As hip-hop culture becomes ever more prominent in American society, more and more people are starting to pay attention to the up-and-coming talent. Each year, hip-hop magazine XXL gives 10 new artists, or freshmen, a chance to showcase their skills both through individual acapella freestyles and group cyphers.

Here's a look at the best (and worst) of the 2017 freshmen, ranked based on their freestyle, cypher performance, and previous discography.

10. Playboi Carti

If you've been following the 2017 Freshmen list at all, you probably knew that Carti would be the bottom of the barrel. Most well known for "Magnolia" (in New York I milly rock), Carti's appeal has never been his lyricism.

Even fans of his music could see that both his freestyle and cypher performance were trash. He may have sounded alright on a beat, but without one he has very little going for him.

9. Madeintyo

This artist's claims to fame come from singles like "Uber Everywhere" and "Skateboard P," both of which rely on the hooks more than the lyrics. As fun as his actual songs are, both his freestyle and his cypher verse were among the worst of the freshmen. While Madeintyo's showcases weren't quite as bad as Playboi Carti, they came pretty close.

8. Kamaiyah

Despite her low standing, Kamaiyah actually had one of the better freestyles of the bunch. However, she's ultimately weighed down heavily by her biggest hits and her cypher performance.

She's not bad by any means, but her cypher was simply boring, dragging on for about two minutes without ever switching up her flow. There's no doubt she's a good rapper, but she couldn't demonstrate her skills appropriately.

7. A Boogie Wit A Hoodie

Famous for his single "Drowning" featuring Kodak Black, Boogie's situation is the inverse of Kamaiyah's; a stellar cypher verse couldn't make up for the horrendous freestyle he had a few weeks before. Boogie arguably rode the cypher's beat the best out of Kyle, Amine and himself, but his freestyle faltered and lacked any sort of direction, placing him into the lower tier of freshmen.

6. XXXTentacion

Probably the most infamous of the 2017 XXL class, X has certainly made a strong impression on the hip-hop community. I was actually looking forward to his verses due to how diverse X's sound can be, but instead, he panders to his cult-like fan base with satanic slam poetry.

To amp up the edge, he even requests to cut the beat during the cypher for the sake of being different. I had hoped he would come in with a flow similar to "Vice City," but X ends up disappointing.

5. Kap G

I wasn't a fan of Kap G's biggest single "Girlfriend," so I had few expectations for him, but he ended up coming out strong with both his freestyle and cypher verse. With solid bars and a variety of flows, Kap manages to establish himself as a middle of the pack rapper.

4. PnB Rock

This was one of the most pleasant surprises of the XXL Freshmen list; most of PnB Rock's popular songs feature him singing instead of rapping, so I wasn't sure how well he would do, but both of his performances were brimming with confidence and personality.

His freestyle provided a surprisingly intimate look into his growth and motivations while his cypher told a cheeky story with one of the cleanest flows out of the entire freshmen class. If PnB Rock starts to blur the lines between R&B and rap similar to Bryson Tiller, he can make a big name for himself.

3. Kyle

Kyle's single "iSpy" shot him to new heights in the mainstream, and his past songs show that the positive vibes from the song aren't fabricated; it's just part of his attitude. His freestyle didn't exactly play out like a verse, but unlike XXXTentacion, the poetic approach works wonders for Kyle. His cypher is equally cheesy and equally entertaining, and his personality is sure to set him up for success.

2. Ugly God

What's a freshman class without the class clown? Ugly God is a self-aware comedy rapper, and his performances show off exactly what he can do. His freestyle is widely considered to be the best out of the ten, and while his cypher was underwhelming compared to his previous verse, he still managed to show off his absurd humor while maintaining a confident vibe.

1. Amine

The artist behind "Caroline" and "REDMERCEDES" secures the top spot of the XXL Freshmen with a consistently strong discography, freestyle and cypher. His freestyle offers a unique tone as he lays out heavy observations of his environment, and he delivers on the cypher verse with multiple flows and plenty of wordplay. I'm personally excited for what direction Amine plans to take in the future, as he has multiple roads ahead of him.

Ultimately, this was a solid XXL Freshmen class, and these freshmen don't constantly brag about AP scores.