Lil Skies Says He Declined XXL Freshmen List Because It's Rigged

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Lil Skies confirms that he turned down the XXL Freshmen List.

Lil Skies is undoubtedly one of the most promising young artist to emerge in the scene over the past year. His star status blew up exponentially ever since he released his project, Life Of A Dark Rose. His presence on the XXL Freshmen List seemed like a shoe-in considering the buzz surrounding his name over the past few months. Over the past 24 hours, reports surfaced that he declined the XXL Freshmen list. He's now confirmed that it's true and he's revealed why he decided to turn it down.

Lil Skies has confirmed that he turned down the XXL Freshmen cover during a recent Instagram Live session. However, the reason why he turned down the reason seems to be from inside politics. Skies explained that XXL reached out to him months a go to be on the Freshmen cover, prior to the voting process even beginning.

"When you guys were allowed to vote, I still won. I still got on the list. Even before that, they chose me to be on the XXL Freshmen." He said, "C'mon, now. The list is rigged. You're not placing me in no category."

He continued to explain that he didn't feel the process was fair. However, he says there's no bad blood between him and the publication. The rapper did confirm that he did end up not showing up to the shoot. 

Peep the video below. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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