School is in Session on “XXL Freshman Mixtape” (Listen & Download)

Like the Grammys, every year I get mad about XXL's Freshman list and vow to ignore it next year, and then when it comes I spend hours doing in-depth breakdowns. I just can't help myself. But regardless of your thoughts on who did, and who didn't, deserve a spot in the top ten, one thing isn't open for debate: DJ Whoo Kid's "XXL Freshman Mixtape" is dope. Essentially a collection of some of the game's brightest new talent, the XXL mixtape features new cuts from the likes of J. Cole, Fashawn, Freddie Gibbs, Wiz Khalifa, OJ da High in Calcium Rapper and many more.

(Complete side note that only writer nerds like me will care about. XXL officially lists the J. Cole track as "Who's World is This" although it clearly should be "Whose World is This". Remember when XXL was a legitimate journalistic magazine that could afford to do things like hire a copy editor? Yeah, me neither.)

Download links and mixtape preview are below the tracklist:

Download "XXL Freshman Mixtape" via UserShare
Download "XXL Freshman Mixtape" via MediaFire

To go to school with the freshman class right now, check out two of the mixtape's standout tracks, J. Cole's "Whose World is This" and Fashawn's "I Need to Know".