11 Artists That Should Make The R&B ‘Freshman Class’ If There Was One

Every year, XXL magazine does its famous Freshman Class cover with new upcoming hip-hop artists, and it always stirs up a conversation regarding what new upcoming artists will most likely pop next.

Last Thursday (June 20), the publication released its new Freshman Class cover featuring Rico Nasty, Megan Thee Stallion, YBN Cordae, Gunna, Tierra Whack, and Blueface, among others.

On Monday, actor Keith Powers presented the idea of a freshmen list for R&B artists, which caused an entirely new conversation to take place on social media.

In the spirit of this current conversation, here is a list of new upcoming RnB artists.

1. Ari Lennox

Origin: Washington D.C.

Single You Should Listen To: "Broke"

Project You Should Listen To: Pho

2.Queen Naija

Origin: Ypsilanti, MI

Single You Should Listen To: "Away From You"

Project You Should Listen To: Queen Naija

3.Lucky Daye

Origin: Los Angeles, California

Single You Should Listen To: "Roll Some Mo"

Project You Should Listen To: Painted

4.Mikhala Jene

Origin: Los Angeles, California

Single You Should Listen To: "Bless Ya (Fill a Void)"

Project You Should Listen To: Carolina Blues

5.Duendita

Origin: Queens, NY

Single You Should Listen To: "Pray"

Project You Should Listen To: direct line to My Creator

6.Summer Walker

Origin: Atlanta, Georgia

Single You Should Listen To: "Girls Need Love"

Project You Should Listen To: CLEAR

7.Sir

Origin: Inglewood, California

Single You Should Listen To: "D'Evils"

Project You Should Listen To: November

8.Nicole Bus

Origin: The Netherlands

Single You Should Listen To: "You"

Project You Should Listen To: T.O.T.A

9.Daniel Caesar

Origin: Oshawa, Ontario

Single You Should Listen To: "Japanese Denim"

Project You Should Listen To: Freudian

10. Baby Rose

Origin: Atlanta, Georgia

Single You Should Listen To: "Borderline"

Project You Should Listen To: TBA

11. Rayana Jay

Origin: Richmond, California

Single You Should Listen To: "Too Good"

Project You Should Listen To: Love Me Like

Who else would you add to this list?

Glennisha Morgan is a Detroit-bred multimedia journalist and writer. She writes about intersectionality, hip-hop, pop culture, queer issues, race, feminism, and her truth. Follow her on Twitter.