So I was going through my iTunes music library and began listening to some albums that have been out for a while such as Asher Roth’s Asleep in the Bread Aisle and B.o.B’s The Adventures of Bobby Ray and it suddenly hit me that not many people out there have given their opinion on XXL’s picks for the Freshman Class of 2009. Sure, it is nice to predict big names and what not, but let’s see how these musicians faired a year later in their music careers, shall we?
Let’s start off with Asher Roth. Not many MC’s in the game have drawn comparisons to greats like Eminem, so when you hear about Asher Roth being the next Eminem in 2009 you expect some pretty great things, right? Well Asher Roth didn’t disappoint in his first album. I agree 100% with XXL, he deserved a slot in the Freshman 10 list for 2009. After putting out The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 1 with Don Cannon I realized that Mr. Roth was going to be a big name. He took the industry by storm, hitting the charts hard and creating a “national anthem” like song for college students around the world. ”I Love College” is for sure one of my favorite songs, and you can still here the song being played in frats across the U.S. One of my favorite parts about Asher Roth is that he tells music fans out there that while it is an honor to be compared to Eminem, he doesn’t want his musical career to be entangled with constant comparison to the 8-Mile rapper. I think there is a lot of respect in that, and I also think that it shows who he is as a musician. Asher Roth is also one of the first rappers I have heard in which he changes up the subject he is rapping about. Most rappers now a day are rapping about “getting money, women, and drugs”. Roth focuses on other things that are more pertinent to teens across the world. He conveys the ideology of what college is for a lot of college students and while there are references to women, drugs, and money, he does it in a clever way. Overall, I give XXL’s selection of Asher Roth an “A” and I think Roth fans have a whole lot to be excited about in the near future!
Next we will take a look at the man who is straight “Chillin’”. Like Roth, Wale was elected to the XXL Freshman 10 list in 2009 and has found much success since the magazine dropped his name to all the rappers. Wale was pretty well known around the internet with mixtape drops such as The Mixtape About Nothing (which on a side note had a rather clever cover) and his newest mixtape entitled Back To the Feature. The D.C. rapper really took his career to the next level when he dropped his debut album Attention: Deficit. The album recieved favorable reviews from many music outlets and personally I thought that is was one of the better albums of 2009. Not only did I really love the album artwork, but I think it went perfectly with the message he was trying to convey to music fans! Wale’s debut album really took the music industry by storm and the 15-track LP truly blew me away. I was a Wale fan before he released A Mixtape About Nothing, but after he dropped Attention: Deficit, I became a Wale-head. XXL really knew how to pick them, and I give them an “A” for putting Wale on the list! If you haven’t purchased Attention: Deficit then you need to log onto your iTunes Music Store and download the album.
Next up we have B.o.B! Probably my favorite musician from the XXL Freshman 10 2009 list. Out of all of the musicians on the list, I would have to say that B.o.B may be the hardest working out of all of them. Before his appearance in XXL’s magazine, Bobby Ray had dropped numerous free mixtapes and also had an E.P. drop. If there was anyone who was deserving of getting some shine on XXL’s Freshman 10 list, it was Mr. Bobby Ray. So why was XXL right on picking B.o.B? The answer is truly simple… Name one musician in the game who has the ability to play a guitar, sing, rap, and make beats? You probably could throw some names out there, but odds are the list really isn’t THAT long. B.o.B is a unique musician who not only had an original sound but had an original way of making his music. Out of all the Hip-Hop/Rap concerts I have been to, I can safely say that I had the most fun at B.o.B’s. Also, unlike many musicians in today’s world, B.o.B is a fans favorite musician! He gives out a ton of music for free and really makes his music for his fans. When it comes time to rank my Top 10 albums of 2010, I can promise you that The Adventures of Bobby Ray will be at the top of that list without a doubt! XXL has gone 3/3 so far in their choices of their Freshman 10 of 2009 and they get another “A” for putting B.o.B on the list!
Here’s where there is definitely some controversy in my humble opinion… I am a huge Mickey Factz fan, and I think he has a ton of potential. That being said, I think XXL made a premature decision to place him on the Freshman 10 of 2009. I would have liked to see him on the 2010 list mainly because since his placement on the 2009 list, he has produced on mixtape. That being said, Mickey Factz’s The Dark Phoenix: ALPHA was one of my favorite mixtapes at one point. I had that tape playing in my car for a good month or two. I am a huge Mickey Factz fan overall and I think he has a very promising career ahead of him, but at the end of the day, I don’t think he deserved to be on the 2009 list. If it had been my choice, I would have placed him on the 2010 list without a doubt. It really is not the end of the world that he appeared on the 2009 list though, mainly because he really has the potential to be a big star soon! I give XXL a “B” for their choice of placing Mickey Factz on the Freshman 10 list of 2009.
One of the more disappointing picks that XXL made was Cory Gunz. I am not a hater, and I am going to be honest and tell you all that when I first heard of Cory Gunz, I really thought this kid was the next big thing! Sadly, both myself and XXL was wrong. I haven’t heard of too much from Cory Gunz since his XXL debut and if I am correct I think he has put out one or two mixtapes since he appearance on the cover. Gunz has talent, there is no question there, but when it came to taking that talent and producing music, I think he has fallen short. He is signed to Young Money which isn’t really saying much, and since 2009 has only put out two mixtapes. I am really bummed that Cory Gunz was not able to take his career to the next level and really make a splash in the music industry. Maybe come 2011 or 2012 we will see a resurgence from Cory and he will be making more noise in the future! XXL gets a “D+” for their decision to place Cory Gunz on their Freshman 10 list of 2009.
Unlike some of Cory Gunz, Blu was a bright spot to the Freshman 10 list of 2009. Not many out there have heard of Blu yet, which is a shame, but I think over the next couple of years the majority of the industry will be buzzing… That being said, Blu has already done some big things since his picture was placed on the cover of XXL in 2009. He is slated to release two album in 2010, both of which are for sure going to be crazy, and is being featured in plenty of songs. I think one can look at Blu’s music career and almost say that XXL made a very educated guess as to whether or not he should be on the Freshman 10 list. Before his appearance on the 2009 cover, Blu had released a total of five mixtapes and three albums, and were not even going to get into the amount of production work he had done on other peoples singles and E.P.’s. That being said, one of my favorite albums from 2008 was Blue and Exile’s Below the Heavens. If you don’t have that album in your iTunes library then I think you are missing out BIG TIME. XXL gets a “-A” for placing Blu on the Freshman 10 2009 list.
This might be one of the hardest grades to give XXL because I have seen a lot of change in this musician since he appeared on the cover of XXL in 2009. Curren$y started off being one of my least favorite musicians on the 2009 list, but as time has gone on, his music has grown on me. I think as a musician he was another pre-mature pick for the 2009 list (and I know there will be plenty of people out there who will be against me saying this, but I stand by it 100%). Ever since Curren$y has started working with Ski Beatz I have found a new love for his tunes. That being said, I think he does deserve a spot on the Freshman 10 list of 2010 and not 2009. I think Curren$y has done a lot with his career since he appeared on the XXL cover and I think that XXL gets a “B” for their selection.
This might be the trickiest grade of them all. Sadly, Charles Hamilton was the biggest bust on the XXL 2009 Freshman 10 list. At the time of his cover appearance, I would have given XXL a mere “B-” but due to the recent circumstances, that grade is lowered to an “F”. Hamilton’s crazy breakdown led to the downfall of his career. He was unable to release his original album (This Perfect Life) and was dropped from Interscope in September of 2009. As far as I can see, Mr. Hamilton crashed and burned big time since his appearance on XXL’s cover. While there are so many bad parts to choosing Mr. Sonic for the cover, let’s look at some of the positives of his career thus far. He put out one heck of a mixtape in Well Isn’t This Awkward. To go with that unreal mixtape goes without saying that when “Brooklyn Girls” dropped it had set the internet on fire! He is an unreal producer/MC, but he really needs to get his career in-check and figure out where his career will be going. Charles Hamilton is gearing up to release what will be his first album (technically second since the first one got canned) entitled, My Heart, and is relying on other producers to make the beats for the album (one of the smarter ideas in his case I think since his beat selections tend to get repetitive). The bad outweighs the good in Charles Hamilton’s case, and XXL gets a big old “F” for their Sonic Hamilton selection.
Ace Hood was a pleasant surprise in the Freshman 10 list from 2009. I would not classify his selection as a total bust, and I actually found myself enjoying some of the tunes off of Ace Hood’s second album Ruthless. Hood has a lot of raw talent that will definitely be crafted to making him a big star. Sadly, I am not a huge DJ Khaled fan and I really don’t think his talent could best be exercised on Khaled’s label. I think that in the coming years we will be seeing Ace Hood rise in popularity and I am sure he will be recognized in the industry after he releases his third LP entitled Mr. Hood. I give XXL a “C+” for the idea of putting Ace Hood on the cover, but I don’t think he made enough noise and is really that SPECIAL to warrant him being on 2009′s list.
I don’t think many were surprised by KiD CuDi’s appearance on XXL’s Freshman 10 list. Cudder showed the world that he was going to be one of the many who blew up in 2009 by releasing his A Kid Named Cudi mixtape. CuDi took the industry by storm and blew up the quickest of anyone on the Freshman 10 list from this year. He has a knack for words and the beats he has behind those words are insane! Emile and Plain Pat might be two of the greatest producers for KiD CuDi and I don’t think you can find two producers who fit his style any better. My only complaint about CuDi is his excessive references to smoking and the lack of substance to his lyrics. Overall, XXL did the right thing in putting him, Asher Roth, B.o.B, Wale, and Blu on the Freshman 10 list for 2009, and they get an “A” from TGLR for picking CuDi. Man on the Moon: End of Day was definitely one of the better albums from 2009 and is proof that he will have a very long and successful career in this music industry!
So there you have it… My thoughts on XXL’s Freshman 10 list from 2009. I am sure many out there are going to disagree and tell me I have no idea what I am talking about, but I think that I am pretty on spot with the comments I have made. I think it goes without saying that some of their decisions were either flat out wrong (i.e. Charles Hamilton & Corey Gunz), while other choices were premature (i.e. Mickey Factz & Curren$y). For the most part, XXL knew what was up and made the right call. Overall, they get a 7/10 on accuracy (that includes the premature choices) which isn’t that bad. I can tell you that their percentage will probably be worse for the Freshman 10 list of 2010. My last thoughts on this subject are pretty simple… I want to acknowledge who I think they could have added to the Freshman 10 list for 2009 and see what you guys think. Guys like XV, Mike Posner, Drake (I know, he turned down the offer to be part of the Freshman 10 list for ’09), Big Sean, Colin Munroe, Wiz Khalifa, Donnis, and a few others who made the 2010 cut probably should have been on the ’09 list. Feel free to leave a comment below criticizing my comments, suggestion who you would have added to the ’09 list and maybe your thoughts on the albums each musician has put out thus far! Looking forward to the feedback from everyone and let the debates begin!
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asher roth? his label paid over 20 thousand for him to get that spot on XXL magazine. album was doodoo, mix tape just released was TERRIBLE.
i remember The Adventures of Bobby Ray achieved some chart success. In Canada, the album debuted at number seven on the Top 100 albums chart. It also entered at number 42 on the ARIA Top 50 Albums in Australia, and in New Zealand too
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