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MTV says Eminem did not meet the criteria. (Photo: Interscope)
From the start of the week, Hip-Hop fans have been left baffled by "MTV’s “Hottest MCs in the Game” list. The List named Jay-Z the hottest MC with Kanye West, Drake, and Lil Wayne following up close behind. Since the banter has failed to subside, MTV has taken the time out to address their decision.
Some have said that MTV lost points for their effort in determining who is hot and who is not. Though many have agreed with MTV’s decision to dub Jay-Z the hottest MC, people just cannot seem to understand why Eminem did not at least make the top 10.
Eminem is known as one of the most influential lyrical figures in Hip-Hop. If it wasn’t made clear by his verse in “Forever” that most would agree shined the most compared to the other artist on the single, his track record for shelling out memorable albums might just do the trick.
Even Jay-Z has gone on record to denounce the list expressing his discontent in a letter to MTV saying, Eminem?!?! I think you do the credibility of this list a disservice if you don't thoroughly explain his omission," Jay continued. "As of this second he has the highest selling rap album of the year and a scene stealing verse on the best 'posse' cut of the year .“
Feeling the pressure, MTV wrote an article breaking down the determining factors that constituted a hot MC at the moment. In the article, MTV writer Shaheem Reid explained that the list was created entirely by a group of passionate and opinionated debaters who are well versed in Hip-Hop and the artists that represent the genre. He further elaborated that the list is not the be-all and end-all, but more so a list compiled to reflect the now.
The criterion was based off of six elements: mic skills, buzz, commercial success (sales and airplay), business ventures, Web presence, and impact.
Eminem’s exclusion was based on the fact that the rapper spent most of the summer working on his album Relapse 2. As a result of this, he has been out of the public eye with brief appearances occurring at the MTV Movie and Video Music Awards and his appearance on Drake’s “Forever."
Eminem's ranking was one of the most discussed topics at the Roundtable. His hotly anticipated return to hip-hop after a long absence drove first-week sales of over 600,000 — the highest first-week sales of the year so far. He granted a handful of select interviews here and abroad, and was part of a massive moment with Sacha Baron Cohen at the MTV Movie Awards.
But then Em retreated to the lab, where he spent the summer crafting Relapse 2. From June to September, Em all but took himself out of the public eye, while other MCs generated week-to-week heat with mixtapes, guest appearances, performances and Web activity.
He returned in September with comedic moments and a win at the VMAs, then dropped a verse on Drake's "Forever" (also featuring Kanye West and Lil Wayne). The song's move into heavy rotation came subsequent to our roundtable vote. In between, he kept his profile low.
Eminem is one of the best ever on the mic. His track record is undeniable. The Hottest list deals with right now, though. If the Brain Trust had compiled the Hottest list back in May, there's no doubt Eminem would have made the Top 10. -MTV
In personal opinion, these types of lists will always evoke some sort of discontent among fans. The content is broad along with the title and this makes any form of ranked Hip-Hop list controversial.
Though the explanation given makes sense, it still does not do the job of justifying Eminem’s absence. If the six elements in the criteria serve correctly, isn't it safe to say that Eminem meets all of them?
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Comments
lol i hope eminem never goes to mtv so they can lose half thier viewers lol
thats complete bullshit. you got young jeezy on the list who dropped a album months ago n hasnt done anything since, then you got lil wayne at number 2 who hasnt dropped a mixtape or a album in more then a year n their saying they didnt put eminem on the list because he hasnt done anything in the past two months...lame excuse
mtv needs to admit they rigged the whole thing so that they can make jay-z look good. thats why they didnt put eminem on the list
Please, MTV has lost all credibility with this list. Clearly they are too busy planning reality shows to know what a hot MC is. First of all, I don't understand why Drake is even on that list he hasn't even released an album yet. Secondly, none of these guys with the exception of Jay-Z are MC's, they're rappers big difference. Eminem definitely belonged on this list and MTV dropped the ball.
Even Jay-Z called MTV out on their sh!t. That letter they wrote did nothing for the situation but make it worse.
ok i understand drake and maybe jayz but jayz can be like number 6 and drake can be 7, but eminem has to be in the top 3 along with nas
their excuse has holes everywhere half the mcs on the list havent been active all summer but em is the only 1 who cant be on because of that?
mtv should never do a list ever again!! they proved they dont know anything
This is a complete bullshit excuse, EMINEM is the GREATEST RAPPER EVER...HIS LYRICS/BEATS/HEART IS UN-MATCHED....he should be #1 and that's that, don't even say "he's the best white rapper ever" he's the BEST RAPPER EVER....
who cares what mtv thinks mtv has no authority to say who is what in hip hop after this. how biased can you get when the mans album was the highest selling album of the year isn't that what the stupid list is about anyway. who had the most buzz who killed people on their own track where em did on forever then they have crap rappers lil wayne, gayfish and drake WHO DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A ALBUM OUT on the top 5. wow boycott Mtv if you agree and this is for everyone because they don't even play music videos anymore.
umm wasnt he kinda big with the whole mariah thing over the last couple months? so we have higest selling album, mariah carey attacks, and best verse on forever....WHILE working on his new album which happens to be the most anticipated album left this year.....what has rick ross done that was anywhere near important his 50 fued was older than the summer!
M should be atleast number ten.. M's latest cd sucked!!!!!.. he keeps on spiting about how he's f'd up cause the media and he had a crappy childhood..shit we've heard since his 2nd lp!!! HES NOT THE G.O.A.T!!! WHAT A STUPID THING TO SAY!!!!... I ALSO HAVE TO SAY MTV SUCKS AS WELL.. WHENS THE LAST TIME YOU'VE SEEN A HIP HOP VIDEO ON!! HILLS SUCKS CITY SUCKS!! CRAPPY ASS SHOWS ON MTV
BRING BACK YO MTV RAP!!!!!!!!
I officially hate MTV for this
so.... what exactly was Lil Wayne doing over the summer? or any of those other bozos???
So basically the person who has the FASTEST SELLING CD OF THE YEAR.. and the most hip-hop albums sold this year, got taken off the list because he's not a media whore. Mtv = fail.
BY THE WAY, GRAT ARTICLE Samantha Greaves
JUST CAUSE HE SELLS ALOT DONT MEAN ANYTHING... LISTEN TO THE LYRICS AND WHAT HES TALKING ABOUT IS HIS SONGS... ALL HIS SONGS HAVE NO MEANING TO WHAT HES RAPPING ABOUT!!.............LIKE I SAID BEFORE............!!!!!!!!!!!!LISTEN TO THE LYRICS!!!!!!!! PEOPLE WHO THINK WAYNE IS HOT!! LISTEN TO KRS-ONE,RAKIM,BIG DADDY KANE, KOOL G RAP, BIG-L,JAY-Z,NAS,DMX,WU-TANG.. THATS NINE MCEES WAY BETTER THEN WAYNE WILL EVER BE
PLUS WAYNE HAS HAD A GHOST WRITER AND WORD IS STILL DOES.....NUFF SAID!!!!
commercial rapper >>>>>>>>>>> LIL WAYNE!!!!
eminem best
EMINEMS WACK!!!!.... BIGGIE,PAC,RAKIM WAY BETTER!!!!
Eminem did release stuff this summer. (1) "Chemical Warfare" on the Alchemist CD. (2) Microphone Fiend, Swag Juice, and another track from the DJ Whiteowl CD (3) He went to London and performed these freestyles on the DJ Westwood show. (4) There has been constant buzz on the progress of Relapse 2 (5) His verse on Forever (6) His appearances to the stupid MTV awards, who have done him a great disservice and (7) most important, his ongoing feud with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon. The diss track 'the Warning" actually came out in AUGUST (SUMMER).
MTV just face it; you guys messed up big time! And, the consequences will present themselves anytime soon. How can you put RICK ROSS on the list. That is just a smack in the face to Em.
They put 50 Cent on the list, who is one of the worst rappers ever, but they couldn't be bothered to put Eminem? Because he didn't promote himself enough? Where the hell were they when Em released a diss track against Mariah Carey over the summer? EVERYONE was talking about it. Meanwhile, most people weren't even aware that 50 was still alive, until a couple weeks ago when he made fun of Kanye West's VMA fiasco and made homophobic remarks about him. MTV is indeed full of $hit, but what do we expect from a network that's supposed to stand for Music Television, yet they only air crappy reality shows instead of music videos. Change your name to RTV instead, the R stands for Reality and is more accurate in representing what you are right now.
Music is all about opinion. It's a waste of time to try to convince people to like ur type of genre or in this case rapper. My fav is Em. U don't like him, blow me.
Eminem is laaame and played out!
Lame excuses! They like to mess with Eminem, they should have just said the truth! They all know Eminem is the best, and clearly he is, or they wouldn't have had to explain to so many people (including Jay-Z) why he wasn't on the list! MTV has a bunch of biased idiots working for them.
The List Lost All of its credibility. Eminem meets all of their standards! he Should of Been aT lEAST on TOP fIVE
Wow this is bull em is the best no comparison screw the haters i'll be on shade records soon enough and i'll be right there with eminem dissin everyone so be ready you haters ha ha ha my name is aaron stafford and i'm only 16 years young don't forget it my lyrics are deep and i'm white liven in oklahoma city where people are real
mtv sucks
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