Whether you agree with XXL‘s Freshman Class Cover selections or not, the highly lauded issue is guaranteed to do two things: get the people talking and expose Hip-Hop fans to artists they may have previously never heard. In recent years, the publication has done their due diligence to improve the latter by giving the selected Freshman a platform to spit for the viewers.
So far a string of freestyles have released, including contributions from TDE rappers ScHoolboy Q and Ab-Soul, rising Brooklyn MC Joey Bada$$, and G.O.O.D. Music’s recent signee Travis $cott.
See a few words and a some bars from the aforementioned Pro Era lyricist below. Delve into freestyles from the other three artists on the following pages.
So, seeing Kendrick make it, seeing J. Cole make it—I been listening to their whole come up—literally, J. Cole The Come Up and Isht— I just been listening from then and to [come from] just listening to an artist that’s on rise like them, I feel like I absorbed that all into my subconscious and that’s kinda how it came together in such synch, in my case. I observe a lot.
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Photo: XXL
Ab-Soul
It’s tight being a XXL Freshman. Especially with my labelmate, friend, brother, Schoolboy. Yeah.
On our way here we were like, “I hope they let us smoke in here.” Real talk that. If I couldn’t smoke in here, this would be tough. Real talk. And not even especially because it’s in New York. It’s like, you guys know that we smoke. So please have somewhere we could smoke some weed. It’s cold out here. So XXL, thank you. I appreciate it, for real. Glad to be here.
