The 2017 XXL Freshmen Class had some artists that created a new chain reaction regarding music genres and styles. This group has the unfortunate distinction of having the most amount of artists that have passed away from a freshman class with the senseless murder of PNB Rock and the murder of XXXTentacion. While others have dealt with legal issues and aren’t active in music. Nonetheless, this group still has proven to be pretty impactful on the music industry.
As we’ve done with every XXL Freshman cover before this: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, & 2016 – we revisit the 2017 XXL Freshman class, and evaluate their success and tell you where they are now.
Revisiting The XXL 2017 Freshmen
Ugly God
Straight out of Houston Texas, Ugly God who has a lot of hit comedy songs and also a popular mixtape called The Booty Tape. When he was named to the Freshman class, he seemingly had all the potential. He signed with Asylum Records where he continued to build his buzz, and by 2019 he released his studio album Bumps & Bruises that reached Billboard’s top 200.
Some time in late 2022, Ugly God’s YouTube channel was hacked for an unspecified amount of time, causing all of the videos on the channel to be deleted.
In June 2023, he was arrested and charged with the murder of his best friend’s father, Renaldo Delavallad, in Mississippi,
Where are they now?
In August, 2023, Ugly God turned to social media to apparently address the accusations directed at him. He has since been released from prison and been active on social media. Music however hasn’t been a priority. As of this writing, his last official release of any kind was in early 2020.
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A Boogie Wit da Hoodie
A Boogie is one of the most famous artists today to come out of this freshman class. He is still active and relevant, and one of the more consistent artists in the industry. He is also mostly known for his singing and creativity that he has with other artists.
He got signed in 2016 to Atlantic Records, and shortly thereafter released his debut studio album, The Bigger Artist in 2017. Led by the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 single “Drowning” featuring Kodak Black, the album was met with critical praise and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200.
Where are they now?
Earlier this year A Boogie released his most recent album, Better Off Alone. He has remained one of the more unproblematic artists of the last decade, save for a little relatinship drama every once in a while.
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PnB Rock
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania a star named PnB Rock grew up and skyrocketed. He signed to Atlantic Records in 2015 and gained initial recognition for his 2016 single, “Selfish.”
Becoming his first Billboard Hot 100 entry, it received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) and served as the lead single for his commercial mixtape GTTM: Goin Thru The Motions.
Where are they now?
On September 12, 2022, PnB Rock was robbed and fatally shot at Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘N Waffles near Main Street and Manchester Avenue in South Los Angeles.
On September 2nd, just 10 days before his murder, he released the song “Luv Me Again.”
PlayBoi Carti
Playboi Carti has also been one of the more relevant artists to come out of this freshman class and he has been keeping his fans interested and waiting on his music from the very beginning. He has been influential to his generation because of his incredibly unique style.
He started to gain his mainstream attention after the release of his eponymous debut mixtape in 2017 which peaked at #12 on Billboards Hot-100 charts singles “Magnolia” and “Wokeuplikethis” (featuring Lil Uzi Vert).
Where are they now?
He guest performed alongside Rich the Kid on ¥$’s 2024 single, “Carnival,” which became his first song to peak atop the Billboard Hot 100. He is also scheduled to release his third album later this year (2024).
Aminé
Aminé first gained notability for his commercial debut single, “Caroline”, which was peaked at #11 on the US Billboards Hot-100 chart in 2016. Aminé released his debut album “Good for You” in 2017 and his second studio album “Limbo” in 2020.
Where are they now?
Nowadays it looks like Aminé isn’t really focused on music anymore or at least not in the moment, his last time posting music on youtube was May 26, 2023.
He’s now planning a festival in his hometown Portland, Oregon and he did a collaboration with New Balance in 2023.
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XXXTentacion
XXXTentacion was known for his controversy, personality, different genres of music, his song writing, and his friends inside and outside the industry. In 2014 he formed the underground collective “Members Only” which had popular soundcloud rappers. He officially started to gain mainstream attention with the single “Look at Me”.
Where are they now?
Unfortunately, on June 18, 2018, XXXTentacion, age 20, was robbed and murdered when he was shot near a motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Four suspects were arrested and charged with first degree murder among other charges.
Kyle
Back in 2016 Kyle released “iSpy” (featuring Lil Yatchy) which peaked at #4 on Billboard Hot-100, and for the next few years he continued to gain a name for himself off his fanbase. Next, he signed with Indie-Pop and Atlantic Records. In 2018 he also starred in a Netflix movie named “The After Party” that got a lot of people’s attention on him at the time.
Where are they now?
Kyle has been keeping up with new genres of music while also dropping new music on his youtube channel and other platforms. He is also known for the SuperDuperCrew where they plan to go on tour to 9 different states. He did a lot of features with big artists throughout his whole career from his pop off up to now, he had recently dropped a song with 2024 XXL Freshman Lay Bankz.
Kap G
April 5th, 2016 Kap G released his most listened to song that caused him to catch mainstream attention. He continued to stay relevant for sometime from collaborating with artists such as Young Thug, Ty Dolla $ign, Chris Brown, Lil Uzi Vert, Gunna, and Lil Keed.
Where are they now?
Kap G is still releasing music today but isn’t maintaining the same amount of views as he was around 2016-2022. He also dropped a mixtape named “BEEN HIM” a month ago and he has a website up right now for streaming his music.
Kamaiyah
Coming from Oakland, California, Kamaiyah released her debut mixtape, A Good Night in the Ghetto in 2016 to critical acclaim.
She released her second mixtape Before I Wake in 2017 and then in 2020 she launched her own label “GRND.WRK”, releasing her third mixtape Got It Made through the label.
Where are they now?
Recently Kamaiyah has started uploading music more frequently on Youtube and maintaining a stable amount of views. On May 30th, 2024, She premiered her song “One & Only” on Youtube that has over 100,000 views. The song is featured on her most recent album, Figuring Out My Emotions which was also released back in May.
MadeinTYO
One of the most unique artists on this list is MadeinTYO (pronounced Made in Tokyo), he was born in Hawaii and raised in Tokyo, Japan. The song he’s most known for is his single “Uber Everywhere” released on February 26th, 2016, which peaked at #51 on Billboard Hot 100, the song caught American rapper Travis Scott’s attention that spawned a remix with him.
Where are they now?
MadeinTYO’s most recent release was “Trim Express” featuring 24Hrs.
He is keeping the same type of momentum as he was when he first popped off back in 2016. He recently had a tour in March 2024 where he went to places like London and Paris.
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