Shaheem Reid Explains MTV's Controversial 'Hottest 10 MCs Of 2010' List

Check out VIBE's Twitter interview with @ShaheemReid about MTV's Hottest MCs of 2010 List. Order = 10) Ludacris 9) B.o.B. 8) Waka Flocka Flame 7) Lil Wayne 6) Nicki Minaj 5) Rick Ross 4) Drake 3) Kanye West 2) Jay-Z 1) Eminem

VIBE: We have some great questions for @ShaheemReid. The first: What did Jay-Z do to earn his No. 2 slot?

@ShaheemReid: @VibeMagazine To me, Jay remained on top of the game. Lyrically he's the best. Hov Had the two best verses of the year with "Free Mason" and "Light Up," his BP3 tours were a success, he performed at the world series, made history with the "Home and Home Series" with Em, #1 on Forbes again. "Empire..." Was everywhere from sporting events to Sex and the City 2, "On to the Next One" was a major banger!

VIBE: #hotmcs @ShaheemReid A few folks are tight about Waka @ No. 8: "Seriously. Does he even speak English" -@ktphotos. Personally, do u cosign?

@ShaheemReid: @VibeMagazine #hotmcs question 2. My take on Waka at 8? Waka has some fun music when you go to the club. He had four bangers this year with "O Let's Do It," the remix, "Hard In the paint" and "No Hands." I danced to all of them. Lot of you did too. Lol! Can't front on that. Waka has a movement going. He moves his crowds. With that said, I actually had @myfabolouslife on my personal list instead of Waka. Funeral Fab had so many killer bars. But that's the voting process, everyone at the round table agreed to.

VIBE: #hotmcs @ShaheemReid, How come NickiMinaj is so low on mtv hot 10? Kanye is No. 3 and he only came out of hiding in the past few months

@ShaheemReid: @VibeMagazine #hotmcs. Wooo. These are good Qs. In regards to Nicki being number 6 and Ye being 3, I think that speaks to the level of competition. On my personal list, that's one I wrestled with. Nick is murdering every song she's on. If you watch the show, you'll see I said I'm more proud of her than anyone on the list because I know all she's had to overcome. But damn, Kanye had two powerful performances at the VMAs and SNL and every Friday the world is waiting to see what heat he delivers next. Plus "Power" may one of the top five songs of the year.

@ShaheemReid: Also @VibeMagazine, in regards to the #hotmcs, Wayne could have been higher as well. From 7 up, they all had valid credentials for the top spot. That's what make these round tables tough, but exciting to be apart of. So many artists were delivering heat.

@ShaheemReid: @VibeMagazine #hotmcs. One more point I wanted to add about Kanye. Everything he does, has extreme impact. So yes, he just started getting hot over the summer, but it's like if Kobe only had 5 points at Halftime and finished the game with 40. Ye is undeniable right now. An abundance of quality is coming from his way.

VIBE: Last Q: Lot of arguments about lyricism. Ur view? Does "hottest" rapper need to be a dope rapper? Can Waka be No. 1 next year?

@ShaheemReid: @VibeMagazine to answer your last question about #hotmcs. I always see the MTV Round table voting someone who is astonishing with lyrics as the Hottest MC. To be number one, to even crack the top five, you have to slaughter mics as well as have major impact, be active along with other criteria. To be number one, you're handling your b.I. Across the board. If you look at the history of our #1s, everyone was a spitter at their core. 07-Wayne, 08-Kanye, 09-Jay-Z, 10-Eminem.

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