By Rahman Dukes
The "Hottest MCs in the Game" project is just days away from its official launch, and for some reason members of the hip-hop department are already finding ourselves defending the list.
It all started this past Monday when we unveiled the news that "Hottest" was coming back, along with a poll soliciting users to tell us who their "Hottest MC" was. And although it clearly states in fine print that the current poll would have no impact on the official "Hottest" list, all hell has broken loose.
Aside from the hundreds of comments our passionate users left on the message boards, "Hottest MCs" creators Shaheem Reid, Jayson Rodriguez and myself headed to to Eminem's intergalactic home on Sirius Satellite Radio's Shade 45 station with the lovely and talented Angela Yee.
Angela has potentially the hottest show on satellite radio and wanted to sit down with the crew and pick our brains on the poll and the upcoming project. For the duration of the show, we fielded questions from users both online and on the airwaves. It was interesting: The consensus was that fans truly believe their picks on the poll would be implemented into the final selections for the list.
"Why isn't Joell Ortiz there?"
"Why are Redman and Raekwon there?"
"Gucci Mane and Soulja Boy better not be on that list or I'm no longer watching MTV." Those were just a few of the many questions/demands that we received this morning.
Sitting in on that radio show for that hour made me realize we may now be in for the biggest fight of our careers. While I always encourage fans to chime and and give us their thoughts on our many projects — specifically on the much-debated "Hottest MCs" conversation — it kills me when people ask "What gives you guys the credibility to say who is hot? Why don't ya’ll have DJs sitting on your panel?" During the live chat an old friend from my Troy, New York stomping grounds: Mr. Always Chill. Mr. Always was the first cat who let me rock a party at the Troy Boys & Girls club then gave me my first gig spinning at WRPI on Saturdays from Noon to four p.m.
So there you go: Ya boy is/has been a DJ since the 5th grade. Hip-hop is in my blood.
As a longtime listener of the incomparable Howard Stern, a Sirius Satellite Radio subscriber going on nearly three years, a baseball buff and, ultimately, a cheap bastard, I have to say that