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The Issue With The 2017 XXL Freshman Cover

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We all have that one artist who when you found their music you followed them on every social media and shared their music with as many friends as possible. When I discovered Kid Cudi, or when a boy I liked told he loved Kid Cudi, I knew after hearing ‘Day n Nite’ that I wanted to download anything Kid Cudi touched. His music was the soundtrack to my high school experience and the soundtrack to the downfall of my non-relationship with said boy. When I finally came around to the XXL Freshman covers it was 2012, I was listening to Iggy Azalea when she was good and was in love with Flatbush Zombies. The XXL covers were a seal of approval that the hip hop community saw you. That the years of struggle of any artist, the fight to get signed and booking small venues all meant something and it was evident on that 8 x 10 ½ magazine cover.

The 2017 XXL Freshman Cover dropped on Jun 13th,2017 and ever since then has been a mainstay on the minds of many writers, fans, and artists. This most recent cover represented 10 years of groundbreaking artists that have shaped hip hop and the XXL cover has been a catalyst for their careers and notoriety. This year was different, of course, there is always the regular debates around the XXL cover but…this year something was different. Many were left feeling like the cover was missing an element that has been slowly fading year after year. The reception wasn’t the warmest because many felt like the cover was an “Industry” cover and not a reflection of a full variety of hip hop we all enjoy. The cover reflected an industry that missed a huge group of artists that have a larger catalog of music and a fan base but isn’t a part of the politics of SoundCloud popularity.

There is a major disconnect. The covers I used to hold in high esteem are becoming memes and spectacles of how off-kilter the cover has become in comparison to the prestige of past covers. The issue seems to reach a head when looking at what criteria are considered for becoming an XXL freshman. In the minds of a regular consumer, we would want to feature a new artist who is the underdog, and artists who we have seen grow, develop and blossom. Those are very different than the goals of the XXL staff.The goals of the XXL freshman class is always to predict the next stars, to give folks with backing and recognition the gold stamp of approval. The XXL cover is there to give a snapshot of the music industry as it is. In many ways, I understand that the goal should be to give an honest look at who will be the next biggest hit and give them a platform to do just that. The issue is in who XXL is giving that platform too.

When looking at the spectrum of artists you have to take into account the complete flip in the culture that has occurred in hip hop since XXL’s first Freshman Cover in 2008.In 2008, when Lupe Fiasco was on the cover he already had two albums under his belt, and “Kick, Push” was already known as his title track. The internet has played a factor in how we consume, interact and value music. It was much harder to get recognition in the early 2000’s through 2010’s as there was less competition but the grind to develop a fanbase and reputation took more effort. In 2017, you can be XXXtentacion or Playboi Carti have a few hit records, develop a fan base off of a cosign or viral hit and garner enough press to get considered for the XXL cover. The barometer for what we consider “the culture” or popular hip hop has been lowered. It doesn’t take much to gain momentum and have that propel you into a deal, tour dates and merch that can have you coast through the industry for some time without question.

Vanessa Satten, Editor In Chief of XXL, has said many times in numerous interviews that “.. this is NOT a credibility cover. We’re not putting people up because you’re the most amazing lyricist. The freshman cover is where we’re trying to predict stars.”

We have to look at what we want, what the magazine looks for in artists and what the disconnect is. The bottom line is that we need to support artists we care about and the industry will HOPEFULLY listen to that. Look at how the rise of the “SoundCloud” artists has now become the largest spaces for new artists to reach new audiences and is now a mainstay in how we consume music. We control the culture, that means we have to keep putting our energy towards folks we love and support.

For a lot of us who love the underground,  who love the rush of finding a new artist that no one knows, the XXL cover may not be for us anymore. The XXL cover has become whatever your asshole little brother is listening to, it has become the gritty side of the mainstream that we stop listening to after the summer ends. I don’t think the XXL cover will ever get another Kendrick or Cole. I hope it does though. The industry is different and we have to decide what parts we want to participate in.  It is up to all of us as consumers to determine what type of value we put on the XXL cover and how we demand better quality content.

A part of me is still hoping that Princess Nokia, NoName or Mick Jenkins will end up on the cover one day….. a girl can dream, right?

 

What To Expect From Amine’s First Album “Good For You”

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The freshly minted XXL Freshmen, after a brief string of singles, has finally announced a full length album “Good For You”, which is slated for release July 28. From “Caroline“, “Baba“, “REDMERCEDES”, and his single “Heebiejeebies” with Kehlani, Amine has never been one to shy away from sex wrapped in often playful and sometimes complex metaphors as fleshed out in Amine’s Genius breakdown of Caroline.

Amine’s character toggles between goofy, carefree and a steadfastness in his personal beliefs. If you follow the self titled Banana Boy on Twitter, you know he often makes exaggerated facial expressions, indecipherable jokes, does weird shit like eat banana bread in the shower, yet lays in the grass alongside bundles of bananas generally unbothered. This carefree black boy persona is further magnified by nonsensical video like this. Amine has also known to be racially-charged interactions as well in his work, such as in the music video REDMERCEDES in which he dons white face as a means of poking fun of prejudice as it pertains to class and appearance.

Yet the “Baba” rapper has also made less playful, more overt political statement as witnessed during his Jimmy Fallon performance back in 2016: when he remixed the ending of Caroline to address pressing issues in the U.S. such as the residual effects of 9/11, Trump’s divisive and brutal approach to politics, and bold proclamation such as “I’m black and proud. My skin is brown and loud”.

Amine’s approach to sexuality, humor, and socio-political immediacy are some of many topics we can expected from East African rapper’s premiere album. What I am hoping from the rapper is for him to blend his light-hearted carefree black boy nature to open up more about who he is as a person. Amine is a rapper who knows who he is in terms of sound and lyrical dexterity, although there is undoubtedly substantial room for growth. What makes Amine one of the best emerging rappers out right now is that he doesn’t take him so seriously. So much of rap is painfully steeped in hyper-masculinity and ways to use the female body, and while Amine does speak of sex, he does it in a way that women are also participants in the act. Much like No Name, Amine provides his audience a fresh outlook on common tropes–from a young man who has such a fondness for bananas.

Amine has won us over with his brilliant singles and so there is a lot to be expected from “Good For You”, a title that is both funny as much as it is sarcastic. “Good For You” is slated for July 28th, 2017, but in the meantime, enjoy more of Amine tomfoolery right here:

 

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I.S. Jones is a writer, artist, etc. living in New York City. You can tweet her @isjonespoetry

The 2014 XXL Redshirted Class List

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The XXL freshman list has one of the most interesting love/hate relationships among hip hop fans. Hip hop fans love the anticipation of waiting a year to see who the new underdogs or the new rising kings and/or queens that will come take the throne for that year. So, when the cover is revealed…everyone hates it and complains. Some become upset because their new favorite rapper may not have made the list. Others can be justified that some or majority of the artists don’t deserve to be on the list. I have no hate for any of the artists that made the list, but this year, I feel that many artists were overlooked. As I look back at 2013, I base a “freshman” or a candidate that should be worthy for the list on my “ABC’s” (artistic authenticity, buzz, consistently) for the XXL list. Within the list, I do feel that there are a couple of artists that deserved to make the cover but were not. Here are a few artists that I feel were redshirted from the list:

1. King Los – I don’t know if XXL has a personal vendetta against Los, but this man has shown his worth to hip hop over the past couple of years. Artistically, there aren’t too many artists doing what he does. His vernacular and diction are superior to many of the vets in the game now. Kendrick Lamar said himself, that the best “Control Remix” came from Los. He should have got it when he dropped “Fall for your type” years ago.

2.Rapsody – I don’t Believe in the term “femcee”. I think it’s degrading and continues to segregate the hip hop culture. “She got Game” was one of the most talked about mixtapes of last year. I remember listening to the mixtape all the way through and not taking it out of my CD player for weeks. I remember hearing the great wordplay from “Dark Knights” and how she brought back that old hip hop feel. She is putting Jamala and North Carolina on the map.

3. Lecrae – He is more of a John Connor of the list, but he has steadily been creating a buzz and won over hip hop heads with “Church Clothes”, “Gravity” and “Church Clothes 2”. He’s worked with some of the biggest producers, DJs, artists, had huge tour turn outs, been discussed on within at least 3 of Dead End Hip Hop’s video discussions and just recently announced a new album this year. Hopefully, this will catch XXL’s ear.

4. Dee-1 – This guy has been making some real moves with his “one man army” movement starting with his break out track “Jay, 50, & Weezy”. He went on tour with Macklemore and has been receiving huge buzz from his “I hope they hear me” series. Last year he signed with RCA Inspiration. I knew after hearing “Writer’s Block” that he was going to blow up.

5. Andy Mineo – Andy Mineo has been a name that has been coming up a lot lately. Some has been his particular stance on certain views, but I believe last year, the biggest conversation his name was in was the “they ain’t got the answers” freestyle he did with Sway on the MTV Rapfix live cypher. This freestyle was so impressive that Sway got him on his show. He dropped “Neverland” last year and is building up steam this year.

6. Add-2 – ” Between Heaven and Hell” was possibly the best mixtape that came out last year. “Club Church/Club Hell” is one of the best songs to drop last year (in my top 10 songs of all time). Due to the project dropping so late, I think that it’s going to go into his favor for the list this coming year. All he has to do is drop an album and it’s as good as his.

There are more that I want to add to the list, but are still in their proving phase. I can assure you that you will be hearing/seeing more of these redshirted artists this year. With some of the buzz that these guys/gals are getting now, their success may pass many of the freshman on the list. Watch, listen and learn about these names…they will be making changes in the game real soon.

Do you believe any artists got redshirted from this year’s XXL Freshman List that were not mentioned above? Let us know in the comments section. 

Maffew Ragazino – Got2 Love It [Prod by Bink!]

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As part of the mixtape to kick things off for the Brooklyn Nets this season, Mick Boogie, XXL, Adidas, and Slam put together a mixtape that’s dropping on Halloween. Dope ass emcee Maffew Ragazino’s “Got2 LoveIt” is featured on the mixtape which you can hear below. Look out for his White Gold EP dropping next month.

Listen: Maffew Ragazino-Got2 Love It

@ the end of the day… Did Ambassador make a small solution or a XXL mistake?

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There are a couple of things that I have learned about many of the Dead End Hip Hop fans. First, they dislike me. Wait… let me scratch that. According to the  comments on the webisodes I was featured in, they hate me.

It’s OK, I can deal with it. The reason why they dislike me so much is the fact that I’m a huge Christian rap, or ‘Holy hip hop,’ fan. I will be honest and transparent, I do listen to more than just holy hip hop though (you can actually see me on the Big Sean Finally Famous review and the Casual The Hierophant review). With that said, I try to bridge the gap at times for the genre on the show/site. After the Church Clothes review, the crew and I delved more on the subject of the “christian artist title” issue. We talked about how it is going to be a bigger issue with the break out of Lecrae being accepted into mainstream hip hop.

We were right.

XXL did a brief write-up on Lecrae, and Ambassador (a pioneer of holy hip hop) wrote a very informative open letter to XXL in response to the write-up.  Some people may  have not read it or care, but this was a huge “line drawn in the cement” within the holy hip hop community. Some rallied  — and some ranted — towards the letter. But, at the end of the day… did Ambassador make a small solution or a XXL mistake?

Ambassador makes some very valid points in this letter. The world is simply not going to accept the message of Jesus Christ, so holy hip hop artists shouldn’t try to “appease” regular hip hop fans. Ironically, it’s fine if Muslims, 5 Percenters, Buddhists, Atheists or even Satanists speak on their beliefs within their lyrics, but if Christians do it… it’s too preachy. It’s a double standard that holy hip hop artists have to deal with regarding this issue.

Holy hip hop speaks against 99.9% of what’s heard on the radio and videos aired on TV. Therefore, acceptance is going to be very limited. One key verse in the bible is Luke 9:26, which states “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.“ With that stated, it goes against the rules to be ashamed to be called a Christian rapper, or a Holy hip hop artist.

On the other hand, many people feel that this debate only inserts a wedge between the holy hip hop community. Many artists in this genre catch heat for having hidden agendas. As I stated in the” Is Christian Rap Relevant” webisode, there are several styles within the genre. The two that fight the most are the pastoral  versus evangelical artists. With that being said, the majority of Evangelic artists that reach out to the world have a bigger fan base and make more money.

Therefore, when many profusely christian artists (not necessarily taking shots, Ambassador) bring it up, they are really just jealous. Many Holy hip hop artists feel as if they get lumped in with overly preachy, “pastoral” artists and want  recognition as lyrical artists. Within many of their minds, it’s about reaching the souls and meeting the people where they are. Many artist feel that they are not defined by the label placed upon them, but how they impact the lives of their fans.

I don’t expect one post to end this debate. It is possibly going to put more gasoline onto the fire. One thing I will do is offer final thoughts from Myke C-town (I know what you’re thinking… “of all people, C-town???!!?!”).

After we got finished with the Church Clothes review, we continued talking. One of the things that he said (and has stated in many other reviews) was that he was attracted to any artist as long as they were honest and stuck to their beliefs, even if he doesn’t agree with their point of view. I think more artist need to realize that revelation. It all boils down to transparency.

Fans, Christian or otherwise, will respect an artist for having a transparent message. When you look at one of the reasons why Jesus was so influential, it came down to his honest, sometimes brutal transparency.

So the next time you grip the mic, whether you have holy in front of your hip hop title or not, keep it transparent and honest. Can I get an Amen? Spread The Soup.