With two segments of the XXL Freshman Cypher in the books, it’s only right that the final video shuts it all down. After an aggressive verse from St. Louis spitter Comethazine and a laid-back flex-a-thon from Compton’s Roddy Ricch, Philadelphia genre-bender Tierra Whack has DJ Scheme stop the beat to deliver a wordplay-packed, acapella verse that brings ear-to-ear smiles to her fellow Freshmen’s faces. Check it out above.
In the two previous Cyphers, Megan The Stallion and DaBaby rattled off some high-speed bars to prove their past year of successes has been no fluke, then Rico Nasty, Blueface, and YBN Cordae took some time to gas each other up with a few well-placed ad-libs and dance moves. While fans weren’t necessarily impressed by Lil Mosey or YK Osiris, both the younger performers’ successes are built more around their melodic delivery and charismatic personalities than their bars, so they can be forgiven.
But in all the hubbub, it appears that there’s one Freshman who either skipped or missed his appointment with the Cypher crew: Gunna, who slippery ATL delivery made him one of the biggest stars of 2018 as his Drip Or Drown 2 and joint album with Lil Baby, Drip Harder, took over the charts and airwaves. Maybe an explanation will surface soon, but it’s a little disappointing that of 11 rappers, we only got to hear Cypher verses from 10.
However, all the MCs proved that they’ve earned their spots on this year’s Freshman list and we can’t wait to see them live up to the potential they all flashed here — and who might end up on the list next time around.
