In celebration of our fourth annual Freshman issue (on newsstands now), we linked up with DJ Whoo Kid for the second year in a row to release a mixtape showcasing the up-and-comers’ talents and now it’s finally ready to for years. [Download here]

XXL’s 2011 Freshman Class: The Mixtape features brand new music from Kendrick Lamar, Yelawolf, Lil B, Meek Mill, Mac Miller, Lil Twist, Fred the Godson, YG, Cyhi the Prynce and Big K.R.I.T. as well as some welcomed, surprise collaborations.

The show was crazy last night.


Kendrick Lamar - Outrageous


Kendrick Lamar - Don't Understand


Big K.R.I.T. - Man on Fire


CyHi Da Prynce - All a Dream

DOWNLOAD: XXL 2011 Freshmen: The Mixtape

Interesting... Part 1 of 3.

The parts that didn't make Drake's cover story from XXL are below. The article itself is on stands now, so make sure to pick that issue up.

How many songs are on Thank Me Later?

Drake: It’ll probably end up being about 15. But it’s just, you know, I love doing R&B music, I really do. And I just always feel like to tie in hip-hop with R&B and to utilize R&B to glue it all together, that’s my trademark. That’s something that only I can do. And that’s why I will continue to do it. There might come a time where I might be like, “Yo, I just want to do an R&B mixtape, or I just want to do a whole [R&B] album,” but I don’t think so, man. I think that that is the makeup of me—melody and just the tone of my voice and all; I don’t think I could ever change that, so…

I’m waiting on the Drake Gangsta Grillz.

Drake: [Laughs] I just find that boring, you know. There’s certain people where it’s impressive, like with Lil Wayne, to hear him freestyling over other people’s beats for an hour is impressive because it’s just like, Yo, this guy never runs out of clever shit to say, but for me, people might want to hear it, but it’s just not something that I really want to give you. I’d rather just give you something that lasts a little longer than that ’cause those mixtapes never really last much longer than six months. When the songs become played out, and…

Well, it’s different now. It’s like Dedication 2 and Dedication 1 and Jeezy obviously, Trap or Die…

Drake: Yeah, but even so, do you listen to those on a constant basis or would you rather put in an album where somebody’s giving you original compositions and moments that maybe apply to your life as opposed to listening to like… I don’t know? I know to listen to freestyles over songs that maybe I’m just sick of, even though somebody kills it, there may be one or two or three that really, really, I love, but other than that, I’d rather just listen to like somebody’s music.

There are some special ones.

Drake: There are for sure.

Do you feel that you can go bar for bar with anybody?

Drake: As far as rappers? Um… I’m really still trying to become a better rapper, you know? And I still have idols. I still have people I look up to. I definitely don’t feel that I’m the best I can be nor am I the best rapper. Like I said, I just love making the music, and I’m less concerned about where I stand in the rankings and more about just where I stand with myself, like am I getting better? You know, am I the best I can be? I really don’t care about like compared to Hov or compared to Wayne. That’s another man. I’ve never been really worried about what anybody else is doing. I just use it as reference points and as influence and inspiration, but I don’t really bother myself with thinking who’s the best. ’Cause that doesn’t really matter. It’s just who’s got the songs that move people at the time. Like if you’ve got the title of being the best rapper but you don’t have the hottest songs out? To me, that’s what’s important is just like putting out consistently good product. I don’t really care how they rank me or anything like that.

How important is it to be involved in the larger rap conversation?

Drake: I definitely want to be great. You know, I’m not saying I don’t care. I obviously care. I love being mentioned in a class of people that are incredible but I mean, you can focus on that shit and drive yourself crazy…. In different genres it’s way different. I think rap is probably the most competitive genre.

Read the rest over at XXL.

MTV were there to speak to some of the Freshmen from this year's cover during the shoot.

Shouts to Tori for not realizing that there was a whole mixtape and just posting the J. Cole song, haha. Here's the rest of the mixtape, presented by DJ Whoo Kid.

DOWNLOAD: 10 Freshman For '10

19 tracks from this year's XXL Freshmen. The mixtape will be presented by DJ Whoo Kid.

The new breed of hustlers includes: Roc Nation’s first signee J. Cole, gangsta rap up-and-comer Nipsey Hu$$le, newly-minted Asylum lyricist Pill, 1017 Brick Squad member OJ Da Juiceman, indie-sensation Wiz Khalifa, G.O.O.D. music’s own Big Sean, underground favorite Fashawn, Gary, Indiana rep Freddie Gibbs, West Coast phenom Jay Rock and the latest addition to the Atlantic roster, Donnis.

In addition to the special issue, XXL will also be dropping an exclusive DJ Whoo Kid mixtape next Monday (March 8)— available for free on XXLMag.com, radioplanet.tv and thisis50.com— featuring new music from all ten of the cover stars. Whoo Kid will also be playing select cuts from the tape while the artists call into his show this coming Saturday (March 6) on Sirius/Shade45.

Keep an out for behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot and interviews with all the Freshmen on mtv.com/news, MTV2’s Sucker Free and here at XXLMag.com. More info to come soon on the XXL 10 Freshmen for ’10 concert later this month in New York City. (You’ll also be able to win tickets to the show here.)

Thoughts? Who should be added, who should be removed? Reasons?

Incase you missed the freestyles, they're below.

Jay Rock | Donnis | OJ Da Juiceman | Freddie Gibbs | Big Sean | J. Cole | Fashawn | Nipsey Hu$$le | Wiz Khalifa | Pill

And that's your New Breed of Hustlers. You can pick up your copy on March 16th.

Donnis | OJ Da Juiceman | Freddie Gibbs | Big Sean | J. Cole | Fashawn | Nipsey Hu$$le | Wiz Khalifa | Pill

I kinda slept on Donnis. Sounds sorta like an ATL version of Big Sean. An MC from the left coast is last Freshmen, find out who tomorrow.

Ju'man with his 4 bars off the top of the head. You know he's the only other rapper to do that besides Charles Hamilton right?

Definitely need to stop sleeping on dude. Only 3 left.

4 more left.

...now and its from J. Cole. The 6th XXL freestyle should be here tomorrow. Hopefully my charger will be here as well... I'm out though, giving the torch back to Tori for now.

This is a long 3-5 business days. The next XXL freestyle coming right.....

Calling the list this year "Freshman 2010: A New Breed of Hustlers". They need to do a "Where Are They Now" special on past list makers.



via XXL

Mr. Spacely spits his lone verse off of Smokee Robinson.

Previous: Pill Freestyle

4 bars though? Last year, most of them went in for about a minute or more. Especially Cory Gunz & Charles Hamilton (Although Blu's was been my favorite).

Just a few of the artists who will be on the cover for this year's Freshman XXL. If you can't tell, that's Pill, Nipsey Hussle, J. Cole & Fashawn.

“[Pharrell will] love something and I’ll be like, ‘Yo, who is that moving,’ and it’ll be good, but…like, ‘That ain’t disrupting radio,’” Pusha explained. “And then we’ll get into, ‘Yo, it ain’t this record’ or ‘It ain’t that record.’ Then an argument ensues and he’ll tell everybody to get out the studio…and he’ll come back 40 minutes later with something, like ‘If you don’t take this I’m calling Hov, right now, I’ma call him. And he gonna take this, it’s gonna be the biggest record ever… I’m calling Puff.’ He’ll name any name that he just knows will get under my skin when I hear that they got something good that we should have.”

CLICK TO ENLARGE

What's your favorite line? Mine? 15. Fuck bitches, get money.

via ATF (Click here if you can't read it, its transcribed for y'all).