Before the 2019 XXL Freshman Class will be revealed this summer, the Freshman hopefuls are here to show and prove why they deserve a spot in this year’s class. The 10th Spot voting will launch on March 25, which means hip-hop's rising newcomers are vying for a spot on the 2019 XXL Freshman cover.

Harlem’s own TJ Porter has always had big dreams, but they initially involved hoops instead of hip-hop. Porter, 18, had plans to make it to the league while playing point guard for basketball powerhouse Cardinal Hayes High School. However, a broken ankle and the death of one of his friends made him switch to his second love, rap. So far, the change is paying off.

After cutting his teeth with early projects like More to Life (2016) and We Gone Ball: The EP (2017), Porter created a big buzz with the single “Tricky,” which is in the 3 million streams club on SoundCloud. Def Jam drafted the priority prospect in the summer of 2018. After that, he applied full-court pressure on the November 2018 Pregame EP, February’s No Disturbance and appearances on Def Jam’s Undisputed compilation. Voice of the Trenches, his debut album, drops in May.

Now that you've heard his pitch, remember to vote for your favorite artist beginning March 25. The 2019 XXL Freshman 10th Spot will run for one week. This is where the public gets the chance to vote an artist into the XXL Freshman Class. Go here to make your vote count for your favorite artist.

Once you voted, head over to XXL’s YouTube page to take a look back at the 2018 XXL Freshman Class, which featured Ski Mask The Slump God, Lil Pump, Smokepurpp, J.I.D, Stefflon Don, BlocBoy JB, YBN Nahmir, Wifisfuneral and Trippie Redd.

And watch all the 2019 XXL Freshman pitch videos that have been released on XXL's YouTube page here.

See Every XXL Freshman Class Cover Over the Years

More From XXL