Originally Published: June 17, 2021
The highly anticipated 2021 XXl Freshman class has just been released with a few surprises on the list but still a lot of unique talent that highlights the new diverse sounds that are rising in the music industry.
Hailing from Fayetville, North Carolina Morray got people’s attention late in 2020 when he dropped off his hit single “QuickSand ” which immediately blew up online with people drawing comparison between him and other up and coming artist Rod Wave. Following that he released a few more singles, dropped off his debut album “Street Sermons”, and even was able to feature on platinum recording artist J. Cole’s New album “The Off-Season” on the track “my . life” alongside 21 Savage. While Morray hasn’t been in the industry for long, he is already making big moves and we could probably expect even more from him now with this XXL freshman position.
At One time a youtube and now rapper DDG is officially separating himself from his youtuber title by solidifying himself in the industry with his placement on the XXL freshman class. DDG first made himself known as an artist when released his first single “Lettuce” with a feature from Famous Dex. Since then DDG has given us three albums with his latest one “Die 4 Respect” coming out in March with it being exclusively produced by OG Parker and having features from major artists like NBA Youngboy and Lil Yatchy. DDG is ready for people to take him seriously as an artist making the XXL freshman class is just what he needed.
Coi Leray is an artist that is has been in the industry for awhile with her dropping off her first album in 2018 and even working on a few songs with Trippie Redd back in 2019. Recently Coi has had big year for her self with the release of “No More Parties” and even getting Lil Durk to hop on the remix, Coi also had another smash hit with “BIG PURR (Prrdd)” which featured, another 2021 XXL freshman, Pooh Shiesty. With Coi Leray already having such a big year for her self there is a lot of pressure on her to really show out and keep the momentum going with this XXL placement
Pooh Shiesty is a Memphis artist who is signed to Gucci Manes label 1037. Pooh Shiesty has been getting a lot of love this year with the release of his album “Shiesty Season” which had the break out track “Back in Blood” that featured Chicagos Lil Durk and even bigger features throughout the album . Pooh Shiesty has worked hard this year and his placement is well deserved On This years freshmen Class .
Blxst (Blast) is another Los Angeles artist who is on the rise with him recently getting more attention with his debut album “No love Lost” which featured hits track like “Chosen” and “Overated” which have both been hit songs of the summer even though they release last year. Blxst unique chill flow which perfectly captures the California sound makes him a very interesting pick for this years freshman Class definitely one to watch to see how he developes.
Everyone knows the Detroit artist 42 Dugg after the two features he had on Lil Baby’s 2020 album “My Turn” with “we Paid” and “grace” and he’s been going hard every since. Recently he released his third album “Free Them Boyz” with major features from Future and Roddy Rich. 42 Dugg has already shown fans that’s he really about this, now it comes down to weather or not if he can be consist with it.
Toosii has one of the more unique sounds out of this years freshman class with his very iconic Trap R&B sound. Toosii’s has dropped two albums in the past two years with “Poetic Pain” in 2020 and “Thank You for Believing” in early May. Toosii has shown that he can dominate in both R&B and Rap with both these projects. With Toosii having such an uncommon sound I feel like we don’t know what we could get from him.
Iann Dior is most know for the hit single he had with 24kgoldn “Mood” which hit number one on billboard charts and the emo rap sound that he broke into the scene with. On his last album “I’m Gone” We saw Iann experiment with more of a pop sound on a few of the tracks which he transitioned into perfectly. Iann is a refreshing new artist who brings new sounds and ideas to music which makes me excited to see what he can accomplish.
Flo milli caught people’s ears in 2019 with her crafty delivery and catchy lyrics on her track “In The Party” which has had people obsessed with her ever since. A lot of people would credit her success to the usage of her songs on Tik Tok but her musical skills go much deeper than making internet hits. On her debut album “Ho, why is you here?” We saw flo milli show that she is an artist that deserves to be taking seriously and it’s good to see that she is.
Lakeyah is the next bug thing coming out the Midwest with her hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lakeyah recently signed with quality control and released her mixtape “In due time” in April. While Lakeyah might not be the biggest artist on the freshman class this year, she is still someone to be on the look out for with her mix between an R&B and Trap sound.
Rubi Rose is an Kentucky artist who made her debut in 2020 with her album “For the Streets”. Rubi Rose has made much noise so far this year with her only having a few features so far this year and not releasing any music of her own. To me Rubi Rose has a lot to prove to show that she deserves to be featured on this years freshman class.
