XXL Explains Chief Keef Being Included In 2013 Freshmen Class

XXL’s Editor in Chief Vanessa Satten sat down with MTV to talk answer one of the most asked questions since XXL unveiled its 2013 Freshmen class — why was Chief Keef included as the ’11th Freshman’ and what does that mean? Well, the answers are finally here. According to Vanessa Satten, Keef was actually one of the first Freshmen picked.

MTV:

“We locked Chief Keef down as one of the first Freshmen, and that was back in October,” she said before reminding fans that Keef’s six-day jail bid prevented him from being part of the shoot in New York City. “There was no album, there was no jail bid, there was no legal drama. So that happened after we locked him down.”

Unsure of how Keef’s legal situation would play out, Satten and her staff decided to keep the “I Don’t Like” rapper on as an honorable mention and have since gotten a post-jail interview with him that they will spotlight in the issue when it hits stands April 8. As for that little album he dropped in December, Satten isn’t sweating it. “Sometimes rules are meant to be broken,” she said. “We felt it was wrong for him to not be part of that group.”