This post has nothing to do with Lil Wayne not getting top honors in MTV's Hottest MCs in the Game (2008) countdown that aired last night at 10. This post is about the garbage that MTV peddles as rap coverage, news and commentary. They exposed their ignorance with this one.

10. T.I.
09 .Andre 3000
08. Young Jeezy
07. Lupe Fiasco
06. 50 Cent
05. Snoop Dogg
04. Rick Ross
03. Lil Wayne
02. Jay-Z
01. Kanye West

Let's be honest, only about half of the MCs on that list deserve to be there--In fact, maybe only three: Kanye, Weezy and Rick Ross. Nearly everyone else belongs nowhere near a compilation of "hot artists," as Shake points out in his post about Andre 3000 coming in at number nine. I respect 3 Stacks, but at the midpoint of 2008, rating past lukewarm is an insult to all of the actually hot artists out here, the one's who have been putting in work. If MTV had their ear to the ground, they'd understand.

The people that tore it up and deserve a spot on that list are the ones we know well in the blogosphere; artists like Crooked I, Kidz in the Hall, Pusha, Bun B and others brought heat all year. Haven't these guys paid some dues in '08 to earn at least a nod on a hot MC's list? Mickey Factz, anyone? Does MTV even have any idea how many hip-hop weeklys Crooked I pulled together? These are the real hot artists, not the status-fucking-quo that MTV trots out every time they get a group together to chat about hip-hop.

The truth is, their coverage and commentary is stale, and those of us who know what's going on will smile and nod in respect for those named then turn around and put the truly hot artists on blast. I know what's playing in my CDP and it ain't Lupe, Jay or 50.

MTV has a lot of clout, and putting this list out reinforces their position as hype-men for deadweight on record labels. T.I. and 3 Stacks must have chuckled to see their names make the cut. What have you done for me lately?

With the Internet being what it is, there's a new formula that's started to emerge, and a lot of MCs--and heads--know what's up. Artists can distribute tracks on a weekly--if not daily--basis, and command a groundswell of support from a large group of listeners. It's all about credibility, and now that most of the distribution barriers have been broken down, there's not much excuse for an MC to be lazy: if you aren't dropping tracks regularly, you've definitely fallen off (especially if we're talking about a list of who's hot).

Communications technology is at a point where it affords every artist a tremendous amount of opportunity, if they're willing to work for it. Looking at MTV's list, I see only a handful of MCs who have displayed a level of effort equal to their ranking. It's unfortunate that the network, which has done so much for hip-hop in the past, can be so ignorant of what's actually happening in the genre today.