Yesterday, XXL announced the 2016 Freshman Class for their ninth annual celebration of “the new crop of future hip-hop stars”. I have to give it to XXL, they did a pretty good job of selecting a crop of new faces that are taking over the musical radar right now.
This year’s list includes Anderson .Paak (Oxnard, CA), 21 Savage (Atlanta, GA), Kodak Black (Pompano Beach, FL), Lil Uzi Vert (Philadelphia, PA), Lil Dicky (Cheltenham Township, PA), Dave East (Harlem, NY), Denzel Curry (Carol City, FL), Desiigner (Brooklyn, NY), G Herbo (Chicago, IL), and Lil Yachty (Atlanta, GA). Save Dat Money rapper Lil Dicky nabbed the tenth spot after being selected by fan’s votes.
I will say, I was highly disappointed that Tory Lanez wasn’t featured on the cover. However, back in April, the 23 year old “Say It” singer made it quite clear that he declined a spot on the list. Lanez tweeted, “I passed on the XXL cover . Don’t b confused.” Nicki Minaj and Drake also declined spot’s on the publication’s 2010 list because they felt that XXL missed the mark when they failed to put them on a previous cover.
Are you feeling XXL’s 2016 list?
Check out some behind the scenes footage from the shoot below!
