Who would you top 10 be?
HOTTEST MC’s in the game right now...
1. Kanye – The Music speaks for itself. The man knows what he’s doing. Whether its produced by him or his voice is on it, he just makes good records that transcend genres. He has to touch the 50 Cent fans, the Mos Def Fans, and John Mayer Fans. He’s on so many radars, that’s hot.
2. Wayne – The Hunger is out of this world. its 3rd worldly! The kid is eating beats and he still going. The curiosity about if he’s writing his own ish is what got a lot of people tuning in but he’s been proving track by track that if he ain’t just nice on his own that he’s got a lot a stacks to shell out to ghost writers.
3. T.I. – The South can not be denied and its legitimate presence over the past few years has a lot to do with artists like T.I. He can hold his weight on songs with Jay-Z and throw bows on songs with Bun B. A lot can be said about a man who proclaimed himself the king of the south but more can be said when a region embraces him as such. T.I. is hot right now.
4. 50 cent – The Power is undeniable. I am not a 50 fan by any means but I have never been a hater. It was clear that the man muscled his way through the industry into the spot he has now. 50 has thrown shots at some big dogs and taken shots from some others but has not stutter stepped a bit and with this coming album he isn’t not worried the slightest about my #1 pick. Dude gets money.
5. Jay-Z – The Blueprint of what rappers would like to become. The name you can not run away from in any rap conversation is H to the Izzo. Hova cemented himself into the shoes of the Biggies and Pacs and broke that mold by doing things like buying basketball teams and bucking Cristal. Y’all can bullshit with rap if you want, muhfuckas!
6. Snoop Dogg – The Coast is clear. Snoop is not worried a bit. Rappers will still come calling for him to grace their wax and lace their tracks because Snoop is the key to California. Google ‘westcoast rap’ and see who’s face pops up. If you want California Love you have to go see the Dogfather. Besides all that, his flow stands the test of time every time.
7. Lupe Fiasco – The Future is uncertain but if there is to be one for hip hop, Lupe Fiasco is there waiting for us to catch up. The young chi-town phenom tilted his hat to the greats like Jay-Z with a flow that compliments his but serenaded a base of fans who are often neglected by rap, the nerds. He skated by all the stereotypes with the hood in his heart. It was a great thing to see a rapper wearing glasses for real and not for reinventing himself.
8. The Game – The Underdog with the chips stacked against him. Game looks more and more like a boxer every time I see him. Its wild. His tenacity is sick. The Westcoast is not necessarily on his back because Snoop and E-40 are still relevant but he made the West matter in a different way so Cali supports him. He’s the gangsta emcee, not so much a gangsta rapper. Its hot just to see him rock in the face of adversity. There were plenty of opportunities to hang it up but nope. I gotta throw him on.
9. Ludacris – The Crossover appeal of a rapper like Ludacris is dope to me. He matters. There is no other way to put it. For the money making ability and for his content in song. He reminds me of someone like Busta Rhymes in that he has this outrageous nature to his records but yet he can still get on the ground with down to earth people and make records like “Run Away” to show he ain’t too far from the streets to know the stories. He makes hits and they ain’t cornball tunes you snap to for 2 months then fall off.
10. Diddy – The Swagger alone has transcended genres and generations. Making it hot is Diddy’s profession. How could he not be on the list. He is probably the best executive producer in the game. He knows how to orchestrate a project and make artists reach their potential. In Press Play he did that for himself. We saw Diddy in some different colors so to speak and it was dope. “Last Night” was a prime example of that. He makes things work and he rounds out the list as number 10 to me.
