In a rare interview, Andre talked to us about the past Hottest MCs lists, the concept of them and where he’d like to see himself stacking up against the competition.

“The thing about these hip-hop lists… it’s like, ‘How can you make a list because it’s so many people you leave off that a lot of people may disagree with?’ If you have 10 guys in a room [debating], that’s their list. It can’t be a world list, ’cause it’s a lot of people… I’m surprised Ludacris is never on there — he’s one of the dopest. Black Thought ain’t on there — he’s killin’ a lot of people. Then you got too many opinions. You have people that come up to me in the streets and say certain things. I’m like, ‘Well, that’s their opinion.’

I just say, ‘Man, everybody do your thing.’ I’d rather be #2 and everybody know I should be #1, than to be #1. Then I have somewhere to go.”

Jay-Z ain’t out of touch. Jay-Z been doing his thing for years. If he’s out of touch, then everybody’s out of touch. Jay-Z just set the record straight because he’s that important. They feel like they got to have that niche, in order to make something, in order to make a hit. They feel like if they put autotune on it, it’s instantly a hit. Jay-Z just shut all that down. When people feel like they’re getting shut down, of course they’re gonna say things like that, like Jay-Z is out of touch. Jay-Z ain’t never been out of touch, that’s the craziest thing in the world.

Marshall Mathers has an army of supporters, and thanks to them, Eminem has risen to the top of the fan voting in our Hottest MC poll. With 40 percent of the votes thus far, he’s pulled ahead of Joe Budden and 50 Cent, who had been the leading vote getters in the weeks since we opened the poll. Now that those votes are being factored into this year’s official list, it seems fans are aware that the stakes are higher.

Due to the whopping 420 percent increase in voting, we decided to delay revealing the MTV News Hip-Hop Brain Trust’s list and let you guys weigh in. We’re encouraging everyone to continue to be engaged in this conversation and cast your vote for the Hottest MCs in the Game until September 21.

When the poll closes, we’ll tally up your votes for the top 10 along with the votes from the Hip-Hop Brain Trust. The official list of the Hottest MCs in the Game will be unveiled this October.

“I did this song that no one has ever heard before, ever,” he explained. “[It's] a song called ‘Fear.’ I recorded it when I did So Far Gone — the first verse and half of the second verse I had gotten through. But then I just stopped because it was getting eerie. It was getting where I didn’t know if I could [finish it]. And then the other night I had a moment and I finished the song. That’s gonna be the last song on the retail [version of] So Far Gone. And the third verse transitions into Thank Me Later. So the last line of the third verse is gonna be the first line on my album.”

It looks like Shyne is coming home. After many false release dates swirled around over the past few years, a judge has set October for Shyne’s release from prison after serving eight years.
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So what happens next for Shyne’s career? Rahman Dukes and I contemplated Shyne’s next move. Rahman feels that aligning with Jay-Z and Roc Nation is a can’t-miss. Rah says the Brooklyn connection could be unbeatable, seeing that Jay’s reach and influence is so vast.