Last week, XXL Magazine unveiled its 2023 Freshman Class of rising rappers that have the potential to be the next big stars in hip hop. Each year, the list tends to provoke conversations about the current state of hip hop and who will break through to mainstream success. This year’s cover includes Lola Brooke, GloRilla, and Central Cee. Additionally, Finesse2tymes, Rob49, 2Rare, Sleazyworld Go, Real Boston Richey, Luh Tyler, TiaCorine, and DC the Don appear on the list. XXL started incorporating singers into their list to represent today’s modern era, where hip hop and R&B are often fused. This began in 2014 with the inclusion of August Alsina and Ty Dolla $ign. Since then, the publication has added melodic rap to its annual collection of artists. One of the notable names on this year’s cover is singer Fridayy.
The Philadelphia native has garnered notoriety within the past year, recently signing with Def Jam. Before he made the 2023 XXL Freshman Class, Fridayy had been collaborating with some of the biggest names in hip hop, R&B, and beyond. Today, we take a look into Fridayy’s career so far.
Fridayy As A Producer
Fridayy may be a Freshman, but he has been chasing dreams of becoming a musician for ten years. His musical influences include The Weeknd and PARTYNEXTDOOR, which is evident in his singing voice. His latest collaborations see him mostly singing, but he started as a producer, playing the piano, guitar, drums, trumpet, and bass. Fridayy’s first notable collaborations at an industry level were in 2022 when he produced tracks for Rae Sremmurd, Chris Brown, and Wiz Khalifa. That same year, he also began lending his vocals to other artists’ songs, leading to his first glimpse at mainstream recognition.
Mainstream Attention & Def Jam Debut
At a mainstream level, Fridayy began appearing on songs from some of the biggest names in hip hop. In 2022, he appeared on Lil Baby’s song “Forever” from his album It’s Only Me. Last year also marked Fridayy’s most successful feature so far, singing on DJ Khaled’s extravagant title track to his God Did album. On the song, he sings with John Legend between verses from Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, and a jaw-dropping verse from JAY-Z. Not many new artists can say they have a song with Jay, giving Fridayy the ultimate co-sign as a name to look out for. “God Did” was nominated for three Grammys, and Fridayy performed the song alongside Khaled, Ross, Wayne, JAY-Z, and Legend, closing this year’s awards.
Fridayy’s first offering for Def Jam came in the form of last year’s Lost in Melody EP. The standard version of the seven-track project contained a feature from Vory. The deluxe edition Lost in Melody arrived earlier this year with five additional tracks, featuring the likes of Ty Dolla $ign and Asake. Fridayy is starting his career in a major way, producing and singing for big names, signing to Def Jam, and releasing his debut EP. Making the 2023 XXL Freshman Class is an additional sign that he is moving in the right direction.
Fridayy's Latest Work
While he just released the deluxe version of his debut EP, Fridayy is still actively releasing new music. His latest single, “Don’t Give It Away,” is a summer-ready collaboration with Chris Brown, who he produced a song for last year. One of Fridayy’s other recent releases is “See the Light,” his most adventurous collaboration yet with Swedish House Mafia. The song is a euphoric dance track with echoing vocals from Fridayy. "See the Light" displays the singer's ability to work within genres outside his comfort zone, showing even more potential than he already has as an XXL Freshman.