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The X-spot is going hard with their story about the Freshmen 10 of 2008. I ain’t even gonna lie when I tell you that 10 motherfuckers trying to come up at once is too much. Some of the dudes that read this might feel some kind of way like Tupac stans always catch feelings but the truth is that the music industry in regards to rap dudes just can’t support 10 new stars. The machinery, and more importantly the fanbase needs to allow some of these acts some more time to get their artistic weight up.

To use a sports metaphor, some of these rappers need to be red-shirted. I say this because there are some artists whose gifts are wasted in this climate of now-now-yesterday. It forces artists to churn out work to fast and it also makes their work less valuable in the eyes of consumers. Why should I listen to some rapper’s latest track if he is gonna do another one next week, or even tomorrow? I’m not tryinf to be the dude that holds people back from their dreams in as much as I want dudes to realize their potential.

It’s hard to tell people to let their shit marinate because tomorrow is granted to none of us. At the same time if we don’t plan for tomorrow we won’t be prepared when that new day comes, and trust me, the new day is coming. I created this drop with a few particular artists in mind. These dudes are on the cusp of something special for themselves and I think they all will present something unique to rap and hip-hop culture. They aren’t part of the XXL 2008 freshmen 10 but I think you will hear from them hardbody in 2009.

Donny Goines – Right now, Donny Goines might be the hardest working dude in rap music. He has leveraged his persistence on the internets with a debut album. This is no small achievement since the majority of the freshmen 10 are loaded with mixtape credibility but without completed albums. The CD is called ‘Minute After Midnight‘ and it features production from some reliable beatmakers as well as up and coming producers (who hopefully won’t become rappers). My favorite track on the album is called ‘I Am Moving’ and it was produced by Dame Grease.

Another cat I fuck with who is connected with Donny Goines is Panama a.k.a. The Spanish Kid. He was formerly on ‘The Wire’ as the dude who used to wear Bubbles ass out [ll]. In a few years Panama will be one of the “Raptors” that we all talk about. The good thing is that he respects the craft of rhyming and he wants to be viewed as an official MC. He also has the work ethic that will take him far. These dudes didn’t make the cover of XXL’s 2008 freshmen 10, but just like a blue chip prospect in college football they are getting red-shirted so that their career will be even longer.