Livelii

Arguably the most controversial rapper of the younger generation, Xxxtentacion, a Florida native with a very multicultural background, has yet again raised questions and value in the next generation with his sophomore album titled “?.” Known for expressing pain and depression in his music, it comes as no surprise that the lead single is titled “Sad.” However, what does catch audiences off guard is the implementation of his entire ethnic background, and how almost every song sounds completely different, while remaining coherent. Xxxtentacion introduces the album as an alternative project, that you can instantly hear in songs like “schizophrenia,” but I simply enjoyed the ride from beat to beat in almost every song. Although I wouldn’t completely label ? as the metal genre, because there’s songs like infinity 888, which is pure hip hop. Xxxtentacion clearly expresses that he is a multi-genre artist, and as a rebel he refuses to be attached to one specific music genre. Nice work Xxxten...

Class of 2015 Fetty Wap Dej Loaf Raury Kidd Kidd OG Maco Shy Glizzy Goldlink K Camp Vince Staples Tink For those of you who don't know, the annual XXL Freshmen covers are the newest Indy artist that everyone is predicting to be the next major artist. Generally these are the artist who has stood out during this season, and are expected to make a major move inside of the hip hop industry. They're a few unexpected faces on the cover, and also fans like myself, were wondering why any of the OVO crew on the cover weren’t. Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Satten answers in a Breakfast club interview how Partynextdoor & iloveMakonnen lacked interest in being on the cover and how some of the artist got on the cover. Could they be following in the footsteps of Label owner Drake? Who was not on the freshmen list along with label mate Nicki Minaj. However the XXL Freshmen cover has had major hip hop stars on the cover such as: J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa, Kid Cudi, Fut...