The 26-year-old ScHoolboy Q was included as part of the XXL Magazine’s 2013 Freshman Class, released last week, but the sought-after honor may be a year overdue.

The Los Angeles rapper has been outspoken about the fact that he should have been included on the 2012 list after the release of his 2011mixtape, “Setbacks,” and the emergence of his super group, Black Hippy, led by the commercial success of Kendrick Lamar. Each member of Black Hippy has now been placed on an XXL Freshman Class cover; Jay Rock in 2010, Kendrick Lamar in 2012 and Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q in 2013.

The California collective brought national attention to itself as Black Hippy but has begun associating more under the label Top Dawg Entertainment (T.D.E.). Last year, T.D.E. signed a joint venture deal with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment through Universal Music Group’s Interscope Records.

ScHoolboy released “Habits & Contradictions” in January 2012, exactly a year and three days after his 2011 release, “Setbacks.”

With a similar style as his group mates in regards to subject matter and lyrical content, ScHoolboy’s two independent albums touched on his previous life as a gangbanger, his lifestyle as a result of his past and how rap sometimes exemplifies the wrongs in which an artist is ironically trying to escape through music.

Numerous hip-hop critics thought these two works were more than enough evidence to crown ScHoolboy one of the freshmen for 2012, but instead, XXL included questionable artists like Kid Ink, Don Trip, Iggy Azalea and Roscoe Dash over ScHoolboy.

Q released the single, “Yay Yay,” in March to hold fans over until he becomes the second member of Black Hippy/T.D.E. to release a major-label debut with Interscope. ScHoolboy plans to drop his debut album, “Oxymoron,” sometime later this year with plenty of his signature features such as Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, Danny Brown, Action Bronson.