Eminem deserves "Hottest Rapper in the Game" title

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Many critics have spoken out against MTV voting Eminem as the hottest rapper in the game for 2010. But, Eminem has been the most consistent voice in hip hop this year. The year of 2010 has been a bust, as far as hip hop is concerned. Major comebacks were expected from T.I. and J. Cole's debut album has yet to come.

Despite a strong effort with Thank Me Later, Drake has not been able to keep up. Yes, "Over" was a hit early this spring, but the song did not carry over into the summer. While "Find Your Love" charted high, it did not have the staying power and the radio play of the singles from Eminem. During each stage of the year, an Eminem song has dominated the radio.

At the very beginning of the year, Eminem was getting airplay due to the "Drop the World" single off Lil Wayne's Rebirth. Ironically, this single would end up being the biggest single off the Rebirth album. Late in the spring, Eminem returned with his own single, "Not Afraid," which debuted on top of the charts and stayed in the rotation until late in the summer. At one point, Eminem was dominating with two singles, "Not Afraid" and "Love The Way You Lie." The run Eminem has experienced this year is similar to Lil Wayne's dominance back in 2008.

Eminem has put the work in and his music is still dominating, as "Love The Way You Lie" is still receiving major radio play and Em's new single "No Love," with Lil Wayne, is rising the charts quickly. While other rappers have had a little bit of buzz, not even Lil Wayne's I Am Not a Human Being has been enough to take the focus away from Eminem. After the mixed response to his 2009 comeback effort, Relapse, Eminem spoke from the heart and he put together Recovery. With this album, Eminem planned to dominate the year of 2010 and he did just that.