Music Opinion | Keyona Porshaa`
XXL dropped their Freshmen List for 2021 and after reviewing an estimated 100 prospects found the 12 artists that deserved spots on the cover that’s officially hitting stands July 7th. These new artists are music’s newest representations with their unique styles, raps and rhymes that should keep our bodies moving and heads bobbing for the next half of the year. However, as much time as I spent inside, I am still a little behind on the newest music so I did us a favor, those of you that can relate, I did a bit of A & R for us.
Everyone on the cover deserves applause but for this particular issue, there are four women and that’s the most to grace the cover in the history of XXL Magazine. Special shout out to Morray for putting Fayetteville, N. C. on the map. Iggy Azalea is credited to being the first and only woman on the roster for the Freshmen list back in 2012. Angel Haze was another artist to hold down the roster for women alone the following year. Tink and Dej Loaf appeared together in 2015. Kamaiyah alone in 2017, and Steflon Don on her own in 2018. Megan Thee Stallion, Rico Nasty, and Tierra Whack were the most women on one roster amongst the men up until yesterday. Chika and Mulatto paired for space amongst the best new artists according to XXL for last year’s issue.
The female artists of 2021 XXL’s Freshman list: Lakeyah from Quality Control, Flo Milli for RCA Records, Rubi Rose with HITCO and Coi Leray signed to Republic Records. We just might be in for a treat of diverse sounds and delivery being that these ladies represent Wisconsin (Lakeyah), Kentucky (Rubi Rose), Alabama (Flo Milli), New Jersey and Massachusetts (Coi Leray.)
I grew up on 106 & Park so I need visuals and the chance to put bars to faces. It matters. I started with Lakeyah, her song with The City Girls has been circling social media but I hadn’t seen any video snippets.
Lakeyah got me together in just three songs. All with heavy features, the heaviest being Guwop, on her latest song ‘Poppin.’ The City Girls body verses on ‘Female Goat.’ And lastly, 42 Dugg is featured on a song she dropped about 8 months ago, “Big FlexHer.’ Both of these songs were on the tracklist of her ‘Time’s Up’ album. But one thing about these Quality Control artists, they’re working. ‘Poppin’ comes off her latest album that was released back in April, ‘In Due Time.’
Despite her small frame, her voice comes across the beats rugged but rich. It’s clear she does not plan to be played with, she’s accredited to be the first Milwaukeean to grace the cover of XXL.
Based off of Rubi Rose’s ‘In His Feelings,’ her voice has loads of sex appeal because her sound is a mix between a loud whisper and a low growl. Usually I catch a video first but I did the opposite with Ms. Rose, I just already had SoundCloud opened but I have questions. Where are these women storing all this aggression? She also has a small stature but just listening to her, you’d never know. She represents Kentucky however an earlier video of hers, ‘Big Mouth’ is heavily inspired by the West Coast.
Since January Coi Leray had us trying to figure out how she got that ouu? She sports a very unique and edgy style usually in braids and relaxed-fitting clothes that might not match with your idea of who you’re listening to.
Coi Leray released ‘Now or Never’ in August of last year and I’ve already ran ‘I Like It’ featuring Kiana Lede back twice. I hear a lot of Drake influence in her sound from the contrast of rapping and singing to trying to change the way she came in on ‘Do Better’ off beat and eventually got on it, although Drake borrowed this from Big Sean but that’s another topic for another article.
Flo Milli was the artist on the cover that I did not have to familiarize myself with having run across snippets of her videos and loving her sound on Twitter after being co-signed by The City Girls post their album release just a month prior to her ‘Ho Why Is You Here?’
‘Weak’ accompanied with the sample from SWV was enough for me, it’s not very often that I can deny a song with a good sample but then she came back around with ‘Like That Bi**h’ and to me the Alabama native solidified her new position in the industry. Her ad libs, beats, and rhythm are both raunchy but confident, simple enough to catch all her lyrics but real enough to relate to.
Welcome ladies!
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