(Photo: XXL Magazine)

It's that time of year again — XXL has officially revealed its list of the top hip hop "freshmen" of 2012, honoring fresh new talent poised to make a mark on the industry. The list has grown in popularity and garnered heated anticipation each year since its introduction in 2007. This year #XXLFreshmen2012 shot to the top of Twitter's worldwide trending topics within minutes of the announcement.

The XXL Freshmen Class of 2012 is: Future, Kid Ink, Danny Brown, French Montana, Roscoe Dash, Macklemore, Don Trip, Machine Gun Kelly, Hopsin and Iggy Azalea.

Several of the rappers have already achieved a sizable amount of buzz for their work over the course of last year, with some having inked record deals in the process. The female Australian Iggy Azalea caught the eye of Jimmy Iovine at Interscope Records, and both French Montana and Machine Gun Kelly are a part of Diddy's remade Bad Boy Records roster. Danny Brown, meanwhile, was acquired by DJ A-Trak's hipster-savvy Fool's Gold Records, which put out his critically acclaimed street album XXX last summer.

Learn more about all of the promising up-and-comers when the April issue of XXL hits stands next month.

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