This years issue marks the 10th anniversary of the XXL Freshman franchise. The ten honorees are handpicked by industry tastemakers, rappers, and fellow hip-hop heads from all over the country. Twitter’s mixed reactions about the cover is exactly why we appreciate XXL for instigating this particular hip hop debate for the past ten years.

 

This year’s Freshman Class includes the Bay Area’s Kamaiyah. The Bronx’s A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Philadelphia’s PnB Rock, Tokyo representer Madeintyo, Atlanta’s Playboi Carti,  Portland’s Amine’. Atlanta’s Kap G, Ventura, Calif.’s Kyle; Houston’s Ugly God and 10th Spot winner XXTentacion.

Don’t worry, if you have no clue who some of these kids are, neither did we   XXL will be rolling out content from each artist over next month, leading up to a live showcase in NYC at the Playstation theater June 28th. The Los Angeles XXL Freshman show is set to take place July 12th at The Novo.

Congratulations to the 2017 XXL Freshman Class: Kamaiyah, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, PnB Rock, Madeintyo, Playboi Carti, Aminé, Kap G, Kyle, Ugly God and XXXTentacion. Generation next. Who do you think deserved to be amongst the lucky ten?