Now that the 2014 XXL Freshman cover is officially released to the public, the intense debate of whether they got it right or wrong can finally start.

Dubbing them the Dirty Dozen, Chance The Rapper, Rich Homie Quan, Isaiah Rashad, Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Durk, Kevin Gates, Troy Ave, Lil Bibby, Vic Mensa, Jon Connor, August Alsina, and Jarren Benton make up quite a stellar list this year, and with great diversity too.

Every year, there’s a handful of artists on the Freshman cover that pretty much everyone agrees should be on there and for this go ’round, we can give that honor to Isaiah Rashad, Ty Dolla $ign, August Alsina and Rich Homie Quan. Isaiah Rashad proved his worthiness after dropping his powerful and insightful debut album Cilvia Demo; Ty Dolla $ign inked a promising deal with Taylor Gang after his overnight success with his smooth Beach House EP; August Alsina served as the token singer of the list who took the industry by storm with “Luv This Shit” and his Def Jam debut Testimony; and Rich Homie Quan’s undeniable hit “Type Of Way” sent him on a never-ending rise to the top.

This was ultimately Chicago’s year though, and XXL took heed to that by selecting Chance The Rapper, Lil Bibby, Vic Mensa and Lil Durk for the list. Chano’s Acid Rap went viral upon its release, and fans are eagerly waiting for his follow up — makes sense why he landed on the cover; Lil Bibby released his Free Crack project this past year and has been the talk of the town ever since; Vic Mensa was even featured on our very own “10 Projects You May Have Missed In 2013” piece in December because we saw the bright future he had–well done, XXL. The last Chi-town native Lil Durk should be in good shape if he can stay focused on the music instead of the brewing beef.

Two of this year’s Freshmen are very similar people, coming from 2 completely different locations, but are both worthy of this year’s cover spot. Troy Ave takes his real-life experience in the gritty streets of Brooklyn and talks about it vividly in his music, while the very intelligent Kevin Gates certainly lived the same crime-filled life but chooses not to put it on blast in his rhymes.

Now, this is where the fun really begins. Who got snubbed and who didn’t belong?