{"id":85574,"date":"2026-08-20T18:58:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T18:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T18:58:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T18:58:07","slug":"the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2016 XXL Freshman Class Documentary Revisits the Cover That Changed Hip-Hop"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt Hip Hop Magizine News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9431463036\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Ten years ago,\u00a0<i>XXL<\/i>\u00a0took a chance on 10 rising artists who would eventually become some of the most successful rappers in\u00a0hip-hop history.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/21-savage\/\" target=\"_blank\">21 Savage,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/kodak-black\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kodak Black,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/lil-uzi-vert\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lil Uzi Vert,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/g-herbo\/\" target=\"_blank\">G Herbo,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/denzel-curry\/\" target=\"_blank\">Denzel Curry,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/lil-yachty\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lil Yachty,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/anderson-paak\/\" target=\"_blank\">Anderson .Paak,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/lil-dicky\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lil Dicky,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/dave-east\/\" target=\"_blank\">Dave East<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/desiigner\/\" target=\"_blank\">Desiigner<\/a>\u00a0were inducted into the 2016 <em>XXL<\/em> Freshman Class,\u00a0marking a defining moment in the culture. Now, <em>XXL<\/em> partners with R\u00e9my Martin to celebrate a decade of the most popular Freshman Class and its cyphers with a new documentary, <em>The Making of the Most Iconic XXL Freshman Class<\/em>, exploring how it all came together.<\/p>\n<p>Featuring interviews with Lil Yachty, Denzel Curry, Anderson .Paak, Lil Dicky, Dave East, G Herbo, DJ Drama, producer Sikwitit, 2026 Freshmen Chris Patrick and La Reezy, along with music executives, journalists, media personalities, former managers and <em>XXL<\/em> staff, the 25-minute documentary gives an inside look at the process behind selecting the artists for the <em>XXL<\/em> Freshman cover, what happened on the day of the shoot, the class&#8217; legacy and more.<\/p>\n<p><i>XXL<\/i> has worked diligently to predict the next generation of rap stars ever since Freshman begin in 2007. In the age of streaming, new artists arrive on the scene almost daily, so discovering and forecasting who will become a household name has become a daunting task. But the goal is always the same: to\u00a0highlight the rappers who\u00a0have the potential to become the game&#8217;s next superstars.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not a popularity contest, and it&#8217;s not just about who&#8217;s the best rapper,&#8221; explains <i>XXL<\/i> Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Satten. &#8220;It&#8217;s who&#8217;s got the best chance to be a rap star.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>2016\u00a0member Denzel Curry remembers the classic Freshman covers that came before the class he joined, which motivated him 10 years ago to take part in what would become a classic <em>XXL<\/em> cover.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I wanted to be a Freshman because I remember who you had on the cover before,&#8221; he shares. &#8220;Y&#8217;all had Curren$y on the list before, y&#8217;all had [Kid] Cudi on the list before, y&#8217;all had J. Cole, y&#8217;all had Nipsey Hussle, y&#8217;all had Jay Rock, y&#8217;all had Lil B, Y&#8217;all had Kendrick [Lamar], y&#8217;all had Mac Miller. Of course, we wanted to be part of that legacy and what that might bring.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The 2016 Class was part of a movement that changed the way hip-hop\u00a0sounded and looked as it\u00a0diverged from the earlier blog-era rappers. As streaming platforms changed the way fans interacted with music, the 2016 Freshmen helped reshape the hip-hop landscape and usher in a new era of rap.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At some point, I don&#8217;t know where in 2016, but I started to realize, like, Oh, this is a shift in paradigm,&#8221; Lil Yachty explains.<\/p>\n<p>Anderson .Paak reflects on being at the photoshoot for the Freshman cover and keeping to himself at first. But once the artists settled in, a sense of camaraderie developed and friendships were established.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t know anyone,&#8221; .Paak says. &#8220;I remember just being in my little corner and keeping to myself. And I remember Lil Dicky coming up and saying, &#8216;I&#8217;m a huge fan of yours,&#8217; and that made me feel really good.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I felt like everyone in that room was a superstar,&#8221; he adds.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, a major talking point of the 2016 <i>XXL<\/i> Freshman Class is the memorable cypher featuring Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, Lil Yachty and Denzel Curry. Their cypher stood out because of how\u00a0carefree and fun it was. Clearly, these guys enjoyed the moment. It\u00a0remains one of the most iconic cyphers in <i>XXL<\/i> Freshman history.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I believe that Class was for the youth,&#8221; says Laura Stylez, Cohost of the <em>Ebro Laura Rosenberg Show<\/em>. &#8220;Even though people dismiss it as the mumble era, I felt that Class ushered in the streaming era for rap. I think people really started paying attention.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A decade since the 2016 Freshman\u00a0Class was unveiled, its esteemed members have gone on to rack up No. 1 Billboard singles, multiple platinum plaques and several diamond certifications. Beyond their commercial success, members of the group have won multiple Grammy Awards and headlined world tours.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think all of those guys from that <em>XXL<\/em> Class look back and say, &#8216;Wow, we really did something special,'&#8221; says Leighton &#8220;Lake&#8221; Morrison, CEO of Generation<br \/>Now\/Former Manager of Lil Uzi Vert. &#8220;They&#8217;ll look at themselves as the pioneers of that era of music. And, honestly, for\u00a0<em>XXL<\/em>\u00a0to be able to identify that group says a lot because it&#8217;s easier to get it wrong than it is to get it right.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Check out <i>XXL<\/i>&#8216;s documentary, powered by R\u00e9my Martin, celebrating the legacy of the 2016 <i>XXL<\/i> Freshman Class below.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align:center\">See Lil Yachty, Denzel Curry, G Herbo and More\u00a0in the 2016 <i>XXL<\/i> Freshman Class Documentary<\/h3>\n<p><h2 class=\"photogallery-title\">See the 2016 <em>XXL<\/em> Freshman Class<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"branded-app-shortcode-inarticle\">\n<div class=\"logo-wrap\" rel=\"fwef\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/www.xxlmag.png?w=100\" alt=\"XXL logo\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/rest\/carbon\/api\/scripts.js?mver=626&#038;gver=10&#038;bid=812&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fbtloader.com%2Ftag%3Fo%3D5642230212591616%26upapi%3Dtrue&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.p-n.io%2Fpushly-sdk.min.js%3Fdomain_key%3DLT1Yn2pW9B5QzH6n4H2YlkQyVEfXVOOu82lt&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Ftownsquare.media%2Fpublic%2Fresources%2Fjs%2Fpubcid.min.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fplatform.twitter.com%2Fwidgets.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fapis.google.com%2Fjs%2Fplatform.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.facebook.net%2Fen_US%2Fsdk.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.pinterest.com%2Fjs%2Fpinit.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fpub.doubleverify.com%2Fdvtag%2F29287203%2FDV1106009%2Fpub.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\" async defer data-osano=\"ESSENTIAL\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt Hip Hop Magizine News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9431463036\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ten years ago,\u00a0XXL\u00a0took a chance on 10 rising artists who would eventually become some of the most successful rappers in\u00a0hip-hop<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[39,34],"class_list":["post-85574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-news","tag-videos"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The 2016 XXL Freshman Class Documentary Revisits the Cover That Changed Hip-Hop - Hip Hop News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new documentary looks back at the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 2016 XXL Freshman Class Documentary Revisits the Cover That Changed Hip-Hop - Hip Hop News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new documentary looks back at the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hip Hop News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-20T18:58:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural\" \/><meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1267\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/\",\"name\":\"The 2016 XXL Freshman Class Documentary Revisits the Cover That Changed Hip-Hop - Hip Hop News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-20T18:58:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-20T18:58:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\"},\"description\":\"A new documentary looks back at the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The 2016 XXL Freshman Class Documentary Revisits the Cover That Changed Hip-Hop\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/\",\"name\":\"Hip Hop News\",\"description\":\"Hip Hop News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\",\"name\":\"News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The 2016 XXL Freshman Class Documentary Revisits the Cover That Changed Hip-Hop - Hip Hop News","description":"A new documentary looks back at the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The 2016 XXL Freshman Class Documentary Revisits the Cover That Changed Hip-Hop - Hip Hop News","og_description":"A new documentary looks back at the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class.","og_url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/","og_site_name":"Hip Hop News","article_published_time":"2026-08-20T18:58:07+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural","type":"","width":"","height":""},{"url":"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural","width":1920,"height":1267,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/","name":"The 2016 XXL Freshman Class Documentary Revisits the Cover That Changed Hip-Hop - Hip Hop News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-08-20T18:58:07+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-20T18:58:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2"},"description":"A new documentary looks back at the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/the-2016-xxl-freshman-class-documentary-revisits-the-cover-that-changed-hip-hop\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The 2016 XXL Freshman Class Documentary Revisits the Cover That Changed Hip-Hop"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/","name":"Hip Hop News","description":"Hip Hop News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2","name":"News","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","medium":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1","medium_large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=768&resize=768,0&ssl=1","large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1","1536x1536":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1536&resize=1536,1536&ssl=1","2048x2048":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=2048&resize=2048,2048&ssl=1","colormag-highlighted-post":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=392&resize=392,272&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-medium":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=390&resize=390,205&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-small":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=130&resize=130,90&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=800&resize=800,445&ssl=1","colormag-default-news":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image-large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1400&resize=1400,600&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-block-extra-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1155&resize=1155,480&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=600&resize=600,417&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-small-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=285&resize=285,450&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-medium-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=575&resize=575,198&ssl=1"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"News","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":false,"magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Ten years ago,\u00a0XXL\u00a0took a chance on 10 rising artists who would eventually become some of the most successful rappers in\u00a0hip-hop","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["NEWS"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":3,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1",1200,800,false],"medium":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1",300,300,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/08\/attachment-2016-xxl-freshman-photo.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1",150,150,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"News","author_link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-1\">NEWS<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}