New track from Trunk Music Returns. Defintely didn’t see a Yelawolf/A$AP collaboration coming, but it actually works pretty well.

Earl Sweatshirt is back in the game. Afer a hiatus in Samoa and the release of the emotional song “Chum”, Earl Sweatshirt released a song resembling Earl circa 2010. The song is lyrically impressive, and, like Tyler the Creator’s “Domo 23″, is accompanied by a super weird video.

Kendrick Lamar has been mainstream for a few months now, but lately he has been on a media tear. Named MTV’s Hottest MC of 2012, he has made just about every media appearance possible, in addition to a world tour. With an almost comforting consistency, each appearance features a live performance of ‘Poetic Justice’. Which is your favorite?

SNL January 26th:

Letterman February 26th:

MTV’s Hottest MCs March 7th:

SportsNation March 11th:

And the original for comparison, February 22nd:

If you don’t know what K.R.I.T. mean by now, then bitch you super late.

Krit dropped another single off of his upcoming mixtape, King Remembered in Time. Krit is an incredibly talented rapper AND producer, and provides an oft needed breath of fresh air from the rest of the industry.

MTV has finally released their ‘Hottest MCs of 2012‘ list as follows:

10) Meek Mill
9) Future
8) A$AP Rocky
7) Kanye West
6) Big Sean
5) Drake
4) Nas
3) Rick Ross
2) 2 Chainz
1) Kendrick Lamar

As is expected, this list has sparked the responses of many MCs who either didn’t make the list, or were unhappy with their positions. A$AP Rocky was quick to cite all of the trends he set in 2012 in this video. Danny Brown responded to the omission of his name with this track. And Kanye West shared his feelings on this phone call (and we can assume he will discuss it in a rant in one of his upcoming shows). If this list was based on self-proclamations, there would be dozens of #1s.

What exactly it takes to be a ‘Hottest MC’ is not totally clear. Kendrick Lamar would be #1 by any criteria, and 2 Chainz seems like a pretty clear #2, but after that, it’s pretty arbitrary. Generally, the Brain Trust tries to identify “the most culturally relevant MCs of the year” and during their debates, they cite commercial performance, critical acclaim and cultural influence as support for their selections, but often it just seems that they subjectively chose whoever they liked best.

Take, for instance, the placement of A$AP Rocky ahead of Meek Mill. A$AP’s album, Long.Live.ASAP didn’t release until 2013, really giving him only ‘Goldie’ and ‘Fuckin’ Problems’ in 2012. Meek Mill on the other hand dropped Dreamchasers 2, which earned nearly 4 million downloads on DatPiff alone. Additionally he collaborated on Self-Made Volume 2 , which sold over 200,000 copies, and, by the way, he released his debut album, Dreams and Nightmares, selling over 300,000 copies. Not to mention, the cultural influence of Meek Mill is undeniable as his songs are bumped out of car stereo systems in nearly every urban area in the country. So why isn’t Meek rated higher? Who knows.

It’s also worth mentioning that Macklemore didn’t even come up in discussion. Macklemore is by no means the most talented or critically acclaimed artist, but as far as catching buzz in 2012? His numbers don’t lie. His single Thrift Shop is easily the most popular hip hop song of the year. It topped Billboard’s Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks (it was the only the second independently released song to reach #1 and the first in 20 years), and spent over 20 weeks on the list. Additionally, it topped US Hot Rap Songs for 6 weeks, and plenty of other lists all over the world. The song sold over 4 million copies, achieved over 140 million youtube views and has been the most popular song on Spotify for months.

As a whole his album The Heist has sold 420,000 copies (compare that to 2 Chainz 557,000 copies for Based on a T.R.U. Story) and his song ‘Wings’ was even used in promotion of the NBA’s all-star week (albeit in 2013). It’s pretty ridiculous that his name wasn’t even mentioned.

Anyway, it’s just an arbitrary list that has no impact whatsoever, so whatever. If you want to know the real hottest rappers in the game, check out the list we made earlier this year.

We are currently getting hit with a wave of young rappers unique styles. From Joey Bada$$ in NYC, to Chief Keef in Chicago and Tyler, the Creator in Los Angeles, these guys are already making quality music and influencing the game.

Nas dropped Illmatic at the age of 20, so these guys aren’t the first to reach success before they can legally drink, but Nas was an anomaly, these guys are becoming the norm. Recently, Chance the Rapper has emerged as another precocious young artist. The 19 year old Chicagoan released his first mixtape, 10 Day, last April, and has followed it up with features on Childish Gambino’s They Don’t Like Me and Hoodie Allen’s Long Night, as well as a few singles of his own. He’s got a unique sound and some intricate flows. Check out this song, and if you like what you hear, check out his SoundCloud page.

Kid Cudi dropped another single off of his upcoming album, Indicud (to be released on April 23). Following King Wizard and Just What I Am, Immortal is the third single off of the album, all three of which he has produced.

Krizzle shares his new track, Shine On, as well as some inspirational words:

“Life is what you make it, we all are kings and queens on the field of life. Don’t let anyone block your shine. Shine On.”

Last night was a big night for rappers on late night TV, with two of the hottest rappers in the game performing live on mainstream networks. Check them out here:

Kendrick’s polished performance:

213227314 by yardie4lifever2

Tyler gets a little crazy, of course:

Fresh off of their recent Album of the Year Grammy win, Marcus Mumford stated in a Rolling Stone interview that the group’s next step just might be rap music. “We really want to rap” claims Mumford. “We’ve just got so much to say – saying it through a melody doesn’t really work for me. We’ve been talking with Jay-Z about it, you know. It’s gonna be a fresh experience for our band.”

Though it’s not totally clear whether he was being facetious, all I’m saying is: I’d listen to it.