The Downfall of XXL Freshman Cyphers
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- Опубліковано 5 чер 2024
- Over the years, XXL Freshman Cyphers have become less and less popular, and the number of artists willing to be in them has gone down dramatically. But why???
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#XXL #XXLfreshmen #XXLfreshmancypher
What do you think XXL should do to improve their future cyphers?
Actually put in effort to look for underground artists with unique styles generating their own buzz that could use the boost, not someone that’s catching hype on TikTok
I wish that 2023 has the same sounds like the early 2010s cause 2010s music has catchy vibes
Look for talented rappers...
Chose rappers that are actually saying something 2011
@@hdjd2saucyit’s a popularity contest they don’t take being a rapper seriously XXL should hang it up
basically went from good rappers with skill to tiktok rappers with one hit
😂😂😂😂😂💯💯💯
None of them have ever been skilled rappers
Dc ain’t even a TikTok rapper
@@nathanielb4985fym? Jid, ski, x, cordae, polo g, jack harlow? None of them got skill? Those are only the new ones
@@dezmond1219fr
The problem with XXL is that it started off as a way for UNDERGROUND rappers to take off using their platform. A shout out where they themselves prove to others they are worth investing in. After 2018, it just mainly became a meet up of people that were ALREADY famous thru radio or TikTok hits. XXL then just began to bring in artist that were bigger than XXL themselves. That’s how they fell off
With what you described, I'd say that COLORS is the one doing a great job in using its platform to help people take off (and it's for more than just rappers)
those underground rappers still needed a buzz tho. u just get famous way faster in the tik tok era.
No I feel the problem is that they aren't hitting the right points for who they're picking, you want someone on the come up just on the verge of being main stream, central cee and DC the don I felt were good picks on this aspect everyone else is "I only heard you on tik tok" or "I've never heard of you at all"
@@jeremysimpson569 I don’t think central cee is a good pick because he again blew up off of TikTok. He was already know for that “my bitch is gay” song along with that freestyle he did comparing uk to usa slang. Bro went mad viral and got on XXL
it wasnt just for underground rappers bcuz if you look a bunch of people were mainstream when they was put on the list. Wiz Khalifa, Oj the Juiceman, Meek Mill, YG, Kendrick Lamar, Future, Macklemore, MGK, Roscoe Dash, and the list goes on. They been putting on people who were already famous for radio
2016 cypher got so much hate when it happened. I remember so many people clowning on Uzi and yachty and almost all of the artists as being mumble rappers.
Sometimes it just takes time for an artist to prove themselves
I wonder how many of those people are huge fans now
bro I’ve been saying that, people were hating hard😂
I like the majority of their music I still think that's the most overrated cypher ever wasn't even the best that year
@Kiing_jer def not the best, but the people saying it was the worst thing ever when it happened looking real silly rn
No shit, most of the artists from 2016 have had some good runs. 💪🏾
💀💀💀💀💀💀 “ you already pissin me off “. “ AND YOU MAKING IT WORSE!”
I was 27 years old in 2016 and I remember everyone I knew in my age group absolutely TRASHING the 21/Uzi/Yachty, etc. cypher. I was lowkey feeling like it was the "death" of hip-hop, lol.
Seven years later, and you got people saying that it was the best Freshman class ever. It's super interesting for me that we're starting to hear the perspectives of younger people who were shaped by this music.
Being the best doesn’t equate to being good.
@@javonnixon8470 it was still good
I never thought about it like that I was 13 when it came out all my Homies are replaying it over and over during the summer I still think it’s fire but it definitely wasn’t as good as the first time it’s still the best xxl freestyle imo
2009 was best
I was around 12 years old in 2016, and I listened to that music a lot and I gotta say I miss that era so much and todays music is ass 😞
Honestly, I think JID's verse from 2018 is the best one in XXL history.
It was like making the closer the opening act
Dave east n gherbo also had great freestyles from there respectful year
@@AYAKXSHI all time best overall cypher
@@AYAKXSHI I agree, but I was implying XXL cypher verses. My bad for not being specific though
Best verse in XXL freshman history belongs to OJ The Juiceman.
Dude actually obliterated his Cypher
It’s crazy how much the xxl freshman stuff has declined in recent years. They had so much juice around 2016/17/18 I can’t believe they fumbled it
The rappers just suck nowadays. Who of this generation is gonna Kendrick x 21 Kodak Uzi?
@@artistaccountfr the biggest new rapper right now is Ice Spice that says it all
@@artistaccount nah there is plenty of good rappers now, they just arent doing numbers
@@artistaccount their selection sucks because they only pick already established artists with gold records, major collabs, major industry connections, tiktok hits, instead of picking people who could ACTUALLY RAP like kenny mason, mavi, redveil, MIKE, or reason. even if they dont pick "real rappers" they still duck artists that are making waves in the underground for already established artists*
@@zacharywoloszynski4258like me fr
DC the don is my favorite rapper and I've been following him for years. I voted for him like ten times so I was really happy when he was 10th pick. But yeah it's pretty sad how much XXL fell off because at one point being a freshman was a real indicator that the artist was going to be big. X was 10th pick for 2017.
I don’t believe this dude is as big as you lot are saying, he has 400,000 listeners.
Same been listening to DC for some years he's madly underrated
@@CheeseyMilkshakeslisteners dont mean a thing its just people that listen not total streams look at numbers not listeners people like lawsy have more than him and whos lawsy???? no one knows
@@CheeseyMilkshakes he has 500k followers on instagram. A lot of people know about him, a lot less consistently listen to him. Also his sound cloud numbers are crazy.
@@CheeseyMilkshakes A lot of people know him. I don't really listen to him but I know who he is because just how well known he is in the underground scene. I don't really listen to his music but he's well known enough for me to know that he was literally the only name I recognized on this year's freshman cypher.
I think what also happened is that back then xxl was THE source to get known as upcoming artist but ever since social media got a bigger and bigger artists started blowing up on they own alot of artists started realizing they don’t need xxl anymore in fact it’s the opposite
What I think could freshen up the XXL freestyles:
1. Make sure EVERY artist you put on the list participates in the freestyle and cypher, there’s nothing more disappointing then seeing an artist you like ending up not doing shit besides the ABCs then dipping, if they agree to be on the list they’re agreeing to rap/ sing on it period.
2. With all these decorated talented ass producers, to combat the beats and the style of rap the artist brings clashing, make groups of 2-4 depending on how big the list is of artists with the same style, and have them vote on a beat. BETTER YET, have them and the producer come together in a studio setting to craft a beat that they all can personally mess with, something like Kenny beats the cave. This not only bonds the rappers with each other more, but also let’s them show much more of who they are and what their personality is so the audience and people new to their music can connect with them more.
3. Let them sub in and sub out for each other, like an actual song, let them go back and forth, sing a hook if they want, let the artists you brought on there have a blank canvas without being heavy restricted and feeling like they’re put on a island because their style of music doesn’t match up with everyone else and they feel forced to do something they can’t. That’s why a lot don’t go on XXL, for a lot of artists especially new ones it’s just way too intimidating to hop on a beat you’re not familiar with and try to keep up with it.
That’s just my take personally on how they could switch it up sorry for the long read but this has been in my head since 2018 🤷🏽♂️
great recommendations; 1 should should be mandatory fs; 3 reminds me of when august alsina did the singing hook for isaiah rashad kevin gates and chance, that was hard
@@standardbrahYeah when i read 3 i instantly remembered that 2014 verse, shit was hard AF & they all had a good time
Lil pump did the same thing but it was pretty trash even tho they had fun
@@lifeisshrt7929 yeah you right about the pump cypher too, they tried but it wasn't up to par haha
4.
Make sure they have an album out or at least have an EP in six months.
Iv been a dc fan for a long time i think its great that he finally made it to xxl but at such a declining time makes me sad about it too he should've been on soo long ago now it just feels wasted :/ he did great imo tho
“Who tf picked this lil sorry ass beat” still my favorite line ever bro and “ I just smoked them woods b*tch I’m from the hood zone 6 boulder crest road you can’t go there”🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥😂😂😂
21 really floated on that beat tbh
You have no idea what good bars are if that sorry trash is what you consider to be fire.
@@gamingbytetv665 thank you for the insight but they were just joking around and 2016 cypher is literally the best one it has over 200 million views that’s more then any of the rest for a reason.🙂
@@ExoticEio Views don't mean anything. You're clearly a child.
@ExoticEio just cuz it has alot of views doesn't mean it was the best kid youtube likes and views font determine who rapped the best this is a CYPHER WHO HAS THE BEST BARS yall just have low standards just like with women
XXL used to showcase the underground scene to a mainstream audience, but now it seems that their knowledge and standards became dated and they're falling to keep up with the underground.
They should chill out with the label suckdickery and really dive into who's making noise without any outside forces other than themselves.
The underground nowadays is much more accessible than back in the day due to all the diversity in sounds and genres that now exist in the Hip Hop space, so it seems dumb when they seem to miss the mark as hard as they do every year.
they missed out on the whole slayworld and opium scene they coulda put on yeah now they just using label plants like idc bout xxl anymore autumn shoulda been on in 2021 they just put faygo on cuz of travis there was wayyy more talent and then they keep picking mid so xxl fell off
"if he trippin, then he fallin, stupid" greatest bar since Kodak's "im the shit im fartin, ion know how to potty"
You forgot "they dead flies" at the end of the 2016 cypher video
The standards for what equates to a "greatest bar" have really fell to a point I didn't even expect it could
@@mkphasard3026 I see that irony and sarcasm don't come to you very easily. You should work on that
@@cookeez7010 lol touche. But judging by most of the other comments here, can't blame me for jumping to that conclusion
@@mkphasard3026 I mean I guess? I reffered to bar about farting and not knowing how to properly take a shit. I feel like thats a hard one to take serious
It's cool when they pick lesser known artists like JID in 2018 before he was really huge but dude they pick the most generic people most of the time. They need to try and pick different sounding artists.
i remember when people were saying 2016 was the worst freshman class
people complaining how theyve never heard of some people on the list when the entire point of xxl is to put you on to the artist
Lil mosey so corny for dissing the Producer like bro was trying so hard to be like Kodak and just dissed the Prod for no reason like as if he would rap better if he chose a better beat
Al them beats besides like 4 of them over the years are not good so yeah he didn't win any points and bro caught a R@pe case that was the end of his career
6:57 - LMAO 🤣!!! But the reason why 2016 XXL cypher was so iconic and memorable was because it literally the start of the new wave. It was fresh and unorthodox but in a good fun way. It went down hill after that cause it seems like they're trying to catch that spark again and never works and it never will. XXL is doing nothing but adding to the problem and that's promoting an image instead of actual talent
good point
Exactly very good point
Need to hire sum people who have a good ear for talent
June never disappoints
🙏🏽🙏🏽
Dc the don is really good and it is unfortunate that XXL is not very good anymore, because I was talking to my friend and I had mentioned that maybe Dc will get more popular and might get that push that he needed from the cypher, but instead it did practically nothing. Back in 2018- 2019 if Dc was in a cypher he would definitely be pulling a lot of numbers. Hopefully XXL somehow manages to pull around next year and actually do something of value.
the end of the day, the freshman list is supposed to give fresh artists a platform. Kinda defeats the point if you’re doing giant name acts on it. But idk if it’s on them or on the artists for not being as talented or creative as previous generations. Or it’s just XXL not being on top of scouting as much as they should
june always making the most entertainig contnet for us. The XXXtetnacion one gave me a clear understanding abt him , and this music. Thank you for your hard work toward your content and us. W vids, appreciate your hard work and content.
Of course! Appreciate it yo!! 🙏🏽🙏🏽
What, the fact he was a fucking psycopath piece of shit?
DC carried this cypher for me, ive been following him for about a year now and i was happy to see him get more recognition and honestly he had the best verse.
In my opinion he should've been on the list years or so ago
@@wolfgang6442fr he should’ve been their in 2020
2018 ski and JID was pretty fire
that one was super hard, so was g herbo and dave east people sleep; that one is a whole track
10 artists a year is too much. We need a list every 5 years
that might regulate it and then better artists can come up
dc is one of my fav artists so im happy he made it but i have never heard if most of the other people 💀
I still am interested in it every year, because I tell myself "they can't possibly mess up the list again" xxl does not know there fan base and that will be there biggest downfall.
The 2016 Freshman was packed and it's still legendary🙌🔥
For being fucking trash and idc what they careers are hip hop is dead lol bunch of niggas who can't rap and still can't rap
Legendarily awful.
@@gamingbytetv665for real, 2016 was only popular because everyone was showing how bad it was. And somehow it's gotten worse. If people say they like 2016, they probably think glue is a delicious appetizer
Shout-out Lil Skies for being so humble, genuinely amazing 🙏
Bro career fell of out if nowhere
TBH
SLEAZYWORLD AND DC THE DON CYPHER WAS FIRE ASF
sleazy and dc lowkey carried the class ngl
@@dry9005no
Finesse2tymes went hard af too
Rob49 set the tone tho
The best ones this year was Sleazy, DC, Rob49 & Finesse2tymes tbh
Tyler & Tia were ok
The rest can go fuck themselves
Niggas sent the cypher to my dm for me to react to on stream.. so glad I passed. Been done with XXL for some years now
😭😭
Enjoyed watching your vid bro hopefully you’ll come out with an iceberg vid in the near future ❤
Thank you! And there’s one in the works rn…
2016, what a year. I graduated Highschool, got my Drivers License and got a Job. I became a man that Year lol
Rappers today think they are too cool for rap. The road was paved for them so they don’t have to work hard to do a song.
Two Years Ago it started falling off. They Don’t respect the Art?
Its about BEING COOL now.
It was always about being cool, wdym? Only now, instead of trying hard and succeeding at "being cool", they can't seem to know the right way to being cool. Remember back in the tail end of the soundcloud era? Literally everyone tried hard asf to be cool. Most did terribly at it, but then you had notable artist now who did "cool" the right way.
Man it's all bout money nothing more some people care about image yeah
I think they just happened to have struck gold in 2016 & I have a feeling that it's actually the artists' labels & managers telling the artists to decline XXL as they don't want their artists to look like newbies
Imagine a 2016 reunion making a song together
What’s crazy is I can go back and find a video just like this about that freshman class. It’s odd. I don’t wanna be a hater, but even back then you could tell there was a change coming. The only difference from the recent class and the current one is the effort they put into making songs. It’s weird to explain.
Yeah the old ones were in a transition cuz rap changes every 3 years
They got 21, Uzi, Yachty, Denzel and Kodak in the same generation. How did they fuck up so bad
Fr…
Because every one of them is talentless? How do you think?
Keep it up bro enjoy this content
Thank you!!
It really boogles my mind with the absolute garbage bars they come out with and they get away with it.
And these people in the comments saying that they were spitting bars. Hip hop is truly lost if that talentless garbage is what passes for good these days.
KayCyy wrote and did ref tracks for most of Kanye West's Donda and is currently working on the new Kanye album, so that's why he was on the 2022 list
Good video fr 🔥
Juice would've killed that shit 💀
On God
Instead of himself.
Xxl was the ticket out of the underground but now that ticket is TikTok and other social media platforms
ayo bro is reading my mind with this topic hahah thats exactly what i thought watching the few last xxl videos
😭😭
Same. The algorithm is working.
2009 was the best freshman class, 2007 was great too
Only 4 still have careers for the 2009 one 2010 was the best because everybody on that list still raps the only that didn't make it was Nipsey but rest in peace to that man
June is Back with another banger
Yessirrrrrrr
Tia corine freestyle was fire i just felt it was too short
another great video june plug
Preciate it gang 🖤
Excellent video I truly feel like the cyphers in general is not like it use to be like it was back then imo.
Now do I think this years was trash? Absolutely, however, I actually really mess with DC the Don and have kept up with him for the last 8 months now. His last two projects (Sacred Heart & Funeral) were actually really good.
I haven’t heard dc the don verse but his music is good so ik he’s freestyle had to been the best
I remember when the 2016 cypher came out everyone said it was trash. Now it’s looked back on as a good year
i remember people talking shii about the 2016 cypher when it came but it grew on a lot of people with its unique vibe over time
they need to do a XXL SENIOR or Alumni edition or sumn
Bruh baby face ray is great u tripping … interesting video tho would be cool to hear u talk about xxl freshmen before n after 2016 tho
Megan went hard of 2019 one tho . She’s underrated
2022 doesn't even have a bad lineup 😭
2016 WAS THE BEST YEAR OF XXL
I like 2016 alot
ehhh. the uzi, denzel, kodak, boat, 21, cypher was really the only good thing that year 💀
@@Eli43199 funny how those 5 rappers have hip hop music on lockdown rn and are some of the biggest names
@@Eli43199eh g herbo and Dave East was definitely better imo
@@sherrodchilders30😐
Skipping past Lola Brooke, Megan, AND Doechii is insane. Like sorely missed chance to shout out those rappers. Also, popularity doesn’t equal quality. 2016 line up wasn’t that fire, they were just popular.
Right. This nigga just hating cuz he ain't hip to some of these people. Babyface Ray, Big30, & Central Cee are 🔥
Exactly!!!!
When he says 2016 was the best, he clearly must be talkin about just views and clicks.....cuz most of that including what he claimed was good, was just trash ass raps from who was popular.
Mans talking bout 2016 was having more fun, like that somehow helped those wack ass freestyles.
@@splinter1psi99 nah fr! Like there were so many more artist outside of 2016 who have created a long career for themselves! Coi’s rap was trash last year but, Lakeyah smashed her freestyle. This is the first video I watched from this channel and I’m already getting wonky vibes.
Nobody has ever heard of these people.
Hearing you list off the names of the rappers in each cypher as the years went on sounded like a list of new Pokémon in a game taking place in the ghetto.
You cold, great documentary
Thank you!! 🙏🏽🙏🏽
Yo JP We Really want to see more rappers who are charged for their lyrics
One of the best classes was 2016 and none of them besides Denzel are really known for their bars though or at least not considered a lyrical rapper
@@Nopigs1312 you replied the wrong comment
I think it has less to do with XXL falling off and more with rap is falling off in general. Soundcloud is as popular as it was in 2010, which isn't popular at all. Tiktok has stolen the grind aspect of music away, leaving the real talented people to scrounge for views. And most importantly, all the artists who would've been alive and kicking, making it to the top charts all the time are dead. Juice WRLD, X, Pop Smoke just to name a few. Hip-hop is back to being a niche thing, that only people in that culture understand. There isn't any huge artist right now either in rap. Ice Spice is the only "rapper" to be huge this year. And she's already moving into pop. Juice WRLD dying specifically has taken out the life of hip-hop. There isn't anybody talking to their fans, connecting, dropping albums consistently, shit even making real billboard hits. There is no more energy left in hip-hop. Thats the answer i think.
thats facts. but tbf xxl lost a lot of prestige since rappers be declining it bc they are “too big” for xxl
@@granddidit fax. that is also the problem. the real talented rappers don’t even NEED xxl to get recognition nowadays. u blow up on social media from ur songs and that’s all u need.
Meanwhile Yeat made the soundtrack to a Pixar movie
Luckily if you look hard enough you can still find new good artists
@@6blocevo yeah facts, plenty of new good artists like redveil, Paris Texas, Mckindley Dixon, etc.
I was 19 years old in 2016 ik darn well Twitter clowned them all for the mumble rap but now you see how far it's fallen that this is considered good now..... damn 😅
Great video
Thank you !!
Man nothings wrong with the format. Half these artist just suck. It’s not xxl fault for the format. It’s their fault for selecting these “artist”
Bro I forgot 2022 XXL happened until I saw this vid 💀
😭
Amazing vid bro holy shit
Thank you!! 🙏🏽
June With another W video
🙏🏽🙏🏽
Tbh I used to hate the XXL with lil uzi vert and them, besides denzel I thought they were all pretty mid. BUT, listening back, I miss that performance aspect. It just feels weird to watch now.
I definitely remember everyone trashing the 2016 cypher when it came out and to this day the only people I've seen/heard say its good are people that dont even really listen to hip-hop/rap or joke about it being good. It got a lot of views because people were clowning on them not because it was good. Also not saying that the artists themselves weren't decent just the cypher in general was trash
the problem is that the main stream rappers are not unique. the gangster ghetto street music is ridiculously overplayed and none of it has replay value and basically no different sound. eventually “mumble rap” will rise again or something new will happen.
the peak is when it begin to decline greatly too, this was the first time rappers weren’t taking it serious then everyone else copied it, so trash became the trend but trash isn’t good for long term success
2019 cypher was funny af!
2016 was just different bro
Mattyballz jacked your video idea and made it way more wack😂 your video was fresh tho and informative while being entertaining keep up the great work!!
Good video
NEXT YEAR THEY NEED TO INVITE THE ONES WHO DECLINED
"reports of the one who got invited again, declines again"
i'm not gonna lie the disrespect for 2011-2014 is crazy
I was just thinking the same thing they were my personal favorites
Of course these new re he's don't like bars too much foe they brain too process
"If my twitching that means somebody is talkiiing"😂😂😂😂😂😂🤦🏾♂️
Great video yk when it comes to the Xxl freshamn list I first heard about it way back in 2016 while watching a before they were famous channel on one of the rappers that made it on there and at the time I just left middle school and was a freshman in high school which the fall term was a very confusing time whether school wise or at home also to mention I was gradually listening to more rap music which by the time 2017 rolls around I pretty much was listening to almost evry kind of rap and not just the mainstream shit but also underground rappers that were making way diffrent msuic you pretty much dont hear on the major radios and also I found my music taste too so when the 2017 xxl list came around i was real happy for both X playboi carti made it on there and I even read a copy of the magazine while working at a cvs pharmacy when had a summer job amd i still have that copy to this day on my shelf but ever since then its been a decline with the 2020 list being the last one i was really paying attetion and waych everything for it was a very stacked up cast wit rappers i defientley knew ayear prior like nle choppa, polo g, lil tjay, an baby keem but yeah Xxl fell off hard
Wtf
Hey June can you make if 21 Savage was for his lyrics
most of the rejections are real as hell imo. $not wanted to gove others a platform and ken wouldnt go out wit his brotha
W vid bro keep it up
Thank you !!
@@JunePlug yw bro just keep making great videos
Bruh… we were clowning the XXL cyphers in 2016. TF u on? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Xxl really can’t do nothing to save the cyphers😂 We just need better rappers
7:30 crazy how they turned down Don Toliver cause he only wanted to be on the cover yet allowed French Montana in 2012, Gunna the year before, and Central Cee and Glorilla this year when they did the same thing
Glorilla can't rap to save her life just a ghetto girl rapping bout trifling ish
They were probably mad cuz he was the most popping and didn't want to do the cypher
the only time i search xxl cypher is to rewatch the old clips
Hey June Plug, when your next rapper Iceburg?
$not is humble asf it’s crazy and I swear he would’ve carried
atleast give props to dc the don and tia they actually put in an effort for the freestyle
Faxx 📠📠
These cyphers were so good when they first started, its a shame to see them sink so low..
June plug too real bru.
lmao. You made me realize that i didn't watch the xxl 2022 cypher. They have been so uneventful for me since like 2020-21. So i kinda watched them outta habit. It's hilarious that I missed one and was completely fine with it.
Honestly if you do decide to watch it, Nardo wicks whole group cypher was pretty good tbh
Babyface rays group was all good except Cochise
don’t even bother with Sofaygos group (altho they did have fun at least)
@@lifeisshrt7929 I'll keep that in mind but, imma probably stop watching xxl altogether. Thx for the suggestions tho
@@lifeisshrt7929who?😂
@@mcbdllc2848 fym who
can you make if 6ix9ine was charged for his lyrics
Nah these edits are crazy😭😭
Haven’t watch one since the 2016 cypher. The crazy part is I remember everybody was clowning them calling it trash at the time. Little did we know that would be the last decent one..