MTV's Hottest MCs in the Game

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MTV's Hottest MCs in the Game is a list compiled of ten Hip hop artists deemed to be the "hottest" of that given year by MTV since 2007. [1] Although MTV has stressed that the list is not meant to represent the greatest rappers of all time but the most interesting and culturally relevant artists of that year, the list is met with much controversy and debate each year. MTV named one rapper the "Hottest Breakthrough MC" of 2011 and that honor went to Machine Gun Kelly. [2] Kanye West currently holds the record for most appearances on the list, being the only rapper to appear on the list every year since its inception.

Contents

After a four-year hiatus that began in 2012, MTV announced that they are bringing the list back with a television special that aired on December 11, 2016 on MTV2. [3]

Background

The Hottest MC in the Game List was formed in 2007 and every year a group of Hip-Hop journalists known as "The Brain Trust" debated on who its favorite rapper of that year was. The Brain Trust has been composed of: [4] [5] [6]

The Brain Trust judges rappers on the grounds of their artistic execution (lyrical ability, flow), commercial success (charting hits, radio spins, album sales), cultural impact (business acumen, ushering in other big artists), digital metrics (Facebook page likes, Twitter followers, new songs on mixtapes), buzz and other intangibles. In order to be eligible to be included in the list an artist must have actively released music that year. [5]

Hottest MC in the Game recipients

Legend

  1. °: New entry
  2. ↑: Up / Re-entry
  3. ↓: Down
  4. -: Same

2007 [1]

  1. ° Lil Wayne
  2. ° T.I.
  3. ° The Game
  4. ° André 3000
  5. ° Kanye West
  6. ° Young Jeezy
  7. ° Jay Z
  8. ° 50 Cent
  9. ° Common
  10. ° Jim Jones

2008 [7] [8]

  1. ↑ Kanye West
  2. ↑ Jay Z
  3. ↓ Lil Wayne
  4. ° Rick Ross
  5. ° Snoop Dogg
  6. ↑ 50 Cent
  7. ° Lupe Fiasco
  8. ↓ Young Jeezy
  9. ↓ André 3000
  10. ↓ T.I.

2009 [9]

  1. ↑ Jay Z
  2. ↑ Lil Wayne
  3. ° Drake
  4. ↓ Kanye West
  5. ↓ Rick Ross
  6. ° Gucci Mane
  7. ↑ Young Jeezy
  8. ° Fabolous
  9. ↓ 50 Cent
  10. ° Raekwon

2010 [10]

  1. ° Eminem
  2. ↓ Jay Z
  3. ↑ Kanye West
  4. ↓ Drake
  5. - Rick Ross
  6. ° Nicki Minaj
  7. ↓ Lil Wayne
  8. ° Waka Flocka Flame
  9. ° B.o.B
  10. ° Ludacris

2011 [6]

  1. ↑ Rick Ross
  2. ↑ Drake
  3. - Kanye West
  4. ↑ Nicki Minaj
  5. ↑ Lil Wayne
  6. ↓ Jay Z
  7. ° Meek Mill
  8. ° Big Sean
  9. ° Wiz Khalifa
  10. ° Wale

2012

  1. ° Kendrick Lamar [11]
  2. ° 2 Chainz [12]
  3. ↓ Rick Ross [13]
  4. ° Nas [14]
  5. ↓ Drake [15]
  6. ↑ Big Sean [16]
  7. ↓ Kanye West [16]
  8. ° ASAP Rocky [17]
  9. ° Future [18]
  10. ↓ Meek Mill [19]

2016 [20]

  1. ↑ Kanye West
  2. ↑ Drake
  3. ° Chance the Rapper
  4. ° Travis Scott
  5. ° Young Thug
  6. ↑ Future
  7. ° YG
  8. ↓ Kendrick Lamar
  9. ° Lil Uzi Vert
  10. ° 21 Savage

Annual Hottest MC chart

PositionTop MCYear inductedAppearancesPeak ranking
1 Kanye West 200771
2 Lil Wayne 200751
3 Jay Z 200751
4 Rick Ross 200851
5 Kendrick Lamar 201221
6 Eminem 201011
7 Drake 200952
8 T.I. 200722
9 2 Chainz 201212
10 Game 200713
11 Chance the Rapper 201613
12 André 3000 200724
12 Nicki Minaj 201024
12 Nas 201214
12 Travis Scott 201614
16 Snoop Dogg 200815
16 Young Thug 201615
18 Young Jeezy 200736
18 50 Cent 200736
18 Big Sean 201126
18 Future 201226
18 Gucci Mane 200916
23 Meek Mill 201127
23 Lupe Fiasco 200817
23 YG 201617
26 Fabolous 200918
26 Waka Flocka Flame 201018
26 ASAP Rocky 201218
29 Common 200719
29 B.o.B 201019
29 Wiz Khalifa 201119
29 Lil Uzi Vert 201619
33 Jim Jones 2007110
33 Raekwon 2009110
33 Ludacris 2010110
33 Wale 2011110

Notes

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References

  1. 1 2 MTV News: Hottest MCs In The Game Archived 2010-09-25 at the Wayback Machine . Mtv.com (2006-03-09). Retrieved on 2012-02-14.
  2. ↑ Machine Gun Kelly Is 2011’s Hottest Breakthrough MC On ‘RapFix Live’. Rapfix.mtv.com (2011-12-14). Retrieved on 2012-02-14.
  3. ↑ "MTV2 Is Bringing Back Hottest MCs In The Game". MTV . Archived from the original on December 1, 2016.
  4. ↑ MTV News: Hottest MCs In The Game Archived 2010-10-27 at the Wayback Machine . Mtv.com (2006-03-09). Retrieved on 2012-02-14.
  5. 1 2 MTV's Hottest MCs In The Game 2010 Begins October 18 – Music, Celebrity, Artist News. MTV (2010-10-10). Retrieved on 2012-02-14.
  6. 1 2 MTV Specials – Hottest – Mc Archived 2010-09-23 at the Wayback Machine . Mtv.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-14.
  7. ↑ Hottest MCs in the Game 2008 | The List Archived 2010-02-13 at the Wayback Machine . MTV. Retrieved on 2012-02-14.
  8. ↑ "MTV's Hottest MCs in the Game (Full List)". 2dopeboyz. 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  9. ↑ And The Hottest MC In The Game Is ... | News Video. MTV. Retrieved on 2012-02-14.
  10. ↑ MTV Specials – Hottest – Mc. Mtv.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-14.
  11. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Brings Crown To Compton As 'Hottest MC In The Game'". MTV.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  12. ↑ "2 Chainz Powers Onto 'Hottest MCs' List At #2 - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  13. ↑ "Rick Ross Masterminds A #3 Spot On 'Hottest MCs' List - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  14. ↑ "Nas Finally Breaks Through To 'Hottest MCs' At #4 - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  15. ↑ "Drake Nabs #5 On 'Hottest MCs' List | News Video". MTV. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  16. 1 2 "Big Sean Tops Kanye West For #6 On The 'Hottest MCs' List | News Video". MTV. Archived from the original on March 7, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  17. ↑ "A$AP Rocky And Big Sean Battle For #8 And #7 On 'Hottest MCs' List | News Video". MTV. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  18. ↑ "Future Debuts At #9 On The 'Hottest MCs' List | News Video". MTV. 2013-03-03. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  19. ↑ "Meek Mill Kicks Off The 'Hottest MCs' Countdown At #10 | News Video". MTV. 2013-03-03. Archived from the original on March 7, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  20. ↑ "Kanye West, Drake & Chance the Rapper Top MTV's 2016 Hottest MCS List". HNHH. 17 December 2016.
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