‘XXL’s 2021 Freshman List Includes Blxst, Coi Leray, DDG, And Pooh Shiesty

The 2021 XXL Freshman cover has arrived! Each year, rap fans wait and speculate in anticipation to find out which artists made the coveted list, mostly so we can all speculate and wait on their activities for the future — or debate whether they deserved placement.

But this post is just to let our readers know who all made it. This year’s cover includes plenty of Uproxx favorites like Blxst, DDG, and Pooh Shiesty, as well as 2020 fan favorites like 42 Dugg, Flo Milli, and Toosii. There’s plenty of female representation on this year’s list, with Coi Leray, Lakeyah, and Rubi Rose holding it down for the ladies. And breakout artists Iann Dior and Morray round out the list after some attention-grabbing features introduced them to a whole new audience.

This year’s list looks pretty well-rounded, as the breakout artists included have all made impressive debuts, charted highly, or garnered plenty of viral attention in the past year. Many regions, races, and styles are represented, from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to South Central, Los Angeles, with many of the entries hailing from oft-overlooked origins when it comes to hip-hop such as Milwaukee, WI, Lexington, KY, and Corpus Christi, TX.

Last year’s cover included breakouts like Chika, Jack Harlow, Mulatto, and Rod Wave. And for those who didn’t make it, there’s always next year — or the chance for a surprise breakout.

Meanwhile, XXL is gearing up for the usual slate of Freshman programming, including freestyles, Cyphers, and profiles on these up-and-coming artists. Stay tuned.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.