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La Reezy Spits for XXL’s 2026 Freshman Class in Freestyle and Interview
La Reezy joins XXL's 2026 Freshman class with a new freestyle and interview as the magazine continues its annual rollout.
By the time XXL’s 2026 Freshman class rolls out, the ceremony around it is as much a part of the story as the names themselves. La Reezy is one of the artists stepping into that spotlight this year, and his freestyle and interview arrive alongside the usual crop of Freshman-season content that has become its own ritual. XXL’s newest class also includes Slayr, Belly Gang Kushington and Chris Patrick, placing La Reezy in a lineup that extends the magazine’s long-running yearly snapshot of emerging rap talent.
La Reezy’s 2026 XXL Freshman freestyle and interview are now part of the magazine’s latest Freshman rollout, published July 9, 2026. Peter A. Berry is credited on the piece, which lands under the familiar XXL ecosystem of News, Videos, XXL Freshmen and XXL Magazine.
Elsewhere in the Freshman cycle, XXL has been leaning into the broader mythology it has built around the class format for nearly two decades. The publication recently marked the 10-year anniversary of its 2016 Freshman class with a documentary, new interviews, throwback videos and more, a reminder that these yearly reveals now exist alongside their own history. In that same vein, the brand has continued to package the class as an ongoing archive, even down to features like “Here Are All 206 XXL Freshmen Over the Years” and “Here’s Every XXL Freshman Cover Since 2007.”
The 2026 rollout has also included a string of companion pieces around the class. One recent feature had the freshmen reading mean comments and responding to the hate, with Babyfxce E, Slayr, Hurricane Wisdom, Skrilla and others firing back. Another looked at hip-hop’s biggest moments at the 2026 BET Awards, from Cardi B’s win to Ms. Lauryn Hill’s tribute and T.I.’s performance. Taken together, the cadence feels familiar: a Freshman class debuting at the center of a larger XXL news cycle rather than as a one-off release.
La Reezy’s appearance keeps him in the middle of that conversation. The material published by XXL is framed around his freestyle and interview, with the artist’s Freshman slot presented as part of the magazine’s broader 2026 class rollout. The page also sits within XXL’s continued archival push, which has spent the last few years revisiting older classes while introducing new ones, often in the same breath.
For a franchise that has turned annual class announcements into a kind of hip-hop calendar event, the value is partly in repetition. Freshman season comes with the same familiar markers, but the cast changes every year. This time, La Reezy is one of the names carrying that load.
