As part of XXL’s 2022 Freshman Class, 22-year-old rapper Big30 came to impress. Two days ago, XXL released his Freshman Freestyle, part of a series in which the magazine picks a list of up-and-coming rappers to feature, also giving them promo and opportunities to show off their skills and share their stories in freestyles, cyphers, interviews, and more.
Big30 hails from Memphis, where his friend, fellow rapper, and 2021 XXL inductee Pooh Shiesty drove him to make music.
His first hits came in the form of “Breaking News” in 2018 and “No Vouch” in 2019, the former of which featured Shiesty. He also contributed to Big30’s next big songs, “Neighborhood Heroes” and “Allegations.” 30’s first project, King of Killabranch, arrived last year, and a follow-up is expected soon.
Big30’s freestyle is everything you would expect from a rising street rapper: confident, emphatic, vivid, and confrontational. His control over his flow is steady and effective, leaving enough space for faster flows and added words and syllables to switch up the rhythm. Most importantly, his delivery is still high-energy even without an instrumental to carry it.
Lyrically, 30’s freestyle paints a dark but intimidating picture of his artistry. Bars like “I know n***as kill motherf*****s and still snitchin’ / So my n***a you can keep yo’ killers, them n***as’ b***hes” portray him as vigilant and he keeps the aggression up with other lines like “”N***a know what’s up with me, ain’t never tuck my tail/Every day I’m steady sinnin’ like we already in Hell” and “Runnin’ up on Big30 gon’ be an epic fail/Got the AR with the coolant and the neck to catch the shell.”
Earlier this year, Big30 turned himself in for unknown charges, and correctly predicted that Shiesty wouldn’t get life in prison. He spoke with HotNewHipHop about their relationship, his influences, and more in a 2021 interview.
You can check out Big30’s full XXL Freshman Freestyle below.