his Instagram live that he was too big for it and so, he didn’t need it.
Juice WRLD is one of the many successful artists that have turned down the XXL Freshman cover, joining famous names like Nicki Minaj, Drake, A$AP Rocky, Young Thug, Tory Lanez and Post Malone. Like Juice Wrld, Nicki Minaj spoke to MTV in 2010 saying that her and Drake “felt like we kinda had graduated from the freshman class. “We felt that XXL missed the mark when they didn’t put us on the cover prior to that. They have to pay for that. They can’t say, ‘Hey, get on the next one”.
There have been a pattern of artists turning down the Freshman class list simply because they felt as if their career had surpassed that point and XXL was too late to jump on the wave.
Other big names that have turned down the list recently is Lil Skies and Rich The Kid (2018) and it caused quite a bit of controversy for the American magazine. Lil Skies jumped on Instagram live to confide in his fans as to why he was not in the 2018 class and called out XXL saying ““Y’all asking about XXL, I didn’t show up. Imma tell y’all straight up, XXL reached out to me months ago and chose me to be a 2018 XXL Freshman. How the f*** do you choose me to be a freshman before the fans get to vote? Even on the vote poll, I still won. I still got on the list. But even before that, they chose me to be a freshman,” Skies continues saying, “C’mon now. The list is rigged. You’re not placing me in no category. My focus is music and the stage. That’s it. I don’t care about nothing else. I don’t give a f*** about no XXL Magazine”.
Rich The Kid turned down the list once he found out they only offered it to him because Lil Skies rejected the opportunity and they needed to fill the 10th space. Since then, fans have been questioning the Freshman list’s relevance and credibility.
Benny The Butcher, an underground rapper from New York was a popular prediction from fans to be in the 2019 Freshman Class. Benny told fans at one of his concerts that Jay-Z advised him to not do XXL. He insinuated that he should not be side by side on the cover with rappers like Bhad Bhabie and thought himself above that.