MTV Gets No Love
May 20, 2008
Just to clarify things, MTV gets no love over at Bass Rocks. I usually don’t like getting into it like this, but these hip-hop “experts” are absolute idiots.
Here’s why I’m so aggy:
MTV’s Hottest MC’s: Honorable Mention List
Mentioned artists: Soulja Boy, Shawty Lo, The Game, Webbie, Fabolous, Flo Rida, Plies, Ludacris, Fat Joe, Joe Budden, Rocko, Prodigy, Gucci Mane, Styles P, Bun B
First off, Soulja Boy isn’t an MC…Explain the difference between him and Vanilla Ice (besides skin color)?
Also, how can hip-hop in 2008 be mentioned without Nas or Common? Nas always makes an event out of his albums and he has insane buzz right now. Common just dropped a solid album that got respect across the board too. Oh, and didn’t the Roots do pretty well on the Billboards? So Black Thought gets no mention either?
What about Big Boi, The Cool Kids, Jay Electronica, Wale (who just signed to Mark Ronson’s label), or The Clipse?
Webbie? Plies? Rocko? Get the fuck outta here MTV. You get absolutely no love at Bass Rocks and I’m done wasting my breath on you clowns.
It’s hard to say in one breath that Kanye should be #1 and that Soulja Boy should be stricken from any honorable mention “hotness” list.
Soulja Boy is a PHENOMENON. While he isn’t exactly breaking new ground in hop hop(in the direction you’d like, at least), he was by all objective measure HOT this year and 2008 is distinct in part because of him. Looking back at this particular year (mid-2007 to mid-2008), twenty years from now, music historians will mention SB rather than Nas…. who, by the way, may have cost himself a place on the 2009 hotness list by changing that album title! Nas will make a lot of short lists, but 2008 maybe not so much.
Anyways, I don’t think that MTV is trying to make a normative claim about what is “good” in hip hop today. They’re just making an observation of trends and hitmakers, in a world where head to head comparisons of record sales, radio plays and ringtones don’t tell the whole story. In all honesty, I kind of like the MTV list- judge away.
Uhh….a phenomenon like Rick Roll? By your rationale, the B-52s are the best thing music has ever seen. Or better yet, the macarena. The Macarena was one of the hottest songs in the past two decades on the charts, it is a frown upon all the hard work people have put in to make good music. People are remembered in a positive light for their contribution to music, not for how many records are sold and what trend they started. What was a bigger contribution to music: The Twist or Bob Marley’s entire catalog?
Who cares about being on the “hotness list”. What good would that do other than drive you away from your kids and into frequent trips to Betty Ford (a la Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan).
Neilsix couldn’t have said it any better.
I don’t have too much of a problem with the actual list, but the honorable mention stuff is complete garbage.
Do you actually understand what being an MC means? By these standards “hot” MC’s should be able to take on anyone in the industry. I don’t see Soulja boy rhyming with the best of them…And if you do, then you’re playing yourself.
Now “MTV’s Hottest Dance Music” might have made a little more sense…Leave hip-hop out of this.
Agreed. I’m just saying this list and MTV have their place- in gauging, reporting on, and sometimes creating trends… not doing that for objectively timeless music. Creating that list should be left to critics and…. bloggers. You shouldn’t take the MTV list too seriously as music criticism.
But, still…. can Kanye really “take on anyone in the industry” in MC-ing?
I think so. As much as a narcissist as he is (and as much as I hate both him and Lupe for being idiots), he’s still a skilled emcee that can take on almost everyone on the list.
The honorable mention list speaks to everything I mentioned above, aside from Soulja Boy. All these guys made their contributions and will be spoken about because of their accomplishments, skills, and swagger, but to put soulja boy on the same list as these cats is just blasphemy.
MTV and bloggers alike are about voicing their opinions. The beef is with the fact that people out there are pushing half-assed material onto the masses. People are given the power to talk about the greatest thing in the world, and the best they can come up with is glamorizing garbage.
Hot: From the latin Hothia, meaning noteworthy, interest spawning, sales generating, buzz creating
Dope: From the Greek Dopetrius, meaning excellent, skilled, fresh, inspiring
Lets not confuse the two.
BTW i’m sure if BET, XXL, The Source, NY Times, Seattle PI, Baltimore Sun (what up Gus), US Government, Yours Truly made the list it would be similar, if not the same.
Who’s ya’lls “hottest”?
No one, at least on this list, has a consistent criteria. By your criteria of sales and buzz creating, my list would be soulja boy, lil wayne, kanye, and lupe. The rest are irrelevant because none of them have been consistent with their sales and buzz. I’ve checked some major radio station playlists and billboard charts, MTV, across the board, and the only people that are consistent are the above mcs. Maybe 50 and Jay Z could be mentioned, but the rest is whatever.
Andre 3000 hasn’t done much.
Rick Ross has been ok
Young Jeezy? nope
fat joe? last joint he did was make it rain.
snoop – has a TV show
etc.
Truth is no emcee is hot right now. Look at radio stations playlists, itunes lists, billboards, mtv, bet. All R&B w/ Lil Wayne or some random Yung something.
I think its easy to defend the MTV list. Nobody in their right mind would argue that Flo-Rida (number one single on the billboard chart like for ever) and Soulja Boy (cultural phenomenom) arent Hot. Its also easy (probably a lot easier) to hate on it, for the same reason that you mentioned above which is that “hot”, like cool is impossible to thoroughly define.
I think the problem and the controversy stem from the fact that what is “hot” right now fucking sucks.
“I think the problem and the controversy stem from the fact that what is “hot” right now fucking sucks.”
^^truth. And across the board, not just in hiphop, some Hot things Suck more than others: macarena- WAY SUCKY. the twist- kind of awesome. soulja boy- undecided. Just kidding, of course he SUCKS3000.
But saying claiming there is no such thing as Hot-AND-sucky MCs tries to say that hip hop is somehow different from other popular genres.
The Hip Hop Purist Gods are upset right now….hahaha.
The thing you’re forgetting is that Soulja Boy is a young ass kid. He made it big in the media and has done more than anyone whining on here. Does anyone know your names? He has kids dancing, and being creative in his own way. It does take dedication and time to get seen on a grand scale.
You have to take it for what it is. I love hiphop and enjoy all my underground folks doing their thing, and have gone through all my phases of hating on radio mainstream music. But when it all comes down to it, Money rules the world. Getting exposure, hits, on people’s minds, and club dance hits. People like to party.
I enjoy lyricists dropping knowledge, but am I reallly gonna trust some information someone interpreted and spit in their own way. If I wanted some actual information, I’ll read a book. These “Conscious” Emcees these days are just as boring and lame as nonsense rappers.
I’m over the stale watered down production whiney ass emcees. Everyone needs to step their game up. Hip hop is boring these days. Its time for people to stop crying about their living situation and make something happen.
It depends on what you consider an accomplishment. If we’re only looking at dollars, then sure…The thing is though, he’s not creative in any way, shape, or form. Remember “Who Let the Dog’s Out?” Or how about “The Macarana?” Soulja Boy is in the same category. Brainless dance/sing-a-long music that gets lost in the shuffle (eventually).
If the music weren’t so shitty, clowns like the aformentioned wouldn’t even be noted. But since hip-hop/rap/pop or whatever is so terrible, these one-hit wonders continue to rape the culture.
Nearly everyone (Plies, Webbie, Flo Rida, Gucci Mane, etc.) on this honorable mention list won’t be remembered in 5 years. Mark my words.
MTV has an international audience, and it’s too bad they don’t use this to help push the music in the right direction. Instead, the hole just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
No Disrespect to anyone…..JUST HAVIN’ FUN!!
Controversy sells!
Sometimes I feel like we sound like our parents by reminiscing on the good ole days. But I do think we can all agree that this is what we’re missing, and would like to hear again in music today.
Compliments of The Rub…..
damn…my link didn’t work
This even deserves a post
http://brooklynradiomedia.net/episodes/the-rub/therub2008129.mp3