XXL Presents 2011′s Freshman Class
Yelawolf, Meek Mill, Big K.R.I.T., Diggy, CyHi the Prynce, Lil Twist, Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar, YG, Fred the Godson and Lil B are this year’s Freshmen picks…
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[Originally appears in XXL's April 2011 issue, on newsstands nationwide on March 15.]
With an abundance of new artists buzzing hard right now, the 2011 Freshman class includes one more member than usual, making 11 picks total this year. The recession is over!
It would be cliché to state that choosing 10 Freshmen was tougher than usual this year. But if it were merely cliché, there wouldn’t be 11 of the brightest young stars in hip-hop on the cover of the fourth annual XXL Freshmen issue. With an abundance of new talent, XXL couldn’t help but expand his year’s class. Rap’s recession is over. So we’ve splurged and picked 11.
The hype has grown since our inaugural Freshmen issue, in 2007, and since last year’s class selection, we have been overwhelmed with pitches. (Seems that being an XXL Freshman has become an honor.) But this year, during the selection process, we spotted a problem: In the past, some years had been hard getting the list up to 10; in 2011, the difficulty was getting the number down to 10.
We realized we had more new rap talent to pick from for the 2011 Freshman class than previous years. So we decided to make an exception and chose an extra Freshman this year, because it was clear that 10 just wouldn’t be enough.
The new Freshmen assembled in late January to participate in the photo shoot and a roundtable discussion. We also made them rhyme, of course. (Check XXLMag.com for the video of the Freshmen Roundtable, cyphers, freestyles and more interviews.) It’s a daunting task to pick out the possible stars of tomorrow, get them all in a studio with stylists, barbers, makeup artists, cameras and a whole bunch of industry folk, and then keep that a secret. But we did it. We present our 11 Freshmen for 2011.
Meh… Cyhi is the only one i’m checking for
cosign, CyHi by far and away the top dude in this class…
cyhi and diggy the shit
have you heard krit spit? ‘krit wuz here’.. check it out
KRIT, CyHi, Diggy, Mac, and Kendrick are the ones Im checking for. YG is ass, Why the hell is Lil Twist on there? Meek Mill is garbage and I don’t really know Fred the Godson, might have to check him out.
Lil B looks real remedial holding up that mini chalk board
he is lol
how in the f is yelawolf,big krit and lil b freshman? I know you are paid by their labels to add them but really.
Lets see mac miller is your latest asher roth.
lil twist haha ha ha ha ha ha LCD next generation.
cyhi I feel this cat but will ye know how to promote him or will he be in j cole /j electronica purgatory?
Diggy got rich relatives and a dope flow the world is his
Fred is dope just hope he goes the right way
yooooo bruh mac is much much better than asher roth, completely different guy
Idk about that. Asher Roth is nicer than Mac Miller lyric-wise.
Mann I only agree with Cyhi, Kendrick, Diggy, man pretty much everybody i’ll give a chance to listen to and take but Lil B, Lil B… I won’t even give that homie a second chance anyday real talk he’s bogus he’s gargabe with his ppretty wack swag and wierd lyrics, He’s one of the many reasons why hip-hop is failing every now and then and wack rap-syndrome hit that homie real hard but fuck’em
i agree and thats a understatement
lil b’s verse went the hardest!!!!!!! stop hating!!!!!! listen to it, i bet it changes ur mind!!!!!!!
couldnt agree more.
If u ain’t up on Yelawolf yet, listen to Trunk Music and see why he has a co-sign from Eminem!!
WHY LIL B?!
some of this class is good…but the rest are real questionable…how are you going to have dudes like Lil B and YG representing the south….if you gonna rep the south a clear omission would be Yung Texxus or Thee Tom Hardy or even Short Dawg
LiL b & YG from thw west coast homie
Yea you right, but still think there are others that should be on this cover other than them
DOnt forget Kendrick from tha West too
hell yea dont mess da south up like that i should of been in lil b spot
lil b is from the bay
Lil B is from the GAY.
lil b is from the gay hahahahhah T FTW
krit/kendrick>>>
front cover of XXL for you lame haters lil b tha based god nigga, and my nigga diggy evrey1 else fuck em