Ranking the 2019 XXL Members!!
The 2019 XXL Cover released June 20th. They caught us off guard this year with no teasers or anything. In past years they have had 10 artists, Last year they had 9 artists and this year they had 11. All day I’ve been watching YouTubers react to the list and what I’ve heard from most of them is that this is the best class ever or the most spot on class ever. I can’t say I don’t disagree at all. I think there is some snubs but there is snubs every year. I’m going to rank all 11 artists and share my thoughts about them and their music.
The cover itself gives me 2016 vibes with the white background. I think the fact that they had 11 artists this year forced many problems with the cover. Half of DaBaby’s arm is cut off, 1 and a half of Lil Mosey’s fingers are cut off, Megan Thee Stallions foot is cut off and, YK Osiris is basically being covered up by many different things. I think that they realized that Gunna was the superstar of this class so they put him in a bright Orange color while everyone else was either in black or white. Last thing is I think that it’s cool that Tierra Whack is choking out YBN Cordae and they are the 2 lyrical rappers of the group. Maybe that has a deeper meaning behind it but I’m not sure.
Alright now I think I covered everything so let’s get into the rankings of the 11 rappers that made it this year.
11. Megan Thee Stallion
The only reason I believe Megan is blowing up right now is because of her looks. A lot of female rappers in this generation are simply blowing up because they show themselves half naked in every music video and they rap about the same sexual things in every song. I think she has a good singing voice that she needs to use more often but it’s not my cup of tea. A better option would have been 070 Shake but she wasn’t even in the voting. The reason I think she made it is because XXL doesn’t allow groups on the cover. City Girls definitely deserve this spot but they don’t allow groups so Megan Thee Stallion is the lesser known replacement.
Overall Grade: 1/10
Favorite Song: Cash Shit (Feat. DaBaby)
10. Gunna
Honestly I wanted too rank Gunna at #11. But the amount of hate I would get would be a lot. Gunna sounds the same on every single track. Same exact flow, Same exact cadence, Same exact dull and boring voice. Gunna has been improving as of lately but not by very much. His part on ‘Yosemite’ with Travis Scott and Nav was decent but still not good. The only other song I can kind of listen too and enjoy is ‘Drip Too Hard’ but Lil Baby held that song up and carried Gunna. I feel like Gunna definitely has potential but he needs to switch up. I am tired of hearing the same stuff in every song from Gunna. There are some artists that I enjoy that aren’t versatile but I enjoy them because they are catchy. Gunna is the opposite of catchy. I understand that Gunna is the big name of this 2019 class but I can think of 50 artists I would’ve enjoyed more than Gunna.
Overall Grade: 1.5/10
Favorite Song: Hiccup (With Amine)
9. Blueface
Yes a lot of his songs can be catchy but I just can’t stand listening to Blueface. His lyrics make me want to stop rapping myself! People hype up his bars so much but in his new remix with NLE Choppa he said one of the worst lines ever “Pull up like Tracy McGrady from the Pistons”. Tracy McGrady played one year for the Pistons, He barely started at all that season and only averaged 8 points per game. I am not a Blueface fan at all. He can be catchy at times but I think he needs to start moving away from the Thotiana remixes and create another hit song before he falls off. The only reason he made it is because of clout and how popular he is.
Overall Grade: 2/10
Favorite Song: Daddy (Feat. Rich The Kid)
8. Tierra Whack
Now Tierra is easily the least known artist in the group. I found out about her when the pitch’s dropped this year and her whole pitch all she did was eat a bag of chips for a minute and then she said “all done” and walked away. Me putting Tierra at number 8 on the list isn’t bad at all because I do enjoy her music but there is just 7 other artists I enjoy more. Tierra has some crazy flows and I think the idea that she did for her ‘Whack World’ album was really good. It was 15 tracks long and all 15 tracks were only a minute long. She then took all 15 tracks and turned it into one song with 15 different music videos. That idea is very cool to me. She has a lot of potential and I’m gonna follow her the whole way.
Overall Grade: 7/10
Favorite Song: Cable Guy
7. YK Osiris
I love YK Osiris and his voice is amazing especially when he doesn’t use autotune. In his XXL Pitch he sang his song ‘Worth It’ with 0 autotune and it sounded amazing. He doesn’t have a whole lot of music out there but the little bit that he does have out there is really good. Honestly I think in his category of singing rap/ R&B there was some better options such as Polo G or Mir Fontane but I can’t say I’m mad that he did make it. I think he needs to move on from ‘Worth It’ and try to drop his next hit song. All you see him pushing is that song and although it’s a good song and it’s doing very good numbers, I do think he needs to move on and push an album or at least an EP. A lot of people are saying this was the worst pick for XXL this year but I disagree and I’m excited to hear what his Cypher is going to sound like. I wonder if they put him, Lil Mosey and, Roddy Ricch in the same Cypher and make it like a big singing Cypher. But also I can see them putting him in a Cypher with 2 or 3 rappers and YK Osiris would do the hook like August Alsina did in 2014.
Overall Grade: 7.5/10
Favorite Song: Freaky Dancer (Feat. DaBaby)
6. DaBaby
Okay so at first I hated DaBaby. Every single one of my friends played his music nonstop and we’re always hyping him up. He got overplayed for me and every song sounded the same to me. He dropped an album this year ‘Baby on Baby’ I gave it a listen and actually enjoyed a few songs such as Suge, Goin Baby, Pony, Baby Sitter and, Carpet Burn. I think the reason I like most of his songs are because of the music videos. Every single music video is super funny and always has me laughing. I think he definitely deserves this spot but a better option would’ve been Cam Coldheart…I’m obviously kidding. But I think part of the reason they put him on the list is because of all things swirling around his name right now. From him shooting someone at Walmart (Self Defense) to knocking out Cam Coldheart in the Louis Vuitton Store he has the clout and XXL had too have him on there.
Overall Grade: 7.5/10
Favorite Song: Freaky Dancer (With YK Osiris)
5. Rico Nasty
Rico is one of the only girl rappers that I really do like! Her intensity is crazy! I look at her as a female version of Comethazine. I think those 2 artists need to make a song together and should be in the same Cypher this year. Her song ‘Roof’ is probably one of the most hardest and hype songs I’ve ever heard. Like I said earlier her intensity on that song was just insane. Part of the reason I like Rico Nasty is because she has an I don’t care attitude. She will dress as crazy as she wants, She will do the most craziest things with her hair and just not care at all. She isn’t one of those female rappers that has to show off her body to make good music. Rico Nasty has a bright future in the rap game.
Overall Grade: 8/10
Favorite Song: Tia Tamera (With Doja Cat)
4. Roddy Ricch
Just like DaBaby at first I didn’t like Roddy Ricch. My older brother played his song ‘Every Season’ in the car one time and I wasn’t really feeling it. It sounded annoying honestly but I heard that he had a song about XXXTentacion and I looked it up and I loved it! I looked into more of his music and found out that he worked with the producer Marshmello and at such a young age that is a pretty good accomplishment. His music gives me a huge Speaker Knockerz vibe and Roddy really shows people how Speaker Knockerz and Fetty Wap changed the game with this trap singing genre. Plus the song with Nipsey Hussle is amazing and is easily the biggest accomplishment of his career so far. I think it’ll be weird to hear what Roddy is going to do in the Freestyle and Cypher but I love his music and I hope his Freestyle and Cypher are going to be just as good as his music.
Overall Grade: 8.5/10
Favorite Song: Die Young
3. Lil Mosey
A lot of people aren’t Lil Mosey fans and they hate that he sounds the same in every song. I agree with them, he does sound the same in every song but he kills every single song and sounds amazing. His voice sounds so good with or without autotune. I think if XXL was smart they would put him, Roddy Ricch and, YK Osiris in the same Cypher and that would honestly make one of the best Cyphers of all time in my opinion. I first heard about Lil Mosey through his song ‘Noticed’. In the music video he showed a bottle of Pineapple Fanta, I tried Pineapple Fanta because of Mosey and it is now my favorite drink. I can’t wait for him too drop another album, There is so many rappers that I would love to hear Mosey on a song with. At only 17 years old this kid has way more music on the way for us fans.
Overall Grade: 8.5/10
Favorite Song: G Walk (With Chris Brown)
2. YBN Cordae
Honestly choosing between putting YBN Cordae at the number 2 spot or the number 1 spot was one of the hardest choices I’ve ever made. I love his music a whole lot and his bars are past amazing. I could make a whole article about YBN Cordae’s bars. The reason he isn’t number 1 is because he has no album out and not enough songs. His new song with Chance The Rapper ‘Bad Idea’ is a very very good song and also has many bars. I have been following Cordae for awhile now and have been a huge fan. I think lyrically he is the best option that XXL had with Boogie being a close second. YBN Cordae and Boogie would make an amazing song together! I think Cordae will easily have the best freestyle out of the other 10 artists and I can’t wait for it. I honestly think Cordae should leave YBN and go solo because YBN Nahmir and YBN Almighty Jay aren’t even close to as good him. But all in all if YBN Cordae had an album out or at least 3 more singles he would most likely be number 1 on this list.
Overall Grade: 9.5/10
Favorite Song: My Name Is (Eminem Remix)
1. Comethazine
“AND IF YOU’RE NOT GON’ CONTRIBUTE TO MY MONEY, MIND YOUR BUSINESS, THEN,
AND IF HE KNOWS WHERE AND WHEN AND WHAT I DID, I KILL THE WITNESS, THEN”
You guys do not understand how happy I am to write this paragraph. Comethazine made XXL! I’m beyond excited right now. I hate trap music, The guns and all that killing, I’m just not a fan but Comethazines delivery and flow is so much better than all the other trap rappers. I first heard ‘Bawskee 2’ and I loved every single song. Every single song made my playlist and every single song has a super clean and funny line. His song ‘Walk’ he did a remix for it and A$AP Rocky was on the remix, Comethazine added an extra verse to the end of the remix and that last verse is probably in my top 10 favorite verses of all time. Yes the verse was that amazing. ‘Bawskee 3.5’ was supposed to release a couple days ago but he failed to release it and then he disconnected his instagram account. I have no clue what happened and why he didn’t release but I will be patiently waiting for one of my favorite rappers to release this album.
Overall Grade: 10/10
Favorite Song: Walk (Remix with A$AP Rocky)
