10. Wale
Wale's sophomore LP, Ambition, debuted at #2 on the albums chart in November, and the title couldn't have been more appropriate.
The Washington D.C. rapper reinvented himself in 2011, claiming a new space in the hip-hop stratosphere after a sound, but commercially disappointing, debut two years earlier. Wale's tireless work ethic, along with a deal from Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group, were the keys to his success and his #10 slot on MTV News' Hottest MCs in the Game VII list.
After releasing Attention Deficit in 2009, Wale parted ways with Interscope Records and decided to continue on his mixtape grind. In August 2010, he dropped More About Nothing, the second installation of his "Seinfeld"-themed series. And if Wale was putting out feelers for his fanbase, it worked. The mixtape became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter, and pulled in 100,000 downloads in a matter of hours. Fans weren't the only ones paying attention though. Rick Ross, in the midst of constructing his MM Group empire, also took notice.
By February 2011, Wale was officially signed to MMG under the Warner Bros. umbrella. With the release of Maybach Music's Self Made Vol. 1 compilation last summer, Wale demonstrated his ability to deliver bangers on hits like "600 Benz," and from there his star only continued to rise.
"Wale really touched on a broad scale, when it comes to an audience, it's hard to dispute that," said Yomi Desalu, MTV's senior director of music and talent programming strategy.
The criteria to be considered a Hottest MC are based on a combination of impact, buzz, sales, lyrics, swag and the intangibles. Mr. Folarin pretty much touched on them all. He performed with the Maybach crew on shows like "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" finally getting his mainstream shine. With the right support system behind him, Wale began to prep his sophomore album, but he teased it with another excellent mixtape, The Eleven One Theory, in August 2011. In addition to proving that he was still a very talented lyricist, singles like "Bait" reinforced the fact that he'd finally found a sound that would appeal to a wider audience.
By the time November 1 rolled around, Wale had built plenty of anticipation for his second album. Thanks in part to Rick Ross — who demonstrated his uncanny talent for branding in 2011 — #Ambition took on a life of its own in the world of social media, with its inspirational undertones. Lead single "Lotus Flower Bomb," plus the Kid Cudi-assisted "Focused", "Slight Work" (featuring Big Sean) and, of course, the title track "Ambition" (featuring Meek Mill and Ross) struck just the right balance between Wale's sometimes-dense rhymes and radio-friendly numbers.
"Lotus Flower Bomb is a #1 record and Wale's album was very balanced and diverse," MTV Jams' Tuma Basa noted. In the post-release madness, Wale appeared alongside Rick Ross on the cover of Billboard, dropped verses on the Bawse's Rich Forever mixtape and even recruited Chris Brown to direct the visuals for "Slight Work." After shaking off the disappointment of his debut album and surviving the dreaded sophomore slump, things are only looking up for Wale.
9. Big Sean
The biggest part of Big Sean's rise over the past year has been the unwavering support of his fans. While he's signed to a major label (Def Jam) and one of the brightest stars on Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music imprint, it was those fans mobbing him at the Adidas store in New York and superstar supporters like Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj hopping on his debut album, Finally Famous, that propelled Sean to #9 on MTV News' Hottest MCs in the Game VII — his first appearance on the list.
Big Sean hit the scene out of Detroit's west side as Kanye's newest protégé with 2007's Finally Famous: The Mixtape. For the next three years, he would release two more volumes in the Finally Famous mixtape series — UKNOWBIGSEAN and BIG — and make the coveted XXL Freshmen cover, all the while promising his debut album was coming soon.
That album, however, seemed like it would never see the light of day. Even when Def Jam gave Sean a September 14, 2010, release date, they eventually pushed it back fearing the album wouldn't perform.
"This is an artist who kind of had to fight with his label to get this album out," MTV News producer Steven Roberts said during our Hottest MCs roundtable debate. "I think it was a great thing that as soon as he put out this album, they saw that there was a fanbase there."
And while Kanye West was in the midst of the creative streak of three lifetimes, Sean's sound further evolved alongside producer No I.D. The two worked together closely on Finally Famous, with I.D.'s tried-and-true formula oddly complementing Sean's ever-changing, still-maturing flow.
"Sean did an amazing thing being on G.O.O.D. Music. How do you shine next to Kanye West who takes all the attention?" MTV News' senior hip-hop writer Rob Markman questioned, citing Yeezy's reclusive nature throughout the year. "We haven't seen Kanye West out there like that, and Sean was out there, so arguably maybe he shines brighter throughout the duration of the year than Kanye West."
With Finally Famous, Sean was able to score four hit records with the viral "I Do It," the Breezy-laced "My Last," a #1 song with 'Ye in "Marvin & Chardonnay" and the percolating ode to the Detroit house scene, the "Dance (A$$)" remix with Nicki Minaj. These tracks could easily be dismissed as products of the label machine, but all of these people — from West to Brown — are fans of Big Sean Don and what he does. They were recruited by Sean or personally reached out to him to collaborate.
It was truly a Cinderella story. "He was like the underdog that made it to the finals," MTV News hip-hop director Rahman Dukes pointed out. "He really did his thing."
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