MTV's Top 10 RIGHT NOW ... Mixtape Influence

10. Jim Jones
9. Common
8. 50 Cent
7. Jay-Z
6. Young Jeezy
5. Kanye West
4. André 3000
3. The Game
2. T.I.
1. Lil’ Wayne

I'm sure most of you all have seen MTV's Top 10 Right Now. I wouldn't totally disagree, based on them saying right now. I'm not sure if they were saying best lyricist, best rapper, best swag .. it wasn't clarified, so i'll assume it was a mix of all? Looking at the list, its clear to see how mixtape joints influenced peoples thinking. In between albums, if you not hot on the mixtape circuit, people gonna forget about you. Whereas if you stay making music, strictly for the streets/mixtapes, you're gonna be mentioned in conversation.

Jim Jones came in at #10 and I think that is solely based off his BALLIN' fame. Altho he laced a couple of remixes, I still think they are basing it off the response of BALLIN' which was a crazy record. Had dudes and females in the club practicing their jump shot! So I won't disagree with that one. They gave Common Number 9. If this was based solely off lyrics, I would put him up a lil higher on the list. I really haven't heard him do alot lately until he released 'The People'. Hot right now? Maybe this is a lifetime acheivement award .. as much as i'm feelin Commons new CD that wifey put me on to, I have seen him in more movies that music lately. His album was hot, so I won't argue to take him off the list. Coming in at #8 was Fiddy Cent .. someone made a comment on the show that if it wasn't for his new joint 'I GET MONEY' he probably wouldn't be on the list. Agreed. Fif is the mixtape king, well, was the mixtape king. Because of him, labels want a new artist to have a mixtape buzz before they even think about getting offered a deal. He set that standard. I GET MONEY is probably one of the best records he's made in a minute .. so i look forward to big things from him this year. He'll be higher on the list next year. Jay Z was number 7 . Jay is the illest living emcee in my generation. Top 4 of all time. (Big Daddy Kane, BIG, Pac, Rakim) - I won't disagree with his position because he hasn't dropped much this year. His 'newest' out are mixtapes of his best of .. which is hot but not new. Only brand new are scattered freestyle or verse here and there, which was smokin hot as usual, but not enough material. Jigga is still that nikka! Number 6 was Young Jeezy. This is the first one on this list I have a real problem with. Jeezy is not lyrical, he is not a great rapper, and his swag is questionable after he ran out on the Monie Love interview where she questioned how 'hip hop' he was. I would have loved to have been at the roundtable to discuss this one. I think I could have swayed some people to change their minds and take The Snowman off this list. I wouldn't even say he's hot right now. He's not doing anything or talking about anything the next 'dopeboy rapper' isn't talkin about.

Now we are getting into the nitty gritty. The Top 5! Top 5 is where you begin to see the mixtape influence kick in. Kanye comes in at #5 He hit the mixtape circuit as a prelude to his album which comes out 9/11/07 along with Fif, but tha's a whole 'nother story! - anyway, Kanye dropped The Gradute, Graduation Day and that led to other DJ's getting in on it and dropping their own personal Kanye mixtapes. Nothing say "you're hot" than a bunch of DJ's doing a mixtape with you that you don't even know about. But whatever it takes to keep that buzz .. Kanye is gonna go plat easy. And he murdered "Throw Some D's". Andre 3000 aka 3 Stacks comes in at a strong #4. After hearing what he did to that UGK song, the joint with Devin, the Lloyd remix .. and an unofficial mixtape. I dare say he is number 2 or 1!! I wouldn' go that far, but he is definately NOW. I'm glad he is back to straight spittin' for the moment. I wasn't too much into his Love Below days, even tho Hey Yaa was that ish! He needs to keep this up and he'll always be on this list. The Game was number 3. I want to agree with this since i'm from Cali, but what he he dropped lately? Someone on the panel mentioned he murdered all of G-Unit on the mixtapes. This was like a year or more ago. I don't think the One Blood single or remix should have brought him to number 3 on the right now list. If tha's the case, Lloyd Banks should be on here somewhere. I Disagree MTV!! There was a nice lil debate about #2 and #1. T.I. got number 2. I think T.I. makes better songs RIGHT NOW, and his promo push for T.I. vs TIP was crazy. His mixtape push could have been better. Sure he's been in Chevy commercials, had ESPN playin his song every night but at the end of the day it comes down to the music. So, #2 was a good pick for T.I. - AND THE WINNER IS .............. This was a no brainer for me. Lil Wayne IS the mixtape right now. You can't log on to the hot mixtape sites without seeing Lil Wayne has 3 new mixtapes a day. Not all official, but he has a lot of material and he lives for the booth seems like and he is having fun while smashing any track he touches. Weezy hasn't had any BET/MTV top 10 singles in a minute but him being so heavy in the mixtapes definately made him #1 on the list.

Mixtapes aren't going anywhere. If anything, the mixtape influence is becoming more and more big. Who woulda thought Kanye West, the international superstar would drop an official mixtape. This just goes to show how important the mixtape and the mixtape circuit is. It keeps you fresh.