Two days, two names and two Atlanta natives.
The rollout of rankings in the 2008 "Hottest MCs in the Game" list continued Friday (May 15) with Andre 3000 being revealed as number 9. On Wednesday, number 10 turned out to be T.I. One of the big questions surrounding the final eight slots is about yet another ATL performer — the guy with the biggest hit of the last year, Soulja Boy Tell'em.
"Crank That" was a worldwide phenomenon, with just about everybody and their mother knowing both the song and its dance moves. CNN even reported on the track, which lays claim to being the highest-selling ringtone of all time with more than 3 million downloads. Soulja Boy Tell'em's debut LP, Souljaboytellem.com, went platinum, and he had hit follow-ups with "Soulja Girl" and "Yahhh!"
By all indications he should be a lock, right? No. Soulja Boy's detractors — both in and out of the music industry — have criticized him for lacking substance and appealing mostly to younger kids. But the 17-year-old feels that with all his accomplishments over the past year, he is not just ranking-worthy, but is the number-one guy right now.
"I'll wonder [if I don't make the list]," he told us a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta. "I won't be mad, because I don't get any money out of it or nothing. So I'll be sitting back like, 'What happened with that?' I would be like, 'Why?' I wouldn't be mad, I would just wonder. I'd look at y'all's list and be like, 'OK, let's just keep it moving if y'all missed all of that that came through.' That's basically it, though. Some other people would look at that list and wonder too, though. They would be like, 'What about Soulja Boy? Didn't he have the highest selling whatever, whatever?' But then they might look at it and be like, 'That's right. He ain't supposed to be there. He ain't got lyrics.' It all depends on how you look at things."
Mixtape King DJ Drama told us there's no question — the MTV News Hip-Hop Brain Trust should take a long look at the teenage superstar.
"Got to be a contender," Dram said. "The top 10 is so hard to just pick, but you've got to take Soulja Boy into consideration for something like that. Granted, he may not be [one of] the top 10 lyricists, but the top MCs? At the end of the day, there are a lot of people throughout history that have not been the lyrical giants that others are. Take Eazy-E and Ice Cube — there's a big difference. But when it comes down to it, you show Eazy-E respect. When it comes to somebody like Soulja Boy, his accomplishments, what he's done to the game ... On a scale of things, his music in general, you can't front Soulja Boy because he's not the best rapper out here. Somebody likes what he's doing. It might not necessarily be what I ride to, but best believe it's what I'm playing in the club.
"I'm on the album, so you know what I'm saying. I'm playing 'Shoot Out,' " he added. "I'm playing 'Donk.' And you know, if there's ladies involved, which it always is, it is a lovely thing."
Either way, Soulja Boy says he's already won.
"Soulja Boy Tell'em's the name," he declared in closing. "17 years old, rich and pursuing my dreams. I think I'm really lucky to be in this position, because it could have been anybody, and I love my life and I'm glad that I'm here. [I don't care] if there's people criticizing me, or people saying I'm wack, or people saying that they don't like my music, or I cant rap, or I'm a one-hit wonder, or whether I'm your favorite rapper, or if I'm the best rapper in the world. Whether I make the list, whether I don't make the list, I still accomplished my dream.
"I wouldn't have known about being on the list or being criticized as a one-hit wonder if I wouldn't have never gotten here in the first place," he reasoned. "I love it! I wouldn't change it for nothing in the world. Whether I do a million interviews, a million shows, or make a million dollars. At the end of the day I had a dream and it came true."
The 2008 version of "Hottest MCs in the Game" airs Friday, May 16, on MTV at 10 p.m. — and you can also hit MTVNews.com once the program is over to read more in-depth about the Brain Trust's choices.
In advance of the special, we're letting you all have a say. Head over to Newsroom.MTV.com, where you can vote on who you feel is the #1 hottest MC in the game — but don't stop there! You can submit your own top-10 list below, or on yourhere.mtv.com.
And the hotness continues: You can check out last year's top 10, join the debate and more on our "Hottest MCs" page.
See Also
