Sa prize!! King Kendrick Lamar takes the crown. Well deserved. Congrats. “K-Dot earned the #1 spot in a unanimous decision, while 2 Chainz landed in the #2 slot. While both MCs made indelible marks in the last year, it was Kendrick’s artistry and commercial appeal that helped him earn the title. Lyrically, Lamar is an expert spitter who weaves complex rhyme patterns around soul-drenched beats, with as unique a style as rap has seen in years. And while verbal depth […]

2 Chainz. Second spot. Too predictable. Ha! “Suddenly, we find him not only as the honorary G.O.O.D. Music member, but then he put out B.O.A.T.S., and on that album are songs that carried 2012, from ‘Birthday Song’ to ‘I’m Different,’ to ‘No Lie.’ “ Name an awards show in the past 12 months and 2 Chainz was there. He performed solo at the BET Hip-Hop Awards and joined Lil Wayne at the VMAs before rocking Jay-Z’s Made in America Festival. […]

With solid guest appearances and his album God Forgives, I Don’t under his belt, it was only right that the hardest working man takes the number three spot. Only two left. “When you talk about some of these cats, it’s a quantity-versus-quality thing, and that’s not the case with Ross — he has both,” said MTV‘s VP of Music & Talent Programming Strategy, Yomi Desalu. “Ross is out there putting in work.” Not only did Rozay drop his gold-selling, #1 Billboard album […]

For 2012, life was certainly good for Nasir. And with one of the top Rap albums of last year, Esco holds the numero 4 spot on MTV‘s Hottest MCs List. Not only did Nas drop potent stick-to-your-rib singles like “Daughters,” “The Don” and “Bye Baby,” he went to great lengths to craft memorable story-driven videos to match. ” ‘The Don’ was a great visual, ‘Daughters’ was a great visual, ‘Nasty’ was great and I think with this record coming off […]

Started from the bottom, Aubrey Graham’s guest verses lands him at #5 on MTV‘s Hottest MCs list. As MTV News’ Senior Hip-Hop Writer Rob Markman said, Drake dominated rap features all year long, and that was underscored when you realized that every artist on his lineup had at least one big collab to perform with him on the cross-country jaunt. “He strategically had features with people he was going on tour with — so it was Waka with ‘Round of Applause,’ 2 […]

Big Sean pulls a swerve and lands at the sixth spot on MTV‘s list. Sorry, Kanye. When the members of MTV’s Hip-Hop Brain Trust sat down to discuss the year’s rankings, the Detroit rapper initially had the #8 spot. But no one could’ve predicted how much he would progress on the list. Indeed, the same could be said for Sean’s influence and impact on hip-hop over the past year.

He doesn’t do press, but he continues to make headlines. Holding down the number seven spot is G.O.O.D. Music founder, Kanye West. Kanye West has proven time and time again that as a soloist, he can single-handedly shift rap’s sonic focus, but over the past year Yeezy made sure that there wasn’t anybody messin’ with his clique. So even during a period when he put out G.O.O.D. Music’s Cruel Summer compilation, ‘Ye was enough of a force to land him at #7 on […]

From Harlem to Hottest, A$AP Rocky occupies the eighth seed on MTV’s MC roundtable. At the end of the day, rhymes pay. From the Rick Owens leathers to the Balenciaga finery, there’s no denying A$AP Rocky is a certified fashion killa (you can check his influence in other rapper’s closets). But the Harlem upstart spits more than designer labels from that gold-plated mouth. He followed his lean-drenched mixtape, Live.Love.A$AP, with a chart-topping debut that shows off his versatility and a penchant for crossing state lines when it […]

Clocking in at number nine on MTV‘s Hottest MC list is Auto-tuner, Future. Turn off the lights and turn up the debate. What began as a strictly underground run began to take off in 2011 with Future’s “Tony Montana” single and its Drake-assisted remix. During 2012, however, Future sky-rocketed to new heights with high-powered pop hooks, while still keeping his hold on the streets. His mix of melodic arrangements and raspy rap bars were a sure-shot formula for some of […]

MTV‘s brain trust is back to pissing people off with their annual Hottest MC In The Game list. Rounding out the top 10 is Maybach Music Group’s, Meek Mill. While he prepped his debut album, Dreams and Nightmares, the MMG rapper kept busy early in the year with features on Rick Ross’ Rich Forever mixtape, in addition to appearances on remixes of tracks like Wale’s “Slight Work” and Tyga’s “Rack City.” By the spring, he delivered a brand-new body of work on hisDreamchasers 2 mixtape, […]