Hip-Hop & Rap Culture: XXL 2011's Freshman Class Cover.... Soooo, Is This It ???

So of course, if you've heard the Podcast, you know I'm not one to hold my tongue about this Hip Hop shit. I do lean more towards the positive of it all, straying away from crying 'Hip Hop is Dead" and "Real rap been gone". Those statements are far from truth, but the evidence believers use to convince the masses are extremely strong in the validity department. This cover is one of them! But then again, the whole rap magazines industry has fallen victim to the "machine"-- ever since that nigguh "brought the suburbs to the hood".

So What's Wrong with the cover?

To put is confusingly, everything and nothing! Just read on and you'll get it..

What?? Exactly!

First off, that slogan on the Board is corny as hell. Fire that person please!

The expected are on the cover and that's part of the damn problem. There are people who made quality music and have a huge mass of people who've been waiting for hip hop to do something respectable besides pay some Record Exec's mansion bills. Then there are the "others". The tomfoolery group who promotes what's hot and don't give a damn about good music. They got a few dumbasses around them bumping that dumb shit cause its "cool" to be a fool. There are also people who didn't do a dayum thing worth mentioning in 2010 but they are on this cover. Who co-signed this cover? That's all I want to know.

The Biggest complaint is obviously Lil B. Yea, I get it. This dude is a internet "phenom"-- I've never seen the phenomenal shit. I think I'm too old to see it. Its like adults and "fairy"tale like creatures that only the adolescent can see. I wonder why! Dudes is co-signing dudes that call themselves Pretty Little Princesses now and you expect me to seriously debate you? Fuck outta here. My father raised me better than that. I think we need to start whooping nigguhs, so they can't sit down and pee no more while listening to Lil B. If you like dudes music, that's fine. Just like it for what it is, and stop going to bat for these cats because its the cool thing to do. You know what it is, this nigguh gives bum nigguhs hope. They see a dude like this make it big, claim to respect his "hustle", and realize if they just "hustle that hard, whether with talent or without, they can be millionaires too. Sigh. Y'all kids are too old for this-- how contradictory of me.

Of course with Yelawolf getting the Shady chain, like Rocafella use to hand out, and with Big K.R.I.T. taking no time to rule the mixtape game as king, these guys deserved the spots.

With Cyhi being signed to G.O.O.D. Music and having some of the illest verses of 2010 on the biggest album of the year, he was also the right choice.

Meek Mills is that underground artist on the rise and his name is mentioned among a many of Philly heads, so he's not much of a surprise. I heard about the Vado situation and yea....

And lets not forget the guy that most of us in the last couple months have basically all agreed would make the cover after his studio sessions with Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar. All of these guys have tapes, songs, performances, and huge connects that are based around pure talent and more heavily liked, than disliked material on the net.

Lets get to some of the smaller names.

Mac miller is nice. He's been doing shows with people like Statik and Termanology, and he's been features on a lot of material. His mixtape was also very popular which is why he's been touring so much. He's constantly being featured on peoples tapes. I'm not crazy impressed by his work, but I do give him props for making some good music and keeping my attention.

Diggy was a surprise to me, only because I forgot his was still doing music. He hasn't really dropped anything this year, and his tapes were more of a relief because he was actually good, unlike Jo-Jo. I expect him to do some good, maybe even, great things in the coming years, but as of right now, he's still got a good ways to go.

Lil Twist? What the hell has he done in 2010. Something tells me they just ran out of people to call and Wayne is really on his YM promotional boolshyt.

I can't speak on Fred The Godson, because I haven't had time to soak in his music and give it the true nod. Same goes for YG, but can I just point out, that big ass chain around his neck definitely did NOT make me want to go and youtube his work.

So who do I think should have been on the cover?

Add-2! Before you start boo'in and claiming I'm only saying this because we had a chance to interview the kid, hear me out. Add-2 has a video on MTV-- Dream Girl. He currently about to drop his second video from his most resent mixtape for Cassette Tape. His features are above and beyond ridiculous. His mixtape was one of the best in 2010 and its not even his first; it was his FOURTH edition in that particular series. This cat is highly overlooked.

SOMEBODY FROM 9TH WONDER'S CAMP! Anybody. How is there no one from ninth's camp on this cover. Big Remo had one of the realest hip hop albums of 2010. He's even got a deal and is being sponsored by LRG-- clothes for life! Now, maybe Remo doesn't qualify because he's been with 9th since the beginning. But is this is first album? And if it is, shouldn't he be able to make the cover, or is there an age limit like American Idol and Real World.

Where are all the female emcees? So XXL couldn't find a female emcee to feature on the cover? Isn't RAtheMC one of the most talked about chicks in the game next to Rapsody? I went to the A3C this year and there were way too many female emcees with a large fan base for not even one of them to make the got dayum cover.

There are some other emcees who'd been opening for past XXL Freshman Class cover artists and I'm not sure if these names were mentioned or not. I'd really like to know how these artists are picked, besides the obvious popular decision.

Here's some others that deserved that Covers:

Laws ( I honestly thought he's make the list)

Emilio Rojas

Homeboy Sandman

Thee Tom Hardy

Reks

Dee Goodz

TiRon

Terrence Martin

Rapsody

RathMC

Big Remo