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Reacting to the 2026 XXL Freshman Class and Rich Amiri's recent hot take about freestyling. =================================== Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theneedledrop Follow your melon: Twitter: https://twitter.com/theneedledrop Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afantano Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theneedledrop TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theneedletok editor : austen

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Hey everyone, Doublethony XLtano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. Hope you're doing well.

Let's talk about not just the XXL 2026 Freshman Class this year, but whether or not XXL's Freshman Class feature is something the legendary publication should even continue. Because that's kind of where the debate is right now.

2026 XXL Freshman Class

Meet the 2026 XXL Freshman Class.

XXL MagXXL Staff

XXL has announced its 2026 Freshman Class – essentially the shortlist of new generation artists who the publication feels are going to leave an impact on the industry long term or will have some kind of hot moment in the coming years.

Even though personally, I have found that the number of names that I get excited about in the Freshman Class seems to get lower and lower and lower every year, there actually were some voices announced that I actually did like this year. Like Chris Patrick, who I enjoyed an appearance from on that recent On The Radar Freestyle that we covered on this channel.

Similarly, La Reezy as well, and of course Slayr too, whose new deluxe mixtape re-release I enjoyed quite a bit. Also, TDE affiliate Trap Dickey is in the mix here too. Trim as well, who is very hot off of that "Coconawada" song at the moment.

So it's an interesting list for sure, but still, there has been more debate over whether or not the freshman class should even be a thing anymore due to some comments thrown out there by Rich Amiri, a dude who's a Boston-based rap artist and not just merely throwing bombs at XXL and the rappers who have made this list from the outside. He's actually a previously named XXL freshman from back in 2024.

So in a way, his words here do come from a bit of personal experience, and here's what he had to say:

"I'm not saying the freestyle should just end forever, but if XXL is supposed to introduce new artists, the format gotta evolve with the generation it's covering. This current format is not a showcase, that shit is a trap. The freestyles worked a decade ago because that was a better reflection of what people valued in new rap artists at the time. But now a lot of artists break through because of their melodies, production choices, personality hooks, visuals, etc."

And believe it or not, these comments have been rubbing a lot of people the wrong way. Even though personally on some level, I kind of think that there's some truth to what he's saying here.

I mean, look, it's not a secret. For a long time now, there have been building sentiments among fans who kind of feel like the XXL freshman freestyles and ciphers have sort of lost their touch and their pizzazz.

Personally, I do think a lot of it comes down to picking the types of artists that XXL has been as of late for these features. And whether you like it or not, Rich Amiri is saying some pretty true and accurate stuff here in terms of a lot of these new generation artists not necessarily being known for and not building their success and their audience and their talent off of their freestyling capabilities.

Like obviously, freestyling is a super amazing, entertaining art form, something that as a mode of expression is always going to be linked to hip hop spiritually, even if it's something most artists in the genre aren't doing right now on a regular basis.

While what XXL does and tries to continue to do with the freshman class in terms of like putting on and platforming new and young talent, that as a concept is obviously a good thing that I and everybody support, something they should continue to do. Clearly XXL has a track record of picking some pretty great artists who go on to have very successful and significant careers, whether it be a Travis Scott, a Lil Uzi Vert, a Denzel Curry, or a Kendrick Lamar. And we could name many more people too. Maybe not as many as the number of artists who didn't go on to have careers that were quite as successful, but still.

So while the practice of platforming new names and faces is obviously a good and a positive thing, a net positive thing, regardless, it does feel a little out of sorts or kind of deaf to the times for XXL to still be having a lot of these artists come on and test their mettle and prove themselves using formats that more or less dictated your level of success during older eras of hip hop. Because again, your average successful rapper out there right now in the social media age, isn't making a name for themselves because they had a really great freestyle or could handle their own really well in a cypher.

Now, it's not that there aren't artists out there currently that can actually do that sort of thing. As I mentioned earlier On The Radar did a cypher with a number of different artists not too long ago who actually did show themselves to have that kind of freestyling capability, that in-the-moment performance ability where they can spit something really well written or off the dome at a moment's notice.

It's not like there aren't artists out there who are of that caliber currently. It's just that XXL isn't picking or choosing freshmen based off of those metrics. They're picking and choosing freshmen based off of how much buzz they have online. Which if you are then going to take those same artists and then push them into a cypher and push them into a freestyle right after might not be the best way of going about promoting them.

I mean, I do think there is a little bit of a disconnect here on XXL's part. But with that being said, I can't really dive into this topic without also addressing that on Rich Amiri's part here. I do think there is a weird level of entitlement and I don't know, a lack of care and passion and personal effort being put in here.

Yeah, it's true, maybe freestyling is not your forte or the forte of many different artists who are involved in any number of freshman XXL classes. But given that we're currently in an age where the number of legitimate music publication platforms out there right now are just very few and far between and that as an artist, you are going to spend maybe more time than you would want grinding and fighting tooth and nail to get your name out there and find places and spaces that will actually have you and platform you and write about you and celebrate you and interview you and try to push you out further. Why would you not want to jump at the opportunity to be invited into something like this and then come on and just like do your best?

Look, if you personally don't feel like you're up for the task of just simply putting together 16 bars of lyrics and then just spitting them without it up, then just turn the offer, turn the opportunity down and allow some other guy who is actually excited to do that into that space instead. I mean, for sure, it is true. Like the way that hip hop music is made and popularized has evolved radically over the past 30 years. And maybe this sounds like a little reductive here, but like XXL is a rap magazine. If you're going to be invited on to be platformed, you should expect that they might want you to rap like, at least a little bit.

I'm not saying that necessitates you completely changing who you are as an artist and becoming a lyrical miracle overnight. But you could at the very least like write and prepare something that would allow you to see success and do something that reflects well upon you when time comes to do a little cipher. Do a little freestyle for a video on the platform that nobody's forcing anybody to do; it's invite-only, and you are free to turn down that invite and let somebody else do it instead.

So if you truly think it's a trap and that freestyles and ciphers are like not your thing – which I mean, they're not for everybody – then just allow the guy or girl for whom that is their thing to do it instead. And look, if the ciphers and the freestyles are going to continue to be a pivotal part of the Freshman Class experience, I think XXL should do a little bit better to make sure they're bringing people in who are up for that challenge.

But also with that being said, since the very beginning, it's not like XXL has had this really hard line stringent level of expectations for people who take part in these freestyles. Look at, the old OJ da Juiceman freestyle that he did.

And look, in the recent string of freestyles that XXL has been uploading, as much as I like Slayr, I really wasn't impressed with what he brought to the table.

"Get more cash than the mayor. Who getting more cash in Slayr? Uh, going through different phases. Uh, not a hole that I'm chasing. I be getting more dough daily basis. Play my song back every day."

I mean, there were numerous points where he was starting and stopping. It was a little disappointing, sure. But as much as I like his music and I do think he is a competent lyricist, his freestyling ability isn't what originally sold me on him as an artist. The idea that he would come on and do just an okay freestyle for XXL, doesn't really change my opinions or feelings on him as an artist, which I think is probably the case for most people who already enjoyed Slayr to begin with.

So again, if you could come on and do a goofy freestyle, a subpar freestyle, or just an okay freestyle and still get platform, still get attention, still get people reacting relatively positively. How is doing a freestyle for XXL really truly a trap?

At the end of the day, it just sounds like you're not willing to put in the effort to not be embarrassed. If that's what you want to avoid, either don't do it or put in the effort to look good. As an artist, you're supposed to be investing in your own optics. So go ahead and do that in whatever way best suits you.

So those are my thoughts on that. Let me know yours in the comments down below. I'm sure you will.

Anthony Fantano, XXL, freshman forever.