Posted by Before the 2020 XXL Freshman class will be revealed this summer, the Freshman hopefuls are here to show and prove why they deserve a spot in this year’s class. The 10th Spot voting, powered by SoundCloud, launched Monday (March 30), which means hip-hop's rising newcomers are vying for a spot on the 2020 XXL Freshman cover.
Lil Zay Osama has made the transition from trenches to tracks looks easy. Hailing from the South Side of Chicago, the 22-year-old started taking rap seriously following a three-year jail bid. His ascension didn’t take long with soul-bearing early songs “Changed Up” and “Survive" making noise in 2018, and their videos commanding a combined 60 million views on YouTube.
With regional success and surging streaming numbers, the rapper with a knack for melody continued to drop popular singles including “Treacherous” and “Percocet Crazy” leading to label attention. In August of 2019, he signed a deal with Warner Records and dropped his major label debut release, Hood Bible, with guest appearance from Lil Durk, Lil Tjay and Marlo, in October of that year. The project has over 9 million streams and counting on Spotify. Lil Zay Osama is currently planning a tour and pushing the new single “Soul Cry.”
Now that you've heard his pitch, remember to vote for your favorite artist beginning March 30. The 2020 XXL Freshman 10th Spot will run for one week. This is where the public gets the chance to vote an artist into the XXL Freshman Class. Go here to make your vote count for your favorite artist.
Once you've voted, head over to XXL’s YouTube page to take a look back at the 2019 XXL Freshman Class, which features DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion, YBN Cordae, Rico Nasty, Gunna, Comethazine, Tierra Whack, Lil Mosey, Roddy Ricch, Blueface and YK Osiris.
And watch all the 2020 XXL Freshman pitch videos that have been released on XXL's YouTube page here.
See Photos of Every XXL Freshman Ever Inducted Into the Freshman Class Over the Years