It is now July which means all the festivities surrounding the XXL Freshman Class of 2023 have come to a conclusion. Just like last year, this year also had 12 freshman (although two of them didn't participate int he festivities). For fun I decided to watch and review all of the freestyles and cyphers from all 10 participating freshman and rank them from worst to best.
For this ranking I listened to each freestyle and cypher from all 10 participating freshman and ranked them through a points system. I awarded 1–10 points to each freshman for both the freestyle and cypher, then added the points up to determine who had the overall best (and worst performance). The more points the better the performance was. Each freshman was judged based on things such as flows, lyrics, breath control, uniqueness, and overall entrainment that i got from listening both either there freestyle and cypher.
- Important to note that this is my opinion, and to form your own opinion it is best to watch and listen to the freestyles and cyphers yourself before drawing any conclusions.
The Rankings:
(TIE)12th + 11th Place: Central Cee and Glorilla
Central Cee is a rapper from London, England. Since 2014 he has been active in the UK rap scene being one of the founding artist of the UK drill scene thats been sweeping UK rap in recent years. He has gone on to work with artist such as J Hus, and Dave. He would be most notable for songs such as ‘Doja’ and ‘Sprinter’ with the latter being the first rap song by a UK artist to reach the top spot on the UK charts.
Glorilla is a rapper out of Memphis, Tennessee, singed to Yo Gotti’s label Collective Music Group. She is most notable for her hit songs such as ‘F.N.F’, and ‘Tomorrow’ (both of which would go on to chart on the Billboard charts). She has gone on to work with artist such as Cardi B, Lil Durk, and Ciara.
Both Central Cee and Glorilla did not participate in the Freestyles and Cyphers so they get awarded 11th and 12th place. It was never confirmed by either artist why they did not participate in the XXL festivities, however it is presumed to be due to scheduling conflicts.
10th Place: 2Rare (2 Points)
2Rare is a rapper and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He would get his start in music in 2019 casually dropping singles here and there. He would sign a record deal with 10k Projects and Internet Money Records in 2019. His song ‘Cupid’ which was released in 2022 trended on social media and earned him a shout out from Drake. Since then he has gone on to work with artists such as Lil Durk and NLE Choppa.
Freestyle (1 Point):
As mean as it is 2Rare’s freestyle is simply not good. It was just a minute worth of a jumbled mess of words that were at least half ad-libs. The sound of his chain hitting up against the microphone had more of a beat than his own flows did (which is impressive since there was no beat for the flows even needing to follow). All around it just sounded like a hot mess and didn't make me want to check out his music or learn more about him.
Cypher (1 Point):
Just like his freestyle, I found 1Rare’s cypher to also be a hot mess. More mumbled words that made no sense, more ad-libs than actual words and his dance break he did in the cypher was way more in tune with the instrumentals than his actual flow was. I honestly think that he took up the wrong profession because his dancing in a lot more in tune and memorable that any of his flows and bars were in this showing.
9th Place: Real Boston Richey (6 Points)
Real Boston Richey is a rapper based out of Miami, Florida (originally Tallahassee, Florida). He would get his start in music in 2021 after being convinced to take up rapping by a close friend. He would release his first mixtape titled ‘Public Housing’ in 2022, which would peak at #60 on the Billboard charts and would draw attention from both rappers and other celebrities alike. Later that year he would sign an exclusive record deal with Future’s label Freebandz Records.
Freestyle (2 Points):
I swear his freestyle just sounded like he was repeating a verse from one of his songs verbatim. Honestly although the lyrics gave a good feel of what his music is like, nothing really stood out in the freestyle. The flow was really lack lustre, the breath control was almost non existent, and at a certain point seemed like he forgot what he was going to say and started mumble rapping like an absolute mess in the later portions of the freestyle.
Cypher (4 Points):
Now this cypher really sounded like a Real Boston Richey song, and because of that I legitimately think that he took the lyrics from one of his songs already. The cypher started off really well but quickly got worse and worse as the cypher went on. Just like his freestyle, this cypher showed a bit of who Real Boston Richey is, but still sounded a bit to bland and unmemorable for my liking.
8th Place: LuhTyler (9 Points)
Luh Tyler is a rapper based out of Tallahassee, Florida. He would get his start in music in late 2022 after his first single ‘Law & Order’ would trend all over social media. In 2023 he would release his first album titled ‘My Vision’ which would also trend all over social media. In 2023 he would also go on to work with a range of artists such as Ski Mask The Slump God, Lil Uzi Vert, and Babytron.
Freestyle (7 Points):
LuhTyler’s freestyle (although it obviously was pre-planned) still sounded good. It gave some knowledge into who he is and what he brings to the table in his music. Some decent wordplay, clear flows, and were smooth sounding too.
Cypher (2 Points):
Most of the praise that I have for LuhTyler for his freestyle I do not have for his cypher. I was honestly pretty disappointed after listening to his cypher because I was expecting a lot more than what he gave. First of all the cypher was really short, it also didn't really feature much substance (with no memorable lyrics and flows so soft that I could barley even hear him rapping through a majority of it. With the short cypher having absolutely no substance to the performance was just the cherry on top for LuhTyler getting such as low rating on his cypher.
7th Place: Fridayy (9 Points):
Friday is a singer and record producer based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He would get his start in music working as a record producer, however in 2022 he would start releasing music on his own under the stage name Fridayy. He is currently signed to Def Jam records and has gone on to work with artists such as Lil Baby, Vory, and DJ Khaled.
Freestyle (6 Points):
Although Fridayy kinda brought a cheat code with him for his freestyle in the way of a choir, the freestyle did sound nice on the ears. I did not know that he was a singer before listening to the cypher, but I was genuinely surprised by his vocals. If I were to find a complaint, i’d say that the choir was a bit to loud and over shined Fridayy in some aspects, however that was more on a mixing issue on the part of XXL then Fridayy himself.
Cypher (3 Points):
The main issue with Fridayy’s cypher was that you could barley hear him throughout 90% of his performance. His cypher was also really short, and mix that with pretty much the same lyrics as his freestyle, and I just found the cypher to be a bit unenjoyable and unmemorable.
6th Place: TiaCorine (10 Points)
TiaCorine is a rapper from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A lifelong music fan, she would be practicing music from as long as she can remember. She would start taking music seriously in 2017, actively releasing songs since then. She would get her first break with the song ‘Lotto’ in 2018 which would trend all over social media. She would get her next break in the industry with the song ‘FreakyT’ in 2022 which would draw attention from artists such as Drake and Brent Faiyaz. In 2023 she would go on to tour with Memphis rapper Key Glock and would go on to perform at this year’s Coachella with Latto.
Freestyle (5 Points):
17 seconds for a freestyle is crazy to me (crazy that it is not the worst one either). For the short freestyle that TiaCorine did give she did show a quick range of flows that are commonly heard in her music that sounded nice on the ears. Other than that there is not much to comment on as there was only 17 second worth of a freestyle.
Cypher (5 Points):
I am glad that this was longer, however unpopular opinion… I didn't like it that much. It showed some of TiaCorine’s range of flows, however the energy that she brought in the begging quickly faded and in turn sounded like a jumble of words in the last few bars of the cypher. I listen to Tia’s music a lot so that is maybe why I was more disappointed in her work than others because I know how good she can truly be.
5th Place: Rob49 (11 Points)
Rob49 is a rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He would start rapping during high school but would start to take it seriously until 2020 after getting convinced by his friends to start music. Since 2020 he has gone on to release a range of albums and mixtapes featuring artists such as Lil Durk, Lil Baby, and Dababy.
Freestyle (4 Points):
I think that the main issue that I had with Rob49’s freestyle is that he tried to fit to much material in to little time. As the freestyle continued on his words started to get quite jumbled and his bars just sounded like one really long bar. He had a really nice voice and the parts that didn't sound jumbled together had some good word play in it, however those non-jumbled moments were so far and few in between the other moments I am ranking this freestyle low.
Cypher (7 Points):
Now this was a lot better than his cypher. He let his words and bars breath. Featured lyrics that told me about himself and what is songs are about, and had flows that matched the beat decently well too. Overall a decent showing from Rob49 and a really good upgrade from his freestyle.
4th Place: SleazyWorld (11 Points)
SleazyWorld is a rapper based out of Kansas City, Missouri (originally Grand Rapids, Michigan). He got his start in music at the age of 22 with the single ‘Sliding’. Since then he has gone on to release a mixtape titled ‘Where The Shooter Be’ which featured the song ‘Sleazy Flow’ featuring Lil Baby, which earned SleazyWorld two platinum RIAA titles. Since then he has gone on to work with artists such as Offset and G Herbo. In 2023 he was named a nominee for the ‘Best New Hip-Hop Artist’ at the 2023 IHeartRadio awards.
Freestyle (3 Points):
I found SleazyWorld’s freestyle to be quite messy. It featured no real flow (literally just sounded like he was talking). Lyrics that didn't make sense (or were unintelligible due to his mumbling), and more ad-libs that actual lyrics. Overall just a unintelligible mess that made me not want to check out his music, rather than see what he is about.
Cypher (8 Points):
Now I found SleazyWorld’s cypher to be so much better than his freestyle. In his cypher he brought a unique tone to the cypher (mixed with his unique voice really made him stand out). He would also bring some really fun and creative word play to his cypher that also made him stand out from the other artists that he was performing with. He also was pretty on hey and used the beat to it’s full potential I found. Overall a really good showing for SleazyWorld in his cypher.
3rd Place: Lola Brooke (16 Points)
Lola Brooke is a rapper and actress from Brooklyn, New York. She would get her start making music in 2016 after messing around in the studio with her cousin. She would quit her job as a residential aid and start practicing music full time in 2017. She has been continuously releasing singles since 2018. She would get noticed in 2021 with the song with ‘Don’t Play With It’ that trended all over social media.In 2023 she would sign to Arisia records. She has gone on to work with artists such as Latto and Ciara.
Freestyle (10 Points):
Lola Brooke probably had the most captivating freestyle that I've seen an XXL freshman do in a long while. The way that she conveyed the deep lyrics talking about her life and her grit that she carries with her to get to the top of the industry made me feel and relate to her, (something honestly a bit rare in a freestyle). She gave good emotion and let her words breath, making the freestyle flow so smoothly together. My favourite freestyle from this years XXL Freshman.
Cypher (6 Points):
When it comes to Lola Brooke’s cypher it was not bad, however it was no where near my favourite one this year. She did bring some good world play and worked well with the beat however it did take her a bit to get going and really find her groove, which made me rank her a bit lower for the cyphers than other artist.
2nd Place: Finesse2tymes (17 Points)
Finesse2tymes is a rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He would get his start in music in 2012 forming a rap group with fellow Memphis rappers Moneybagg Yo and Blac Youngsta. He would periodically release mixtapes through the 2010’s. He would sign to Atlantic records in 2022 and would release his first record under the label in December 2022 titled ’90 Days’ which peak at #57 on the Billboard charts. He has worked with artists such as Gucci Mane, Moneybagg Yo, and Lil Durk.
Freestyle (8 Points):
Now this was a genuinely unique freestyle. Finesse2tymes brought great flows, great wordplay and lyricism, and great breath control and let each bar breath decently well. The inclusion of his own beat was really unique as well and was really entertaining to listen to.
Cypher (9 Points):
Just like his freestyle, Finesse2tymes cypher was equally as good if not slightly better. His freestyle sounded exactly like a song, with great lyricism, great flows and bars, and a catchy sort of presents that made you want to stop and listen to what he was saying. A great balance between serious and catchy and yet again one of the more unique cyphers in recent years.
1st Place: DC The Don (19 Points)
DC The Don is a rapper, singer and songwriter from Miluakee, Wisconsin. He would get his start in music in 2017, releasing music during his free time being a basketball player. In 2020 he would start to pursue music full time with the release of his first album ‘Come As You Are’. Since then he has gone on to release two more records. Since then he has gone on to work with a range of artists such as midwxst, yvngxchris and even nba players such as Lonzo and LeMelo Ball.
Freestyle (9 Points):
I honestly was really shocked with how good DC The Don was through both his freestyle and cypher. For his freestyle it legitimately sounded like he was freestyling. The bars and flows were fresh and clear. He told the listener about himself, had a good range of flows and brought a good range of lyricism that showed a great balance between serious and catchy wordplay.
Cypher (10 Points):
DC The Don worked wonderfully with the beat of the cypher bringing out a range of flows to accompany said beat. The lyrics were fun and super catchy, he had a good range of lyrical bars with some trap/cloud rap type bars and looked/sounded the most confident and prepared to deliver a cypher out of everyone there. An incredibly good showing from DC The Don in this years XXL Freshman festivities.
In Conclusion:
In conclusion this year’s freshman class was fun. Was it my favourite class (absolutely not), was it my least favourite (no). It was kind of just the middle of the road freshman class. It gave me some more knowledge about some artists that I already listened to, and a gave me a couple of artist that I didn't know anything about but have since gone on and checked out their music (which means a success to the overall point of the XXL Freshman Classes).
Authors Notes:
All material from this article was taken from the internet with the intent to be used for entertainment purposes, none is that of my own.
