21 Savage, Denzel Curry, Kodak Black, Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, Anderson .Paak, Desiigner, Lil Dicky, G Herbo, and Dave East all made history in 2016. XXL selected them for that year's Freshman Class, and for many reasons, their influence lives on and folks continue to look back fondly at the freestyles, cyphers, interviews, and more. As such, the outlet is reminiscing and launched a project to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of this moment.
They have created an anniversary landing page for their ninth annual Freshman issue powered by Rémy Martin. At press time, they have all the artist bios, freestyles, and cyphers available, as well as a lengthy write-up speaking to the class' history and impact. For example, it included statistics on their numbers, chart placements, and other commercial metrics.
Also, they announced they will do much more to celebrate this class via new anniversary content over the next two months. These will include videos of DJ Drama interviewing class members about the cover's impact and where their careers have gone since. In addition, they will release a documentary about these artists' cultural influence, the cover shoot, all the stories from recording sessions, and more.
Read More: The 25 Best Rap Albums Of 2026 So Far
XXL's 2016 Freshman Class Turns 10
This news comes as fans already reminisced on XXL's 2016 Freshman Class when 2026 rolled around. Even the artists themselves have chimed in on the class with some strong admiration and competitive drive. For example, back in 2022, 21 Savage proclaimed he could beat any of his peers from that class in a Verzuz today.
As for XXL's 2026 Freshman Class, they recently unveiled the list just last week. The artists on the roster this time around are La Reezy, Slayr, Sosocamo, Trap Dickey, Belly Gang Kushington, Chris Patrick, Babyfxce E, YKNIECE, Skrilla, Trim, Miles Minnick, and Hurricane Wisdom.
Will this group have the same impact as the 2016 Freshman Class? Hopefully so.
Regardless, we'll see what XXL has in store for these ten-year anniversary celebrations and how they cross it over with the next generation on the rise. If nothing else, it's a good excuse to revisit those iconic 2016 cyphers once again.
