It’s insane to consider it’s been six years since XXL dropped the 2019 Freshman Class. At the time, the list was greeted with endless backlash — some thought it was the start of something new, some just shook their heads. But now in 2026, it’s clear: this group of artists didn’t merely ride the tide of the internet rap era — they created it.
Some of them were household names. Others fell out of the public eye. Some took surprising left turns. But they all had a moment — and for better or for worse, they made it count.
Here’s your chance to catch up on the XXL 2018 Freshman Class.
As done before with other XXL Freshmen covers of 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 let’s find out what’s going on with the XXL 2019 Freshmen and see just how far they’ve come.
Revisiting The XXL 2019 Freshmen
Let’s begin where it all started — and see where everyone wound up.
DaBaby
DaBaby came out of nowhere as if he had a right to be there. Baby on Baby had just dropped, “Suge” was blowing up, and his clips? Short films. High-energy, funny, lively. He wasn’t shy, and he wasn’t waiting for a seat at the table — he pulled up and made his own.
Where Are They Now???
For a while, DaBaby couldn’t be avoided. He dominated festival crowds, memes, and the Billboard charts. Controversy quickly followed and cooled his hot streak. His alleged nudes leaked, was accused of stealing a beat in a civil lawsuit, fell out with constant collaborator Megan Thee Stallion and tried to blast her, and even got into it with his baby mother, DaniLeigh on instagram live. That doesn’t even include the homophobic comments that made it hard to book him for a while there.
The stench around him has disappeared, but he has not been a household name for a while now. Most recently, he put out a joint project with Fetty P Franklin, titled, Kirk Franklin (a combination of their names). The project was his first since 2024’s How TF Is This A Mixtape?, which was a major label release on Interscope Records. While the hype isn’t quite what it once was, he’s still showing up — trying to expand, trying to progress.
He still hasn’t dropped a song as big as “Bop,” since it’s release though.
Rico Nasty
Rico was electricity incarnate. She burst in loud, brassy, and fearless. She was half-punk, half-rap, all attitude. She defied description, and that was the idea. She was forging her own universe, with moshing throngs and raised middle fingers.
Where Are They Now???
Rico’s stayed unapologetically herself throughout. Her 2022 album Las Ruinas pushed boundaries even further, and she’s carried the momentum through with uncompromising live shows and genre-bending singles. She hasn’t gone pop — and that’s the exact reason why everyone adores her. In 2025 she released her album, Lethal, which included the single “Teethsucker 9YEA3x)”
Tierra Whack
Tierra was the group’s quirky genius — and the fans loved her for it. Whack World was weird, beautiful, and fantastic all at once. Her graphics were paintings, her rhymes were biting, and she never cared about being trendy. She forged her own trail.
Where Are They Now???
Tierra kept relatively low-key, but her 2024 album World Wide Whack reminded everyone why she’s this creative force. It ain’t about quantity with her — it’s about quality and vision. She’s still breaking rules nobody else would ever dream of. Her single “Tip Toe” was featured on the Him soundtrack.
Blueface
When “Thotiana” released, Blueface was everywhere. That odd flow made people’s heads spin, but it worked, man — he was viral before simply being viral off the music was a move. Either you hated it or loved it, but you couldn’t escape it. And the remix… blew up!
Where Are They Now???
Blueface today is more celebrity, less rapper. Reality television, headlines, online drama — that’s been the narrative. He’s put out some music every now and then recently, but whether he returns to it for good is yet to be seen. He recently came home from a prison stint, but has gone right back to making headlines with women, or for all the drama around Chrisean Rock.
Either way, he’s secured his spot in internet rap history. For those that remember.
Comethazine
Comethazine wasn’t trying to go mainstream — he was trying to blow your speakers. His music was angry, loud, and unapologetic. He rode the pandemonium and established himself as being exactly who he wanted to be. Still, he was probably the artist on the list that surprised fans the most.
Where Are They Now???
Comethazine wavered. His last album was Bawskee 5 (2024).
These days, apparently he has shifted to jazz music. One of his talents includes playing the trumpet, and he is doing that under the name Frank Kole. We didn’t see that coming either.
Lil Mosey
Mosey was the crew’s youngest member — just 17 — but had the numbers to back up his spot. His smooth, sing-songy demeanor and boy-next-door charm swept Gen Z off their feet early on. He was a pop star in the making.
Where Are They Now?
Mosey had a rough couple of years, with run-ins with the law and time out of the spotlight. He was acquitted of murder charges in 2023, but nothing was the same.
He came back quietly with Universal in 2024 and has been dropping new singles ever since. The reception’s been half-baked, but he’s only 23 — there’s plenty of time to get it right. His Fall City album didn’t really move the needle, but can’t be mad at the effort.
Most recently he dropped the single, “2017.” You be the judge…
YK Osiris
YK may have been the biggest artist at the time of the cover… definitely one of the biggest. He dropped his debut album, The Golden Child, shortly after the cover’s release, and was a feature artist on several tracks. Things were looking up in a big way for the Jacksonville, Fl native and Def Jam signee. As the melodic kinda sing songy, maybe R&B artist of the group, the potential seemed high.
Where Are They Now???
Can’t say he fell off. He just truly never peaked. His 2024 EP, YK World was a quiet release. In 2025, he even mentioned that he was afraid to release new music because of how the industry has changed. Remains to be seen what he does next with his career.
Roddy Ricch
Roddy’s rise was more low-key, but every bit as intense. “Die Young” cautioned others, and he had this melodic, expressive approach that cut through the noise. You could tell where he came from in every verse — and that helped folks get behind him. Roddy’s Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial was a success, and “The Box” overnight established him as a household name in 2020.
Where Are They Now???
What felt like the start of a Drake type run in Hip-Hop turned out to be filled with misses thereafter. His later work didn’t quite hit the same and he quickly learned that fan bases aren’t always loyal. His projects went from highly anticipated to, nonexistent excitement. There were hints about new music in 2025, but that never came. Those loyal fans are waiting for his big comeback, but he’ll probably find that it’s harder to make believers out of folks the longer you make them wait.
Cordae
Cordae (at the time still YBN Cordae) introduced something new: bars. He was the standout in a time when lyrics weren’t necessarily the priority. Thoughtful, poetic, humble — he reminded them that substance mattered after all. Cordae built a more deliberate route. He dropped The Lost Boy in 2019, then From a Birds Eye View in 2022. In between time he dated tennis star Naomi Osaka and they had a child together.
Where Are They Now???
He’s still holding message over clout — and people respect him for it. In late 2024 he released the album, The Crossroads, which was critically acclaimed. Fans hoped that was be the start of something big for the rapper, but once again he’s gone quiet, preferring to keep his peace it would seem.
Gunna
Gunna had already built up a big buzz by the time XXL contacted him. He wasn’t new to the game — he’d been making noise in Atlanta, developing the city’s sound with Young Thug, outfitted in designer and dripping cool. His flow, his tone — they just hung in the air. He has also collaborated with Lil Baby so he was well recognized by fans, but he hasn’t quite broken out as a premier solo artist.
Where Are They Now???
Gunna’s ride has not been smooth. He established trap’s benchmark in the 2020s, but legal drhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b4lo3lV4bgama surrounding the YSL case threatened to undo all of it. But he bounced back with A Gift & A Curse and came back for One of Wun in 2025 — and both crested high. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though, because the fans never jumped ship. One would argue things haven’t been right for Gunna or Young Thug since the fall out, but Gunna still may be in the best spot in his career.
Megan Thee Stallion
She was unstoppable in 2019. She was already making serious waves with Tina Snow, and when she performed on that XXL stage, everyone knew: she was coming next. The freestyles, the attitude, the stage presence — everything was there. She wasn’t rapping; she was taking over.
Where Are They Now???
Megan didn’t blow up — she crushed it. Grammys, endorsements, meme-worthy moments, cultural currency. She dropped Traumazine in 2022, then returned with MEGAN in 2024, a very personal, inspiring album. She’s survived some stuff, but she’s still standing tall — and still one of the biggest names around.
What It All Means in 2025
In hindsight, the 2019 Freshman Class was bigger than a photo shoot — it was a watershed moment. These weren’t just kids who had hits going viral. They were signs of a shifting industry: streaming reigned, social media ruled, and influence could become careers.
Some succeeded. Some failed. Some are still figuring it out.
But that’s the beauty of the Freshman Class. It’s not always about who’s hot right now — it’s about potential. And to see that potential realized, years later, is what makes this list so engaging.
Yes, the class of 2019 wasn’t perfect. But it was loud, raw, authentic — and that’s exactly what Hip-Hop needed.
