Two weeks ago XXL Magazine rolled out their highly controversial and heavily touted annual “Freshmen 10” (this year bumped to 11!) cover, which is supposed to be an indicator of the hottest young guns in hip-hop. This year’s cover was heavy on white rappers, kiddie rappers and rappers I’d never even heard material from. You can chalk that up to being so deeply invested the Chicago scene that I missed it, or simply not caring. Probably the latter. One thing that was clear (and something I predicted months ago), was that no Chicago emcees would make the cut. The L.E.P. Bogus Boys would’ve been an obvious inclusion, but as we’ve seen in the past, duos and groups are excluded from this honor (like The Cool Kids, Kidz In The Hall and Pac Div before them). That’s a shame too, because both Count and Moonie deserved this look (in my humble opinion, of course). Both GLC and Mikkey Halsted dropped stellar debut albums in 2010, but they’ve both been around for a few years with high profile affiliations, so XXL probably didn’t see them as “Freshmen”. And this isn’t to take away from the contributions of Chicago’s young emcees, many of whom made major moves this year (think Rockie Fresh, Vic Mensa, YP), but for whatever reason, XXL didn’t seem to think ANY Chicago artists were worthy. Not since 2008, when Lupe Fiasco was featured, has a Windy City artist made the cut. Gibbs is close, hailing from Gary, but that still doesn’t clock in as Cook County.
So the third largest city in the US, and one of the world’s biggest cultural hubs can’t produce a solo artist worthy of the XXL cover? This can’t be life, right? What is the problem here? We have a great blog/website support system (DJBooth, RubyHornet, GowhereHipHop), and a highly-rated all-indie all-Chicago radio show on WGCI (Timbuck2’s Go Ill Radio) – not to mention an internet radio station that plays all Chicago music all day (WBMZ Radio). But are these artists falling on deaf ears outside of Chicago? Is the outside world paying attention to us? Every year LA has a couple of artists, so does New York. Hell, Pennsylvania rolls DEEP damn near yearly. Are we stuck on an island out here or something? You’re telling me that our bench isn’t that deep that we can’t compete in the game?
Last week, I was a guest on Merk Murphy’s The Session, a “video conference” event where Merk offers up advice to aspiring artists and critiques music. Merk asked me what I thought it would take for a solo Chicago artist to achieve this status and I really didn’t have an answer for him. Gaining the buzz it takes to land on this list isn’t something you can be taught in a class, nor is there some magical kit you can buy to gain entrance. It takes a lot of hard work, the proper push, strategic alignment, good management and most importantly luck.
So do you think Chicago was robbed, or is it justifiable that we haven’t landed an artist on the cover in 4 years? Not that the Freshmen 10 is the end all be all for successful upstarts, but it sure does raise your profile, and allows the artists to tour and walk into label offices for serious meetings. What are we doing wrong, or perhaps, what are they missing?
End of it all, Fuck XXL.
Chicago always been able to hold it’s stand in the industry whether it was common making major moves, Ye, or Lu claiming the underground scene. Hell, Brat had her moment in the 90’s. We just need to keep supporting us as a city (that’s why West coast been shining on XXL every YEAR.) and make sure we let our artist shine NATIONALLY. Expand them and bring them outside of chicago. Keepin it sheltered won’t do shit. Bring the chi music to NY, LA, ATL. End of the day, We as MC’s from chicago will get our shine and Keep the flame going soon. Especially in 2011 with Rockie fresh, GLC with dame dash, Mikkey and No I.D, KTD, and even new artist growing(me haha plug plug.)
Side note: We really don’t need an XXL feature to get our Artist on the scene (Ex Drake, Vado, Chip, Dom Kennedy)
I know NY didnt have one on last years cover and everyone, including XXL mag, went ape shit!
the dude with the pirates cap looks like corky but anyway, it’s no biggie really. there’s other mediums to shine through besides XXL
I remember lupe bein showcased in XXL under “Show & Prove” some years ago. I can see why many from the chi didn’t make the cover, XXL wants new talent not talent thats been around for years. Thats not what sells anymore Twista is a good example. He had been around grindin heavy wayyyyyy before Kamikaze but that was the rest of the world outside of chicago’s first chance at hearing him via video’s, blogs, nationwide radio, bet, mtv etc etc. The same can be said for common how long was he doin his thang b4 he finally popped nationwide?
New talent is the way to go, If your existing talent at least from the outside world you’ll be overlooked.
i kan make an argument for every artist on the cover except for yg and lil twist.. i love that mac miller lil b and krit made the cover but ima be honest and the chi might hate me nobody in the chi (besides l.e.p) has made a national impact like all the other artists on the cover. ive heard all these artists tapes or songs all over the net and all of em got their own little following. rockie fresh and yp are on the cusp of sum national exposure i think mic terror is long over due for a blow up but chicagos artist just arent getting that shine. its not kus people got a grudge on the chi either its just nobody has exerted themselves on the national scene and made a big enough push to be on the xxl cover maybe next year. when u mention lupe on the cover its kus lupes buzz was huge he had jay and ye cosigning him and a major deal and a stellar debut album lupe had a buzz none of these cats in the chi outside of lep got a buzz right now and im just keeping it real im not haitng on any artist out there. love to see mic terror yp or rockie up next but they gotta step the national presence up,
YG has a huge buzz in the west coast
If its one thing i notice, is that some of these artist are on the this cover because of their affiliation to Lil Wayne Rick Ross or Eminem. But then you have Lil B,now call me a hater if you want, but the shit that comes of his mouth is garbage. Truthfully I never heard a track from Lil’ Twist Kendric Lamar YG or Fred tha Godson. But even for the artist I have heard off this cover I still think that our freshmen artist from chicago like YP Rockie Fresh Big Homie Doe are alot better.
I fuck with Yelawolf though, he about the only one
Chicago artist here, I haven’t even had my songs or videos play on FSD
Check for L..G.F vol. 2 , Here’s Vol. 1 free link.
http://www.datpiff.com/pop-mixtape-player.php?id=mb4d946e
FUCK LEP THEY TRIED TO BUY THE INDUSTRY THAT’S WHY THEY NOT ON THERE SUCKAZ
YOU CAN DELETE IT BUT ITS THE TRUTH BARBER LEP TRIED TO BUY THEY WAY IN THE INDUSTRY THATS WHY THEY NOT ON THERE AND YOU KNOW ITS TRUE THATS WHY YOU DELETED MY COMMENT YOU ON THE PAYROLL
cosign
Chicago Artist are not promoting like these other artist and are happy with only Chicago success I heard music from everyone on the list and its not they are heavy on white artist Mac Miller has been ruling the internet since early in the year and Yelawolf has too. You on see our artist on Chicago Blogs and the world is not reading Fake Shore Drive. Rockie Fresh has to put HIMSELF in that class XXL is not going to do it because he has a couple of videos and some local shows he has to be everywhere so everyone can see him and that goess with all of our artist
if you’ve checked out these articles before, a lot of these dudes HAVE been out there already like Lil B, from he pack. how is he fresh when he’s been national already. i respect yelawolf and krit being there though, although yelawolf has also had national shine before his shady entertainment affiliation. if you read past ones, they always kept bringing out fucking crooked i and he wasn’t new at all. take their list with a grain of salt. its no biggie, there’s tons of other artists they’ve overlooked and have blown up without ever being on this like nicki and drake. its not that serious folks.
i think FSD should do they own version of freshman class… bcuz if an artist cant make it to the top 10 in the city..its no way in hell they will make it to XXLs top ten. Then mayb when they look at the Chi they will notice who FSD believes is the top acts and start to research the artists more…
@Kenio Key, they do exactly that in the Bay. It’s called The Bay Area Freshman 10. All the Bay Area focused blogs (and there are many) put their two sense in, then the radio DJ’s, and finally fans send in their opinions. They then put out the list, and make a mixtape of all their music. It hasen’t put anyone on the XXL list (Lil B is from the Bay but we don’t rep him in the least bit), but it has really upped the exposure of MC’s like Davinci, Moe Green, Roach Gigz and some others that are getting write ups on most national blogs, like The Smoking Section, 2 Dope Boyz, Complex, etc…
@Matt dope shit..yea that wud be the shit for Chi..and give ppl an xtra reason to go hard.
EFirst off I bet money rockie fresh on there next year …second I’m no raja fan but he got fuked the worst …..yelawolf maken umoves n fukin wit alota og raprs big boi em juicy j etc….lil twist cmon son Diggy betta den jojo but cmon son i guess he fa shorties …..Fred da godson neva listned to him name to corny plus helook like cornball ….yg heavy on west coast I think he wack but “toot it and boot it” dat shit doe ..big krit gotta heavy buzz ..meek mills ROSS ..Lil b may b “wack”(fundamentaly) but the nigga hella entertaining he a character MAC miller a character to n he nice as hell …Character is something 90% of Chicago rappers lac niggas can rap but they cant entertain NIGGAS NEED SOME PERSONALITY OUT HERE REAL TALK!!!!
agreed
Character is something 90% of Chicago rappers lac niggas can rap but they cant entertain NIGGAS NEED SOME PERSONALITY OUT HERE REAL TALK!!!!
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True.
^^^^^OOPS MEANT WAKA
.NOT RAJA
^^^^^OOPS MEANT WAKA
.NOT RAJA
Let’s be honest here. Correct, XXL could care less about groups. Vic will make it on there one day too if he keeps thinkin out the box. Rockie needs to come into his own. Too Kanye-ish/Drake-ish. And YP’s moves were on the coat tails of rappers that either just made the list or want to make the list too. His time will come as well. The LEP omission was faulty and XXL is in violation. I don’t know how the Cool Kids never made it either. Thats why lists ain’t really shit.
They don’t take groups my dude!!!
LEP, Kids In The Hall, and the Cool Kids were robbed with no gun. A few Chicago solo rappers have a shot. But alot of you rappers have to ask yourself, besides bars what are you bringing to the table?………..
chuuuch
I think mja makes a good point about Chicago artists not making a national push. But THAT IS WHY THEY ARE GOOD CHICAGO ARTISTS! Chicago is the city where we do what we want, without looking for validation, that’s what makes us great. We do our own thing. XXL and all the other media heads will come around when they want some real shit. Until then, keep your head up!
Check me out…on the come up –> http://www.youtube.com/user/KIDmus1c?feature=mhum
Great write up Drew!
How I see it is, if you take 10 artists from the Chi and pin them against 10 other emcees from the NATION, the Chi will shit on the nation. Hands down!
We just need that extra push, because we damn sure have the best talent in the country.
Does anyone else see the irony in fakeshoredrive whining about someone else’s fucked up list?
these dudes should have been in that list watch out for these cats
http://thedetroitzuu.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-artist-highlight.html
I JUST SAY FUCK IT! YOU CAN’T CRY OVER SPILLED MILK! EVERY ARTIST FROM THE CHI SHOULD GO TO SxSW THIS YEAR AND BLOW THEIR SHOWS OUT THE WATER!!!!!!
I think to be recognized it has to be more so of you just doing things in your own markets. BUT before we can really look into this list we have to see what the criteria is on basing who makes this list. Like I just want to know how these conclusions are drawn and then I think we would see why these name are on here and maybe why some should be removed and some should stay.
This list doesn’t mean much, perfect example is Charles Hamilton. It’s all about getting the correct exposure and presentation.
lets look at the past leaders of new school/freshman class
2008
Lil Boosie
Lupe Fiasco
Saigon
Rich Boy
Plies
Gorilla Zoe
Young Dro
Joell Ortiz
Papoose
Crooked I
2009
Ace Hood
Curren$y
Wale
Asher Roth
B.o.B
Kid Cudi
Charles Hamilton
Blu
Corey Gunz
Mickey Factz
2010
Nipsey Hu$$le
Wiz Khalifa
J. Cole
Pill
Freddie Gibbs
Big Sean
OJ Da Juiceman
Donnis
Jay Rock
Fashawn
only 1s that have just a standout image full package artist, is Mac Miller, and Big Krit….2 artist that have there shit set……. cant complain who diddnt make it and who did…it is xxl choice, like dude way above said, they should have a fakeshoredrive chicago top 10 edition, but have a bunch of diffrent people make the decison who makes it….so it isnt completley bias….
mick luter,skooda, amilcar, marvo, sly p…hell anyone of them coulda gpt that slot for the last couple years….lil b…come on now…xxxl need to turn they goofy down….
I don’t see how the hell Lil B made the cover he’s not even a real MC he don’t talk about shit! They over lookin Chicago talent and it’s Chicago artist that shoulda made the list b4 some of them did.
I gotta agree with some of the comments above, i look for rap and hip hop on a few different sites: fsd, nahright, hypetrack, freshnewtracks, and digitaldripped; well i dont see any chicago rappers except the already major ones on those not chicago specific sites. Chicago rappers need to get on the national scene before you start saying how they got cheated. Mic Terror and Hollywood holt are too great examples both good rappers but outside of chicago no one knows who they are. The only person who i think got cheated is XV from witchita kansas.
rise and shine about to have some real life problems tone touch real talk we know who yall are now and them female singer why put them in danger for fake dissing.
I think in order for Chicago to get an emcee on the list. CHICAGO NEEDS TO BACK an EMCEE for the list.
XXL naw they just waiting 4 me
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Babyface Monster-Chicago Hip-hop
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YoungEighty will be the biggest artist this year in chicago.. I PREDICT!
Nobody cares about Chicago!!! I live in NY now and be in DC and Miami every other weekens, and the only thing ppl talk about when it comes to the Chi is DERRICK ROSE!! Fuck a LEP or all those other pointless lames… they are irrelevant outside of Cook County LOL!! To be honest, Berg and those wack ass LEP drug money spending niggaz is actually a POOR REPRESENTATION of Chicago. My advice to all Chi indie artist…. GET OUT OF CHICAGO… ASAP… THERE’S NOTHING THERE EXCEPT UGLY ASS HOES, A FAKE ASS WANNA BE HIP HOP SCENE, AND “WANT YOU TO KISS THEIR ASS” DJ’s!!!!
Lmao too much frontin’ going on in Chicago, and still yet there’s any REAL MOVES MADE!!
And that dude Merk is a fuckin joke and a super frontin ass lame. That nigga got champagne dreams on a beer salary… so please don’t bring that pussy name up again on this blog!!
#GoBULLS but its still FUCK CHICAGO!!!
Boi you talk alot of shit to be from the crib! i was on here be4 and seen you talkin shit abou BUMP! I really aint say shit but damn joe you must use to get that ass beat boiiiiiii!!!!!!!!! wats your real problem with the crib fam one of the guys took your bitch or some? im a real nigga joe I stay in ATL and I take this Chicago shit to the heart i will to you where I stay and we can meet face to face and thats on DA B.O.S! you need to cut it out you no you want be talkin about the crib like that if you was in the GO! truth be told I think you a goofy! CUT OUT LIL FAM