I'm assuming most of the other hip-hop fans on here are aware of XXL's freshman class, and just how bad this year's class actually was.
If not, check it out here
2017 XXL Freshman Class
Anyway, because we're such an opinionated bunch (with much better knowledge on what constitutes good hip-hop but w/e) I figured it would be a cool idea to come up with our own freshman class.
I'm not sure entirely what the requirements are for the XXL list, but they've had some pretty old rappers (Danny Brown was well over 30 when he made it) on their lists before so let's not worry about artists actually being "freshman." The main idea will be to highlight some lesser known rappers who released projects this year that you feel deserve more attention.
My idea for the layout is that everybody chooses their nominees (no max or minimum within reason, if you just want to nominate one or two that's fine) and provide a short write-up, one or two lines will be more than enough if that's all you got, and one or two of their must-hear songs from this year. Then, I'll take all the nominees, get a mod to add a poll, and everyone will have 8* votes to pick who they deem worthy of appearing the in the freshman class. I figure this might be a little easier than a Survivor thread as listening to a couple songs by an artist will probably give you an idea of whether you want to explore them any deeper or if you don't think they should be anywhere near the list.
*if we get enough nominees, I might go up to 10 like the actual XXL list, if we don't have enough, we can reduce the number as well.
I also ask that nobody nominates an artist who has already appeared on the list
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XXL_(m..._Freshman_List as it kind of defeats the purpose a bit.