(Meme-ey Intro)
So the XXL 2018 Freshman list will be here in around a month, and that means it’s time
to make a few lists focused on XXL.
Now despite it becoming much more of a popularity contest recently, originally the point of
the XXL Freshmen list was to find Rappers on the verge of blowing up and give them that
final push they need to reach new heights in their careers.
But today we are gonna be looking at cases where that failed, and examine some rappers
who fell off after appearing on the XXL Freshman list.
So let’s not waste any time, this is CDTVProductions, you can follow me under that name on Instagram,
and let’s get right into this video.
10 - Young Dro (2007)
Now I’m not too familiar with Dro’s music, but that’s because I rarely hear his name
being brought up.
He’s most well known for the songs Shoulder Lean and FDB, but apart from that he’s just
been having less and less success since 2007 when he appeared on the Freshman cover.
His 2006 album Best Thang Smoking peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200, but then fast
forward to 2015 and his most recent album, Da Reality Show didn’t even crack the same
chart.
‘06 seemed to be the most successful year for Dro, but his relevance has dwindled a
lot since then.
9 - Lil Twist (2011)
I think Lil Twist’s lack of success can really be attributed to the fact that he’s
seemingly dropped absolutely nothing in the past 2 years.
Either that, or whatever he has dropped was more under the radar than a stealth bomber,
but unfortunately was dropping way less heat than one.
In fact google his name, and he’s most well known for assaulting a Nickelodeon actor.
What a claim to fame that is.
I mean he was signed to Young Money so I’m sure people saw something in him initially,
but whatever it was it hasn’t translated into success.
8 - B.o.B (2009)
B.o.B was an artist that I actually enjoyed quite a lot at first.
He dropped Music that was pretty poppy early on in his career, but I think he did it pretty
well, and songs like Airplanes are undeniably great.
His debut album would go 2x platinum, and MTV named him as the 9th Hottest MC in the
Game In 2010.
He would also have a nice bit of success with his follow up album, Strange Clouds, but his
numbers have slowly been dropping and dropping since then, and I think it’s because no
one really takes him seriously anymore.
I mean, he’s an outspoken flat-earther, and no offence to anyone that is, but that’s
not gonna give you the best public image.
If anything, B.o.B is more well known for being a bit of a conspiracy theorist now,
instead of for his music.
Which I think is kind of a shame, cause he used to put out some fantastic songs.
But the fact is, no one is really focusing on what he does anymore.
7 - Trinidad Jame$ (2013)
Trinidad Jame$ is the definition of a one hit wonder to me.
It’s safe to say the majority of people know him for the song All Gold Everything,
which is an ironic song name considering every track he released after that would go triple
cardboard.
Not only would Trinidad struggle to have any real success following that song, but he would
even get dropped from his major label, Def Jam, in 2014, before he could even release
an album through them.
He actually dropped a fairly entertaining song in 2016 with Lil Dicky and Mystikal I’m
2016 called Just A Lil Thick, but apart from that, I’ve not really enjoyed any of his
music and it seems like not a whole lot of other people do as well.
6 - Pill (2010)
I mean you literally named yourself after something that leaves a bad taste in your
mouth if it stays around for too long.
There’s gotta be a little bit of irony in there somewhere.
Because Pill really didn’t stick around for long.
After 2010 when he appeared on the list, Pill dropped 3 projects, and then took a six year
hiatus.
Perhaps it unfair to say someone fell off when they haven’t dropped anything for 6
years, but he has tried to make a return dropping a song titled Back Right, in February of this
year.
But as far as I know, not many people really know about this song.
Looks like Pill DISOLVED a bit too early.
Apologies for that one.
5 - Desiigner (2016)
Now I think Desiigner has the chance for a comeback, but to be honest I highly doubt
he’ll ever get to the heights he got to when he first released his song Panda.
Everybody was remixing that song, it basically earned him 2 spots on a Kanye album, and managed
to go 5 times platinum.
In 2016 he would have another platinum single with Tiimmy Turner, but since then he hasn’t
been that prominent at all.
I really think his biggest mistake was not capitalising on his red hot success quickly
enough.
He has been working on his Liife Of Desiigner project for so long, but it still hasn’t
materialised, and he’s already missed his opportunity to drop this when he was at his
peak.
Not to mention, the New English mixtape which he did drop, wasn’t that great.
It featured a bunch of songs that were basically snippets and the whole thing just sounded
unfinished.
I feel like after that, a lot of people gave up on Desiigner, and it’s hard to say if
anyone will care when his debut album eventually does release.
4 - Cory Gunz (2009)
I pretty much know Cory Gunz as the guy that actually had a pretty cool verse on 6 Foot
7 Foot by Lil Wayne, and unfortunately for him, that really looks like his biggest claim
to fame.
Like I don’t even know what to talk about here, because, I genuinely only know Cory
for that single verse.
He has dropped numerous mixtapes, and a couple of them have actually performed pretty nicely,
but he’s another artist who’s had the issue of just not releasing anything recently.
It’s kind of weird that Gunz is also signed to Young Money, much like the aforementioned
Lil Twist who also hasn’t dropped anything in a long time.
Maybe there’s a link there, maybe it’s nothing, but regardless, Gunz is someone who
you most likely haven’t heard of in a long time.
3 - Saigon (2007)
Now this man must have fell off pretty damn hard, because no disrespect intended, but
I did not know who he was until I started researching for this video.
Maybe it’s because he’s never really had a hit song, but his first album had a decent
chart performance, peaking at number 61, and his second album also charted however this
time it fell back to number 151.
Unfortunately, his most recent album didnt make it on to the charts, and honestly it’s
kind of debatable if Saigon was even really on in the first place.
People definitely saw potential in him, because his debut album had some pretty huge features
like Jay Z, Faith Evans, and Q-Tip, but on his recent albums the features are also less
impressive.
Not only that, but the critical praise of his albums has also just decreased over time.
It doesn’t look like Saigon will ever be coming back up.
2 - Kid Ink (2012)
Kid Ink was dropping hit songs everywhere in 2014 and 2015, but I feel like the style
of music he made was destined to have a short shelf life.
And it really did.
His biggest songs were essentially summer bangers with the most typical DJ Mustard production,
and they usually were topped off with a hook from an artist that could sing to give them
more mainstream appeal.
And Kid Ink made 5 or 6 huge songs with this exact same formula from 2013 to 2015, and
I feel like this is what kinda made him get old fast.
He just seemed a bit generic, and he’s someone where I cared much more for his singles over
his albums, I’ve never really felt inclined to listen to a full project of his, and that
usually indicates fairly low staying power.
Not to mention, Show Me, Main Chick and Hotel were essentially all the same song, and it
didn’t make Kid Ink look all that versatile.
Taking that into account, it’s no wonder that he’s been fading away more and more
over time.
1 - Fetty Wap (2015)
Fetty Wap’s fall off is one that actually made me a little sad, but I’d be lying if
I said he didn’t bring it on himself.
Trap Queen, 679 and Again are some of the catchiest songs I’ve heard, and I could
bump them repeatedly.
I liked how he wasn’t really that great of a singer, but there was something enticing
about the way he used the melodies in his music.
Unfortunately, he seemed to have a formula, and he stuck to this formula on almost every
song on his self titled album.
Every track you would hear a “ya baby”, Fetty saying “ay” a lot, and
featuring Monty on his songs whenever he could.
I think the biggest problem people had with that album is so many of the songs sounded
incredibly similar, and that’s where Fetty’s biggest weakness was.
His style and voice was pretty unique at the time, but he ran it into the ground on his
first album.
His success was just so rapid at first, but now his songs don’t even chart, and I think
it’s his reluctance to change up that really caused this.
(Outro)