All tagged XXL Freshman List
With the release of the annual XXL Freshman list commemorating twelve up and coming Hip-Hop artists that are expected to make an impact in the genre throughout their careers. Selected to the 2022 XXL Freshman List are Nardo Wick, Doechii, SoFaygo, Babyface Ray, Kali, KayCyy, Cochise, BIG30, KenTheMan, Big Scarr, Saucy Santana, and BabyTron. Some of these names are artists I’ve written or talked about within the past year and others are artists that I’m being exposed to for the first time. Having listened to a lot of their music and curated a playlist with some of their best tracks, here are my rankings for the 2022 XXL Freshman List.
With the increasing selection of Hip-Hop artists who focus more on melodies and less on lyricism, you have to question the modern effectiveness of the cyphers on artists like Playboi Carti and most recently Coi Leray who lack freestyle rap skills. The lack of traditional rap skills set them up for failure and viral lowlights during the cover’s media cycle. One could easily argue the time it took for XXL to change its format is a sign of XXL’s mishandling and outdated format of promotion for the selections each year, forcing upcoming artists into unfamiliar situations with the expectation they execute styles that came and went before the artist’s career even began.
