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.
Brooklyn is known for going hard, and Smoove’L, a leading voice of the NYC borough’s emerging drill movement, is here to carry on tradition. The 19-year-old rhymer started taking rap seriously as a member of the group CLN in high school. The “Victoria Secret” rapper, who at the time went by the name Smoove’L Da Finesser, scored his first hit with his crew’s track “Call My Phone.”
Following his graduation from high school, the “Isolation” artist went solo and began going harder than ever. Last year, he delivered the buzz-worthy projects 4 Boy and Hood to Hollywood and finessed his way to a record deal with Interscope Records. He also dropped hits like “Big Mad,” “Palm Angels” and “New Apolos,” the latter of which has over 10 million plays on SoundCloud and 13 million on Spotify (under the title "Apollo"). Starting the year off on the right foot, Smoove’L treated his growing fan base to a new banger called “2020” in February.
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