XXL presents the 2018 XXL Freshman Class featuring:

• Fort Lauderdale Fla.’s Ski Mask The Slump God
• Miami’s Lil Pump
• Miami’s Smokepurpp
• Atlanta’s J.I.D
• London’s Stefflon Don
• Memphis’ BlocBoy JB
• Birmingham Ala.’s YBN Nahmir
• West Palm Beach Fla.’s Wifisfuneral
• Canton Ohio’s Trippie Redd

rip lil skies, maxo kream, famous dex, Rich the Kid

I could’ve told you Dex would never make XXL.

RIP, all these dudes are trash except Ski Mask.

I fuck w Trippie Redd & Ski Mask pretty hard

-Ski Mask is the best rapper on the list (not to say others aren't good). He has a very unique style and flow and can also compliment other artists very well. I was scared he would turn down the list this year since he very well could have been on the 2017 version with XXX but glad to see him here
-Lil Pump makes good hype music, not expecting much out of him but he is definitely good at what he does. Obviously, people aren't gonna be happy he is on the list but he's an interesting character.
-Smokepurpp is similar to Pump, but instead of being an interesting character he is more talented in the producing field and can also make good music.
-J.I.D is someone I never really got into but from what I know he is a good lyrical/conscious rapper.
-Stefflon Don shouldn't be on the list, its pretty much the same thing as Kamiyah last year, sacrificing quality for "diversity" by adding in a female rapper who is much less qualified for the list than other candidates.
-BlocBoy's music is catchy but I think he doesn't deserve a spot on the list either seeing how he was completely boosted by rappers with more popularity (Drake, 21 Savage, Tay-K). I think he has potential somewhere but he hasn't really shown to be very good alone.
-YBN Nahmir makes pretty good songs and is really catchy. He may not be as massive as other rappers on the list but he still is pretty popular and makes good music. He has tons of potential to become bigger I think.
-Wifisfuneral is another person I haven't really listened to and can't really form a solid opinion on.
-Trippie Redd has a lot of musical talent and is another big name on this list, he makes really good songs and has a good vibe to his music. The only problem he really has is that he seems to be getting himself into a lot of trouble recently.

I was really hoping to sees Skies and Rich the Kid on there but they both turned it down. I know Rich turned it down because Skies backed out and he was supposed to be the replacement but he didn't want to be a backup when he thought he had been deserving to be on the list for the past few years I think Dex may have been in a similar boat since he is close to Rich. I'm not sure exactly while Skies turned it down but I'm assuming it's because he may have felt like he didn't need the cover or simply didn't want to do it. I think that is also part of the problem with XXL not being able to get good artists on the list and having to settle with lower quality. Newer rappers simply think they are too big for the list or don't think it's going to be relevant in their career or help them get anywhere, they just don't care about it anymore.

Dex will never be on the list, because an editor at XXL said they didn’t put him up “because he beat up his girlfriend”, which was a while prior to the list. He ended up roasting and flaming her, so he’s blacklisted pretty much. Lil Skies is dope. Should’ve been on.

I’m the first person to say that music, especially rap, doesn’t have to be complex to be good. But man, Pump is hot trash. If you take every rap stereotype and put it into one parody, you get Pump.

If you take away every expensive feature, BlocBoy has nothing. YBN is not about that, so he should stop claiming. He ain’t a killer, he a pussy with trash music. Trippie is the same. Even if Trippie was about that banging, he’s just a copy of Weezy and Uzi (which is funny since Uzi is a copy of Weezy too).

all that music is garbage in my opinion

i will always love you™.
welcome to hell i'll be your guide™.
you smell (nice/bad)™.
I am the Leader of the Peaceful Protests in the Jailbreak server.
d a n k m e m e s

Only good one is Trippie, and maybe Ski Mask. The other ones I don't know or aren't good.

Trippie needs to give his dap back to Uzi, Uzi needs to give his dap back to Weezy.

Rich Brian should of made the list as the 10th spot but Lilliam Pumpernickel is too popular