MTV's top 10 "hottest MC's"

[Driver The Naniwa]

The top ten best MC's in Rap right now, according to the MTV staff are:

10. Jim Jones

9. Common

8. 50 Cent

7. Jay-Z

6. Young Jeezy

5. Kanye West

4. Andre 3000

3. The Game

2. T.I.

1. Lil' Wayne

-They judged the list on different things like album sales, style, swagger, lyrical skills, etc.

-Jim Jones beat out Nas for the 10 spot

-Despite not putting out an album of his own and focusing more on his projects outside of Rap, MTV said Andre 3000 get's on the list from all the guest spots and remixes he's done lately. They said "he unquestionably murders every track he's been on"

-Jeezy is apparently the new Tupac and/or DMX

-Lil' Wayne, despite not moving any big number of units, is on top because he's lyrically better than anyone else out right now, according to MTV. His new mixtape is "a masterpiece"

-Some of the staff tried getting Kanye moved ahead of Andre, but the majority won in favor of Andre

-Some of the staff also tried to get The Game moved out of the top five, but again, majority won.

-50 Cent barely made the countdown they said, his new single "I Get Money" got him on

That's all I remember. Thoughts?

[ROC]

That isn't too bad of a list, though, any person thinking Jim Jones even has the sales of Nas, much less the swagger and talent of him is fucking insane.

[Driver The Naniwa]

I didn't think the list was that bad based on how they were judging it. The only thing that bothered me was Jim Jones beating out Nas and Andre 3000 being on the list. I thought T.I. would have been on top though. Weezy getting it surprised me.

[MalaCloudy Black]

-Jeezy is apparently the new Tupac and/or DMX

-Lil' Wayne, despite not moving any big number of units, is on top because he's lyrically better than anyone else out right now, according to MTV. His new mixtape is "a masterpiece"

Those two bits made me lol. They're both fucking jokes as far as emcees go, in ten years people will go "Lil who? Young what?" and be laughing at how they placed in a top 10 for anything.

[Driver The Naniwa]

From MTV.com:

Lil Wayne has distanced himself from his peer group simply by embracing his love for rap with open arms — much like the way the lovably rotund Mabel Thomas used to lovingly squeeze her son Roger on "What's Happening!!" Last year MTV News unofficially stamped Weezy F. Baby as the hottest MC on the planet, but now we've pulled out all the bells and whistles! We had to: When the MTV News hip-hop brain trust started coming up with this competition, Wayne was #1 on just about everyone's list. He's undeniable to us, the fans and the rest of the rappers out there.

His volume of recent work has kept us on our toes. You never know if he's going to drop an official record or just throw some heat out to the streets for free, just because. Although he hasn't dropped a solo LP in two years, he put out the duet LP with his dad, Baby a.k.a Birdman, Like Father, Like Son, in October and still records practically every day, whether for his own projects or the many dozens of guest-appearance requests he tries to fulfill.

But we're not applauding the 24-year-old MC just for having created the largest body of work of any of his peers in the past year — it's the overwhelming quality of that quantity. The New Orleans native rarely turns down requests for cameos, so in the last year alone we've heard him with a mind-boggling array of performers, from Robin Thicke, Mya, Enrique Iglesias and Gym Class Heroes all the way to the heart of 'hood with Rick Ross, Ja Rule, Young Jeezy and even the Shop Boyz.

With all the verse-hustling he does, you'd think Wayne would be in danger of burning out, but as he told us himself, you don't have to worry about that if everything you put out is hot — and sounds totally different. Weezy's microphone assaults have been as diverse in attack formation as they have been lyrically striking. His flows have come in the form of everything from spoken-word street poetry ("Dying"), a reggae chat mixed with French patois (Swizz Beatz's "It's Me B----es" remix) or even halfway singing (his "Sky's the Limit" freestyle). Meanwhile, Wayne has been at his lyrical zenith with superlative wordplay that hearkens back to the days when fly MCs like Redman and Grand Puba were in abundance and metaphors used to fly on wax with regularity ("sticking to the script like java"). His lyrics include keep-you-on-your-toes subject matter that ranges from the effects of intoxication to sexually unabashed groupies; from kissing Baby to President Bush being America's #1 villain.

Co-Signer: Kanye West

"Everybody is going to start with Lil Wayne. When I heard there was a [hottest MCs] list, I said, 'You going to start with Wayne then work your way down.' He delivers so many verses. The amount of work he puts in! I sat with Wayne working on his album and was like, 'Do you go on vacations?' He said, 'Nah, this is what I do. I dedicate my life to this ... I think a lot of people don't take being a pop star or rap star serious enough. Because it could be easy, you do a couple of records then you chill out. Nah, let's not chill. Let's do what we can to make sure this art is alive and take advantage of the moment.' "

Blistering Ballistics

"I am the beast/ Feed me rappers or feed me beats/ I'm untamed, I need a leash/ I'm insane, I need a shrink/ I love brain, I need a leech/ Why complain on easy street?/ I don't even talk, I let the Visa speak/ And I like my Sprite Easter pink" ("We Takin' Over")

[MalaCloudy Black]

That's a fairly dire verse/bar they've chosen there, seriously. Ugh.

[Mysterio2000X]

The lack of Nas and Rakim just fucking kills me, seriously.

[Driver The Naniwa]

That isn't too bad of a list, though, any person thinking Jim Jones even has the sales of Nas, much less the swagger and talent of him is fucking insane.

Edited July 29, 2007 by Driver The Naniwa

[MalaCloudy Black]

What gets me the most is Common placing lower than Jeezy, Wayne, TI, 50.. Common should be a top fiver.

[Mysterio2000X]

The lack of Nas and Rakim just fucking kills me, seriously.

Rakim hasn't done shit in like 3 years and that was just a guest spot on a somewhat popular song. Unless you count the All-Pro Football commercials.

[gunnar hendershow]

What? Did they just like look at the charts and pick the first 10 names they saw? Most of those guys are terrible MC's, but then I didn't expect a good and researched list from the likes of MTV either. It's just further proof that the poor people who spend their time listening to what MTV says are missing out on a lot of good music.

But also, considering it's based on current events I can understand the listing.

Edited July 29, 2007 by damshow

[TheRyno]

It's MTV and thus doesn't matter.

[Lowerdeck]

It's MTV and thus doesn't matter.

Exactly.

Lil' Wayne and T.I. are overrated. Andre 3000 ... why the fuck is he in the top 10? He isn't even a household name outside of Outkast. I like The Game, but he's ranked too high here. 50 Cent is fading away now, a few years from now he won't mean shit. His lyricism is embarrassing, even to Massacre standards. Young Jeezy = blah. Jim Jones is beyond garbage. Then again, MTV fears Nas because he's not commercial ... and I'm surprised Kanye West and Common got on this list myself for same reason.

Edited July 30, 2007 by Lowerdeck

[DMN in the House]

Kanye West not commercial? What the fuck are you smoking?

Its not a horrible list, solely because it lists Common. T.I. is alright, same with The Game, the rest are meh. I like We Fly High, but mostly because this really hot chick I used to hang out with loved it, and it became a stupid thing where I was working to bust out the 'Ballin' for no reason.

Then again, its MTV.

I don't understand the hate for Andre 3000 though. Dude is fucking good.

[ROC]

I don't understand the hate for Andre 3000 though. Dude is fucking good.

[Lowerdeck]

Kanye West not commercial? What the fuck are you smoking?

Stronger vs. A Bay Bay

Diamonds From Sierra Leone vs. Buy U A Drank (Shawty)

Two Words vs. Party Like A Rockstar

Kanye might be mainstream, but he's not performing brainless shit written and pushed onto us by suits (more than likely Clear Channel) for the purposes of selling ringtones.

[DMN in the House]

Just because his music has more meaningful lyrics dosen't take him out of that realm. His shit gets pushed for the exact same reasons the other people's songs get pushed. Kanye West is commercial as anyone, if not more.

Call me when Kanye's grinding in the underground scene, next to Slug, Murs, MF Doom, and GOOD rappers like that.

[SeanDMan]

He also puts out a lot of fluff as well. I'm not saying... you know where I'm going with that.

[timbawolf]

What a crock of shit that list is! Just because they are doing good now doesn't mean they're the best MC's! The real MC's are people who put out consistantly good music with complex lyrics.

Here's what my list would be for lyricism:

10. Crooked I

9. Busta Rhymes

8. Papoose

7. Wu Tang Clan

6. Cassidy

5. Big Daddy Kane

4. Redman

3. Kurupt

2. Nas

1. Eminem

[TOG]

What a crock of shit that list is! Just because they are doing good now doesn't mean they're the best MC's! The real MC's are people who put out consistantly good music with complex lyrics.

Here's what my list would be for lyricism:

10. Crooked I

9. Busta Rhymes

8. Papoose

7. Wu Tang Clan

6. Cassidy

5. Big Daddy Kane

4. Redman

3. Kurupt

2. Nas

1. Eminem