MTV is scheduled to air a hip hop special entitled "Top 10 MC's In The Game". The essence of the show is to rate all MCees in the game by judging them on their lyrical and live performances from the past year. MTV assembles a group of experts (or a brain trust as they call it) who have lengthy and heated debates on who deserves what position in the rap game. The result is a fairly accurate and powerful Top 10 List which is set to raise a few eyebrows.
Here's an extract of the Top 10 MC's in the game. Feel free to chat about its merits.
01. KANYE WEST
”With all due respect to the Diddys and Busta Rhymeses of the world, Kanye West has surpassed everyone as the best live performer in hip-hop. Grooming himself on stadium tours with Jay-Z, U2 and the Rolling Stones over the years has done him good. Even if West didn't release another rap this year, he'd still be the hottest for his Glow in the Dark Tour alone. Without exaggeration, it's the greatest one-man show put on by a hip-hop artist, possibly ever. 'Ye's sold-out set is an orgy of lights, classic songs and conceptual genius. You've never seen anything like it.
And by the way, he can rap and produce as well. From the stage to the studio, no one puts the entire presentation together like Mr. West. Tremendous! Graduation beat Curtis and every other hip-hop album on the Billboard charts. First-week sales of close to a million and double-platinum certification notwithstanding, it stood out from everything else artistically too.
Kanye has been telling us he's #1 for years, and now that he has been given the accolade of Hottest MC in the Game, intelligent bets are that he'll continue creating so he won't have to relinquish the title.”
Hip Hop Quotable"You don't see just how fly my style is/ I don't see why I need a stylist/ When I shop so much, I can speak Italian/ I don't know, I just want it better for my kids/ And I ain't sayin' we was from the projects/ But every time I wanted layaway or a deposit/ My dad would say, when you see clothes close your eyelids/ We was sorta like Will Smith and his son/ In the movie, I ain't talkin 'bout the rich ones/ 'Cause every summer, he'd get some brand-new hair-brained scheme to get rich from/ And I don't know what he did for dough/ But he'd send me back to school with a new wardrobe."
— From "Champion" 02. JAY-Z
“Jay's the "biggest star in the world" Kanye West made an entire song about. You wanna speak success, do you? Last November Hov's American Gangster became the 10th #1 album of his career, tying Elvis Presley as the solo artist with most #1s. Only the Beatles have more, with 19.
You hear his d-boy dreams on songs such as "Pray" and "Hello Brooklyn 2.0," while his trumpeting of affluence on "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is ...)" still reverberates universally. Jay is obviously in a different realm from his peers, but it hasn't affected his drive to be the best. There still isn't a more exceptional lyricist today and, let's face it, when it come to swag, Hov sits in the pole position.”
Hip Hop Quotable"Own boss, own your masters/ Slave's the mentality I carry with me to this very day/ F--- rich, let's get wealthy/ Who else gon' feed we?/ If I need it, I'mma get it however/ God help me ... And I don't need no hook for this sh--!/ I'm so fa sho, it's no façade/ 'Stay outta trouble,' mama said as mama sighed/ She feared her youngest son be a victim of homicide/ But I gotta get you outta here, momma, or I'mma die
inside/ And either way, you lose me, momma, so let loose of me."
From “No Hook”03. LIL WAYNE
“Simply a master of brayed bars and audacious approach, Lil Wayne's boundaryless microphone-bogarting has made him hip-hop's most exciting man to listen to. How many times have you felt like Weezy was just going to jump right out of your iPod and fall on your shoulders? How many times have you tried to figure out how he can use so many different patterns, tirelessly bulldozing through any track? Cruel! Just cruel, we tell ya. He works the hardest and has legions (yes, legions) of fans — the same ones who treat the leaked tracks that have flooded mixtapes like precious collectibles — who will tell you he's the most naturally gifted spitter in the universe right now.”
Hip Hop Quotable"Unf---ingbelievable, Lil Wayne's the president/ F--- 'em, f--- 'em, f--- 'em, even if they celibate/ I know the game is crazy, it's more crazy than it's ever been/ I'm married to that crazy b----, call me Kevin Federline/ It's obvious that he'll be Cash Money till the death of him/ The ground shall break when they bury him."
— From "I'm Me" 04. RICK ROSS
“Oh, to be loved! Rick Ross' bossin' up is one of hip-hop's most entertaining chronicles right now. Miami's new emperor has been able to coagulate all the right characteristics: unruffled, husky charm seemingly from the B.I.G. lineage, concretely convincing rap elegy and transfixing influence.
In March he went up against veteran friends Fat Joe and Snoop Dogg in a three-way SoundScan confrontation, resulting in a second-straight #1 debut for the Port of Miami representative. Of the hip-hop projects to drop this year, his sophomore album,
Trilla — influenced by Michael Jackson's Thriller in title and hopes of impact — is definitely the standard for excellence midway through 2008.”
Hip Hop Quotable "Am I a target for police because I puff weed?/ Not an artist or regarded as a Puffy/ Like a pimp, I'mma skip past a Kim Porter/ Like a pimp order, pimp, I import her/ Every dime you give her known as a pimp quarter/ 'Cause every time she deliver like a pimp taught her/ She ain't married to the game, just a pimp's daughter/ Every Benz that I gain, I get the limp harder." — From "We Shinin' "
05. SNOOP DOGG
“His latest LP is one of the most consistent of his career, rich with potentially massive singles and grounding cuts with street appeal. Onstage, Snoop is a walking, talking human superlative, as proven by his performance at last year's J.A.M. Awards and earlier this year on an episode of "VH1 Storytellers."
Snoop reeled in even more fans when he launched his reality show, "Snoop Dogg's Father Hood." On the show, the Long Beach native introduced us to his family and let people see him in settings as intimate as his wedding-vows renewal ceremony. He cried on the dance floor while listening to Guy's "Let's Chill" and taught his kids to play soccer with David Beckham. A second season is coming later in 2008, and with Ego Trippin' having a lot more life in its cycle, expect Snoop to contend for next year's list as well.”
Hip Hop Quotable
"They love it when I let down my hair/ From Jessica Alba to Jessica Simpson/ Even Jessica Biel wanna know how I feel/ So I let 'em all come to my back table/ Roll up and lick the paper if they able/ Bottles of everything, models and everything/ Everything goes and, yes, I mean everything/ Cocaine castles, I ain't sniffin'/ But baby that played in that one movie is trippin' .../ Act like you been around a boss, b----, settle down." — from "Deez Hollywood Nights
06. 50 CENT
“Curtis underperformed — 50 himself called it a "dud." Still, it sold more than any other hip-hop release last year except, of course, Kanye West's Graduation. And despite the false starts that led to his #8 spot on the 2007 "Hottest MCs" list, "I Get Money," "Ayo Technology" and "I'll Still Kill" maintained his credibility as a musical commodity to close out the year.
The Queens general recently launched ThisIs50.com, which almost immediately became a staple on the Web. In March, more than a million fans went to the site to download Elephant in the Sand. He's been using it not only for social networking and news, but for promoting himself and the Unit. The site features low-budget videos for a gaggle of songs from their mixtapes and Web shorts that play out like mini reality-TV episodes starring the crew.”
Hip Hop Quotable
"I told Jimmy Iovine ass to shut the f--- up/ Got Dre callin' Shady sayin, 'Em, what's up?/ We done came this far, we can't stop now/ Em, 50 off the hook, he got to calm down'/ I guess I'm out of control, my mind, body and soul/ Tell me I'm being pimped and it's makin' me sick/ You know Em made that company over a billion dollars/ And when he ain't around, they sayin' foul sh-- about him/ Yeah, we f---ed up, we both don't know our pops/ We both don't like the cops, we don't know when to stop." — From "Smile (I'm Leavin')
07. LUPE FIASCO
“With swagger that lays somewhere between dope-boy fresh and Louis-Viutton-Don dapper, "He spat the poems that got their domes all geeked up." Did Lupe have a legitimate gripe about being totally ignored by the Brain Trust during last year's list and subsequent sidebar convos? Absolutely. Did the trustees tell the world that their list was neither perfect nor definitive? Absolutely. Nevertheless, Lupe made it impossible to overlook him this time (and not just because of the support he's getting from his peers). A little less arcane and definitely darker than 2006's Food and Liquor, his The Cool LP borders on classic contention.”
Hip Hop Quotable
"She would be my queen/ I could be her king/ Together, she would make me cool/ And we would both rule, forever/ And I would never feel pain/ And never be without pleasure ever again/ And if the rain stops and everything's dry/ She would cry/ Just so I can drink the tears from her eyes/ She'll teach me how to fly/ Even cushion my fall/ If my engines ever stall/ And I plummet from the sky." — From "The Coolest"
08. YOUNG JEEZY
“He can dominate the show on a posse cut with some of his most mic-savvy peers, then successfully facilitate requests from mainstream mainstays like Mariah Carey and Usher, who call him to sanctify their #1 albums and songs with his seamless street swagger. Young Jeezy is at his pinnacle. Don't misconstrue the ranking: He's #8 with a bullet.”
Hip Hop Quotable
"This n---a's insane, yeah a straight fool/ A half-a-million-dollar car and some house shoes/ Call the dealership, like why y'all trick me?/ Then why the hell you put my engine where my trunk be?/ I'm throwing Franklins, I don't need ones/ I smoke a pound every week like I don't need lungs/ ... I said I'm so hot, but my house cool/ So many rooms it looks like a high school."
09. ANDRE 3000
“No album, no single, only two guest appearances — Andre did even less this year than he did in 2007. There's not even a handful of verses to judge him on. Tres Stacks has illustrated natural bravura over brainless bravado, dropping judiciously dope couplets laced with gentlemanly swagger that brew to a crescendo and shed every note in their way. Splendidly subtle N.W.A reference here, magnificent drug metaphor there — before you know it, this legend has had more impact in about 40 bars than many peers can boast on their entire long-play discs.”
Hip Hop Quotable
"She said, 'Why in the club, you don't make it precipitate?/ You know, make it rain when you could make it thunderstorm?'/ I'm like, why? The world needs sun/ The 'hood needs funds/ There's a war going on and half the battle is guns/ How dare I throw it on the floor/ When people are poor/ So I write like Edgar Allan to restore/ The 'hood be requesting my services/ Oh, don't get nervous, it's step-your-game-up time/ These ain't them same old rhymes/ Designed to have you dancing in some club." — From DJ Drama's "The Art of Storytellin' Part 4."
10. T.I.
“While his popularity transcended music years ago, his songs are still the foundation of his ability to generate interest. We've had a few sprinklings of him on remixes here and there, but we just got his full-on return with the first offering from his upcoming Paper Trail, "No Matter What." Although the cut has a few indignant retorts for Shawty Lo and others who he feels questioned his street credibility, Tip's commitment to sincere commentary on his life, no matter how painful, will always keep him at four-star-general ranking.
Hip Hop Quotable
"Pain's a small thing to a giant/ I was born without a dime, out the gutter I climbed/ Spoke my mind and didn't stutter one time/ Ali said even the greatest gotta suffer sometimes/ So I huff and puff rhymes, lyrics so sick with it/ Set the standard in Atlanta of how to get, get, get it/ Whether I still live in the 'hood or just visit/ Whatever you can do in the 'hood, I done did it." — From "No Matter What"
Look out for this MTV special on DSTV in the coming weeks.
