XXL Presents…The 25 Greatest Freshmen Collaborations

We asked you guys before. What's the hottest XXL Freshman collaboration? Now it's our turn to decide. After unveiling our 2013 class last week, we took a look back at some of our favorite classmate collaborations, and then added some new ones. And then ranked them in the ultimate test for determining collab supremacy. Hopefully the next year brings a whole bunch of new ones to the table for discussion but for now, here's The 25 Greatest XXL Freshman Collaborations.

25. Dizzy Wright & Joey Bada$$ "Maintain" (2013)
Dizzy Wright and Joey Bada$$ take it back to hip-hop’s golden era on “Maintain.” The two lyrical spitters rap about the different ways of keeping your head above water. Produced by DJ Hoppa, the soul-driven sample provides the perfect backdrop for the two 2013 Freshman to go in.

24. Big Sean ft. J. Cole "24k of Gold," Detroit (2012)
Big Sean and J. Cole carved out a gem for Detroit on this introspective offering that features the rhymesters delivering their rags-to-riches tales and aspirations on wax. When Sean ponders on lines like, "A world where you didn’t need sleep, that way we could catch up instead of chase dreams," or when Cole imagines his level of fame ("Sometimes I got to pinch a fat ass to see if it's real"), the two altogether create a beloved record that’ll never get old within each of their respective catalogs.

23. DJ Drama ft. Crooked I & B.o.B "Every City" Third Power (2012)
The host of this year’s XXL Freshman Mixtape, DJ Drama, elicited the services of two Freshmen alum for this cut off his Third Power album from 2012. Crooked shows love to his hometown and others in a series of tongue-twisting verses while B.o.B handles hook duties.


22. Ab Soul ft. Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q & Jay Rock "Black Lip Bastard" (Remix) Control System (2012)

By the time we realized that every rapper in the Black Hippy crew is super good at rapping, all we could think, talk, or ask about was when the Black Hippy album was coming. It may never come, or it might come in a few months—who knows? What we do know, though, is that this rare collaboration is really a gem. Ab brought along the whole squad for a remix of "Black Lip Bastard," off his Control System album, and the result is a great lyrical exercise on which every member flexes their humor, diversity and versatility over a beat that sounds like an outtake from 2Pac's All Eyez days.

21. French Montana ft. Mac Miller & Curren$y "Triple Double" Mac & Cheese 3 (2012)

Originally entitled “It Was A Good Year,” this song was supposed to appear on French Montana’s Excuse My French. Instead, the Bad Boy rapper opted to include the collaboration with Curren$y and Mac Miller on Mac & Cheese 3. The track, which samples The Isley Brother’s “Footsteps in the Dark,” is a recreation of Ice Cube’s iconic hit, “Today Was A Good Day.” Although we don’t get the same vivid story as Cube’s, the three here spit celebratory rhymes about living the good life. It's just as catchy.

20. Curren$y ft. Nipsey Hussle & Wiz Khalifa "I Don't Fucks With Em" Smokee Robinson (2012)

Spitta linked up with right-hand man Wiz Khalifa and Nipsey Hussle for this Smokee Robinson standout. In place of the actual song here, we’ve included some in studio footage of the three knocking the track out. As great as the song is, it's obviously way more fun to watch Curren$y lecture Nipsey about the dangers of smoking blunts.

19. CyHi Da Prynce ft. Big Sean "Woopty Doo" Royal Flush 2 (2011)

G.O.O.D. Music head honcho Kanye West is behind the boards on the groovy "Woopty Doo," where labelmate and 2010 Freshman Big Sean joins in on the jazzy fun to roll his eyes at people who brag about nonsense.

18. ScHoolboy Q ft. Jay Rock "2 Raw" Habits & Contradictions (2012)
Q and Jay Rock get grimy on this Habits and Contradictions bonus cut.

17. Gorilla Zoe ft. Gucci Mane & OJ Da Juiceman "Helluva Life" Don't Feed Da Animals (2006)

OJ's ad-libs here sound like there was a chihuahua barking in the studio while this was being recorded, but "Helluva Life" is still a hell of a lot of fun to listen to. It's an all ATL affair, with Zaytoven overseeing production duties while Zoe croons on the delicate auto-tuned hook.

16. Asher Roth ft. Action Bronson "Choices" Pabst & Jazz (2012)

Two dexterous white boys drop some hoop references and follow the bass line on “Choices,” which appeared on Asher Roth’s 2011 Pabst & Jazz project.

15. Kendrick Lamar ft. ScHoolboy Q "Michael Jordan," Overly Dedicated (2009)
Before Section.80 and good kid, m.A.A.d city fame, K. Dot captured the critic's ear with 2010's Overly Dedicated release, especially with this rowdy banger featuring his TDE partner-in-rhyme, ScHoolboy Q. Together the two leap over the free throw line, slamming in a barrage of cunning wordplay and boasts galore.

14. Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean & Curren$y "Weed Brownies" (2011)

This under-appreciated single from the trio of Big Sean, Wiz, and Curren$y (who's collaborative project never quite came together) is as good of a weed anthem as you can make. The beat has the kind of smoked-out retro feel that reminds you of Kush & OJ, and the filtered vocals fit the production perfectly. Sean sounds a little too hyper for the record, but Wiz and Spitta are so cloudy they mellow the whole thing out.

13. Ace Hood ft. Future & Rick Ross "Bugatti" (2013)
The club anthem of the year so far, Ace Hood turns up with the help from Future the hookmaster and the Teflon Don himself, Rick Ross.

12. Wiz Khalifa ft. Big Sean "Gang Bang" Cabin Fever (2011)
Wiz and Sean stunt all over this monster of a Lex Luger beat, which is somehow able to transform  two of rap's nicest and approachable rappers into intimidating forces to be reckoned with.


11. Ski Beatz ft. Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y "Scaling The Building" 24 Hour Karate School (2010)
Rapping over a Ski Beatz beat alongside Wiz Khalifa is the definition of Curren$y’s comfort zone. He’s put out great releases with both of them and “Scaling The Building” is an oft-overlooked gem from both of their respective collaborative catalogs. It’s such a banger that Spitta can get away with bars like “Niggas used to think I was crazy/Now they see my new whip and be like ‘Dog that shit crazy.”

10. Harry Fraud ft. Action Bronson & French Montana "Mean" (2012)
Despite totally different styles and approaches, French Montana and Action Bronson both share a love for the warm and woozy production of La Musica De Harry Fraud. French moans inaudibly and Action spits some heat with “They just want me for these things I have acquired/Yo when I told you that I loved you I was lyin’."

9. Macklemore ft. Schoolboy Q "White Walls" The Heist (2012)
Before "Thrift Shop" became your grandma's favorite song, this jam from The Heist seemed to be Macklemore's most radio-ready hit, with a crazy-catchy hook from Hollis, feel-good and nostalgic spitting from Mack, and an awesomely aggressive feature from Q.

8. Kendrick Lamar ft. Jay Rock "Money Trees" good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012)
The record that had everyone screaming screaming “Ya Bish”. K Dot made his only TDE collaboration on good kid, m.A.A.d city a strong one with the instantly catch hook to match the top notch lyricism.

7. Schoolboy Q ft. Kendrick Lamar "Blessed" Habits & Contradictions (2012)
In the most gripping song off Habits & Contradictions, Q shows an introspective side, counting his blessings while contemplating the realities of others. The second verse is hair-raising as Q tries to console a friend who's lost a child. K Dot closes the show with an equally moving verse.


6. Curren$y ft. Freddie Gibbs "Scottie Pippens" Covert Coup (2011)

No chorus was needed when Curren$y and Gangsta Gibbs cruised through the murky and mysterious Alchemist-produced “Scottie Pippens.” Gibbs’ relentless verse in particular is something to be marveled at, opening with the awesome “Reporting live from the Devil’s palace/Breakfast had two titties, two blunts and a turkey bacon sandwich”.

5. Wale ft. Big Sean "Slight Work" Ambition (2011)
This song knocks, but should've been like ten times better than it is. It was Diplo's next hip-hop crossover after producing Breezy's "Look At Me Now," and after that banger all we could expect was an equal amount of awesomeness. What we got was a beat that may or may not have been a throwaway Diplo probably found in a hurry before the session, and Wale and Sean (who sounds like he has a chest cold) do what they can. Best line—"I'ma need a yellow cab and a yellow bad bitch."

4. Wale ft. J. Cole & Melanie Fiona "Beautiful Bliss" Attention Deficit (2009)
Wale scored one of his strongest records to date with his 2009 collaboration with J. Cole. Off Wale’s debut album, “Beautiful Bliss” quickly became a radio favorite. Cole might have even stolen the show with his guest verse here.

3. Meek Mill ft. Big Sean "Burn" Dreamchasers 2 (2012)
Summer 2012 can best be defined with this burning collabo from Meek and Sean. Not only did the Jahlil Beats-produced jam set the summer ablaze but it also scored Meek a Top 50 Billboard hit and spawned a string of attempted remakes. Does anyone remember this track originally being Jadakiss'? Us neither.

2. Kendrick Lamar “HiiiPOWER” Section.80 (2011) (Produced by J. Cole)

It’s more than a song. Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul have described “HiiiPoWer” as a movement, one standing for heart, honor and respect. The song’s title has grown to  become one of Black Hippy’s signature phrases. Often thought of as solely belonging to Kendrick Lamar, “HiiiPoWer” is very much a Freshman collaboration, with J. Cole on the beat. Cole sat in on dozens of mixes of this Section.80 standout, which went on to garner critical acclaim.

A$AP Rocky ft. Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson & Big K.R.I.T. "1 Train"Long.Live.A$AP (2013)

It’s hard to deny a song with SIX XXL Freshmen as the greatest Freshmen collaboration, even if it comes from the rapper who was too cool for school last year. Damn you Rocky! Anyway, Pretty Flacko drafted some of the most talented lyricists to ever appear on a Freshman cover for “1 Train”, which makes stops in Harlem, Brooklyn, Queens, Compton, Alabama and Detroit, before B.I.G. K.R.I.T. closes out the festivities with some southern twang. Who had the best verse on this epic posse cut? Let us know in the comments section below.