2013 XXL Freshman Class is in full effect, and time will tell if this will be the best class ever.

In the meantime, we’re taking a look back at each XXL Freshman from past classes to see what they’ve been up through their music since being a Freshman.

This is what Big Sean, XXL Freshman Class of 2010, has been up to musically with his best tracks.

Guap

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Big Sean created an online frenzy last month when a photo (see above) of him, alongside Eminem and Royce Da 5’9″ surfaced the Net. Since the flick, details about the Detroit spitters’ session were scarce, up until now—sort of. During his recent appearance on NBC’s Nitecap With Peter Bailey, the Sean gave some details about linking with Eminem, revealing that their session was simply “historical.”

Now it’s still unclear as to whether or not any recordings were for Em’s forthcoming album or Sean’s Hall Of Fame release but, the G.O.O.D. Music rhyme slinger did touch on the lengthy conversation he had with both Eminem and Royce. “It was crazy just coming from Detroit. We sat and talked for a couple of hours even before we did anything musically, ” Sean revealed.

“So, I was just telling them how much—how crazy it is man coming from The D. Them was the superstars. Them was the heroes in rap music. And they showed me that you can be worldwide. Cause it was always local heroes, but obviously one of the biggest rappers in the world is from Detroit. It was a big deal there. It was an honor man, straight up.”

Watch the rest of Sean’s interview below, where he also touches on Rick Ross’ recent ordeal with Reebok and more.

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The NBA playoffs are in full-swing, and with only four series left, it’s coming down to the final moment to determine which team’s the league champion. But the NBA playoffs aren’t only good watching high intensity basketball; they’re also prime events at which to see your favorite rapper (if you’re into that kinda thing).

Now, XXL has put together a gallery of 28 photographs of rappers hanging out courtside at basketball games.

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In case you’ve forgotten, Mother’s Day 2013 is upon us. Mothers play a huge role in all of our lives, and for our favorite rappers, their influence frequently comes through via their rhymes. It’s no surprise that rappers love their moms, sharing personal moments that we all can relate to. With that in mind, let’s take some time to celebrate of some of the most visible mothers hip-hop has to offer, from Donda West to Afeni Shakur.

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Earlier this week, the world of hip-hop was shocked when new broke that legendary DJ and Hot 97 personality Mister Cee was arrested after reportedly trying to solicit a male prostitute who was an undercover NYPD officer. Yet this isn’t the first time that Mister Cee has found himself in this position. In 2011, he was arrested after police found him receiving fellatio from a transvestite prostitute in his car – a crime to which he admitted guilt. While it’s not XXL‘s position to weigh in on any individual’s personal life, Cee’s recent arrest comes as the latest installment in a series sex crimes in hip-hop. Now, we’ve compiled a list of six other criminal incidents of a sexual nature.

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This week in the Twittersphere, Kanye West sent fans into a tizzy when he revealed a possible release date for his next album, Tyler the Creator took Dr. Boyce Watkins to task and Iggy Azalea let the journalists everywhere know to step their game up. Also, J. Cole apparently doesn’t want Tia and Tamera to know about his song “Cole Summer.” I wonder why….

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This week on Twitter, Big Sean met (and possibly collaborated with) one of Detroit’s finest, Action Brons tells the kids to stay away from molly, Tyler the Creator contemplates bumping some Dirt McGirt and Juicy J thanks fans for their generous “gifts.”

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Tragedy struck early this week when two men bombed the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring over 140. Although the suspects in the bombing have been brought to justice, with the younger of the two now in custody, the people of Boston are still reeling from the tragedy that took place throughout the week. Now, XXL picks out a series of Tweets from the world of hip-hop of MCs responding to the news.

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Sean Don is back with his vlog series. In the latest installment, Big Sean reflects on his family while he travels from Detroit to Paris. He shares his ups and downs before his big break and how he had his family throughout everything to hold him down. Sean narrates throughout the exclusive BTS footage with appearances from Kanye West, 2 Chainz, Pusha T, Common, No I.D., Rita Ora, Wale, Wiz Khalifa, Lupe Fiasco, Teyana Taylor, and T-Pain. In the 4:19 video, Sean explains, “You may or may not have a mom or dad or whatever but you’ve got something or someone you’re loyal to or who’s loyal to you. I always heard blood makes you related and loyalty makes you family. The people I’m around from my homies, mentors, crew— that’s my family. They’re my motivation. They’re the reason these late nights happen, one of the reasons they make sense.” Check out the inspirational flick above.

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Currently on the road touring, Big Sean stopped by DC radio station 93.9 WKYS and kept mum when asked about the likelihood of Eminem appearing on his forthcoming sophomore set, Hall Of Fame. Though he didn’t confirm nor deny the appearance, the Detroit rhymeslinger did leave room for speculation. “Nah, I can’t confirm it,” he initially responded about the collaboration before going further, “But he may be on there. I’m pretty sure you’ll get an Eminem/Big Sean collab sooner or later. Whether you get it on Hall Of Fame, whether you get it after Hall Of Fame, [I’m] pretty sure you’re gonna get something.”

So could fans expect an Em and Sean collab soon? We’ll just have to wait and see. But until then, Sean is prepping his Hall Of Fame LP, which could see a summer release. Check out the rest of the Motor City MC’s interview with 93.9 WKYS below.

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Over the past week, Kid Cudi has been making headlines due to his sudden departure from G.O.O.D. Music to start his own Wicked Awesome imprint. Now, Cudder reveals how Kanye West took the news.

Kid Cudi spoke to the LA Leakers about his conversation with Kanye regarding leaving the G.O.O.D. Music Family. According to Cudi, Yeezy was totally supportive of Cudi parting ways with his imprint, even down to the fact that Cudi asked to have the G.O.O.D. logo removed from his albums.

“I just felt like there was a shift in my creative ventures and things I wanted to do,” he said. “I’ve never been fully signed to G.O.O.D Music. It’s always been a joint venture between me and Kanye…I just wanted to do my own thing, and there’s nothing wrong with that, and I know that there’s nothing wrong with that ’cause I talked to Kanye about it, and he was just like, ‘Yes! Do whatever the fuck you feel is right, I don’t blame you. I feel you on that.’ Even down to, like – it was a big deal for me, but, ‘Yo, so I want to take the G.O.O.D. Music logo off all my albums from here on out. Is that okay?’ And he was like, ‘Man, whatever. Whatever you’ve got to do.’”

He added, “He believes in me, man. He believes in me in such a freakish way that maybe he might not feel like he needs to be on a song with me, or it could be beats or anything like that…I know he’s not like that with everybody.”

Most recently, Big Sean spoke about Cudi’s departure, saying that, “We still crew, whether it’s G.O.O.D. Music or not, that’s my dog.”

Check out the full interview at the top.

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Big Sean and Naya Rivera made their debut as a couple at the premiere of new movie 42 in Los Angeles. The young couple walked the red carpet hand-in-hand then pose with their arms around each other. The two have been linked for a while. The rumors started when Naya was seen at the rapper’s surprise 25th birthday party in Las Vegas earlier this month. The G.O.O.D. Music MC tweeted at the time: “@nayarivera was in on it too, lookin good… I really had no idea about this…”

Naya then tweeted a picture of them together at the birthday celebration, writing: ‘Such a good picture from last night. Best surprise ever!” They further fueled romance rumors when they attended the Rihanna concert at Los Angeles’ Staples Center together, Monday night. I also like to point out that Naya’s character on Glee, Santana Lopez, has enjoyed same-sex romances.

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It looks like Big Sean has a new squeeze.

According to the Daily Mail, the G.O.O.D. Music rapper and actress Naya Rivera made their public debut as a couple at the premiere of the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 this week. Rivera is perhaps best known for her role on the sitcom “Glee.”

The two reportedly met at Sean’s surprise 25th birthday party last month. The two were later seen in the audience at Rihanna’s recent performance at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Monday.

Check out additional pics of the couple at the Daily Mail.

[via Daily Mail]

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Fall Out Boy first collaborated with 2 Chainz for their new album, Save Rock & Roll. Now, the group has recruited Big Sean for “The Mighty Fall.” The song, which features powerful guitars and booming drums, picks up the pace when Sean jumps on to deliver his verse.

Listen to “The Mighty Fall” below. Grab Save Rock & Roll when it drops on April 15.

[via FSD]

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Big Sean released the new track “Switch Up” featuring Common a few days ago and last night the G.O.O.D. Music rapper premiered it live. On the campus of the University of Southern California, for their Springfest concert, B-I-G included the cut in his set adding, “This is a real motherfucking song. It aint no diss song,” quelling speculation that the track is a diss aimed at former lable mate, KiD CuDi. Though not an official single, the song should appear on the “Guap” rappers upcoming album, Hall of Fame.

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This week in the Twittersphere, Drake gets gassed over Rosie O’Donnell, The Alchemist signs a new deal, and El-P comes to the realization that he’s older than Rick Ross. Also, Action Bronson live-Tweets accidentally soiling himself. Maybe.

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KiD CuDi’s recent departure from G.O.O.D Music was a surprise to a lot of people, including his label mates. Big Sean was recently a guest on Power 106 in Los Angeles and discussed his former G.O.O.D. Music brethren’s recent switch up saying there is no love lost between the two. “That’s my brother,” said Sean confirming that CuDi would still appear on his upcoming LP, Hall of Fame. “Me and him making music together. We still crew, whether it’s G.O.O.D. Music or not, that’s my dog.”

Sean went on to say that he was just as surprised as anyone to hear the news of CuDi’s departure. “He didn’t tell anybody about it,” he said. “Somebody hit me up, then I saw it on Twitter. And then I saw yall interview, so I was like damn. That’s his business, though. He doesn’t have to call and let everybody know what he is doing business wise. Even though we a fam. Just cause we aint on the same G.O.O.D. Music label, that’s my homie.”

He also shut down rumors that his recent song “Switch Up” is a veiled diss aimed at Cudder. “Hell naw, that’s the homie,” he confirmed. “No bad energy right there.”

Check out the entire clip, below.

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Big Sean is supposed to be dropping a new song today, titled “Switch It Up.” Before we get excited about that, Sean Don took to his Instagram to share his five XXL Awards. If you remember, we decided to honor the players in hip-hop who did it big in 2012.

So much luv for @XXL mag for sending my XXL awards! I got 5 of them! From my Freshman 10 issue til now u guys have always been there n done so much for me n my Fam! #good #ffoe

Sean won XXL Awards for Record of the Year (“Mercy”), Best Group Album (“Cruel Summer”), Best Remix (“I Don’t Like (Remix)”), Best Ad-Libber and Best Rapper/Non-Rapper Collaboration (“As Long As You Love Me).

Congrats to Sean Don, again. Recent artists who shared their awards with fans were Curren$y, Kendrick Lamar, Juicy J, Mike Will Made It and more.

Previously: First Annual XXL Awards Winners

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