Late yesterday, XXL Magazine released their annual 2012 Freshmen list–but this year there’s a twist. XXL is no longer selecting the artists themselves; they’ve decided to open up voting to the general public–something I’m sure they felt was necessary after years of bitching from the peanut gallery.
There’s some very deserving emcees on there (Future, French Montana, Danny Brown), but out of the 50 rappers selected, there are about 10-12 I’ve never even heard of. And I’ve listened to a shit-ton of new rappers this year. Luckily, we have two local emcees in the 2012 nominations: Rockie Fresh and brandUN DeShay.
Rockie is obviously a no brainer as he’s had great success over the past 12 months–having gone on tour with Patrick Stump and sold out every show he’s done in Chicago. However, I can’t front like I’m not surprised to see brandUN DeShay on here. Not to say that he doesn’t deserve it, but he hasn’t made huge leaps locally. But hey, what do I know? Do you think this list fairly represents our local scene, or the new hip-hop scene in general?
Head here to vote early and vote often. Let’s get at least one Chicago representer on the cover.
So a few things…
XXL is choosing 9 out of the 10. The final spot will be chosen by the people. This has confused me a little bit though because sure fire picks (MGK, French Montana, A$AP Rocky) may be the people’s choice, but they’re also sure to be picked by the XXL Staff, so does it go to the person with the highest votes who isn’t on the list? Who knows. Either way it’s a cool idea for this year. I voted for XV just because he has been denied the past 2 years.
I too was kind of mad that some artists I’ve never heard of (MullyMan?) got a spot on there over, like you said, so many artists to have emerged this year. First picks that come to mind are Western Tink, Cities Aviv, Nacho Picasso, and my personal favorite, Frankenstein. There’s always 2013 though right? I think SPIN did a good job of putting together a “Someday XXL Freshmen” list with their 50 Mixtapes You Need Now. Shit was dope.
Finally, I’m glad your hyped on Rockie and brandUN. “AC Green” is stilling stuck in my head. Both of them have talent and I’m glad these artists are getting recognized, even if just as nominees. As you said Future does deserve his spot, but I really wish I didn’t have to predict him. The Annual XXL Freshmen List is something of a hobby of mine and a cornerstone to my blog. I posted my list over there too, but I’ll toss it on here. I’d really like to hear your full predictions too! I tried to chose a nice mix of personal, mainstream, and blog favorites, I truly think I’ll go 8/10 at least, with Action and eXquire being more personal favorites than anything else. My picks are:
A$AP Rocky
Kreayshawn
Danny Brown
Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire
French Montana
Machine Gun Kelly
Stalley
Future
Action Bronson
XV
Hope to hear back!
i thouht marvo was on the list that leaked
Not all the way in tune with any of our local picks. Gotta dig more into there music. The little I’ve heard didn’t leave me thinkin “XXL Freshmen 10” tho. With LEP, King Louie,Mikey Rocks,Lungz,Kids These Days, YP, & Kids In The Hall all droppin big releases that got national love this year I figured at least one would make it. This list carries weight though so salute our local nominees. Im pretty sure noone is ever going to fully agree with it. Lists are funny like that.
i agree with who u talkn about except for YP and King Louie. YP is starting to take his music to a national level now after the release of still awake but the only national coverage louie had was the too cool joint. i do believe that mikey rocks had a big year and shouldve been considered.
Shucks we got 10 artists here that making major strides. We have enough for our own list right? Maybe an FSD Top 10? Tye? Drew?
Wait, V-Nasty is actually on this list?
Where the hell is the cool kids? They put out wfrb mikey put out two mixtapes and chuck produced for all your favorite rappers and they still not on here
they dont take groups. If they did then the cool kids wouldve been on the cover a long time ago. Same with kidz in the hall and lep
Yup…FSD needs to make a list. Amen.