By Maurice Bobb

Tell ‘em why you mad, though. We’re just past the halfway mark on the Hottest MCs list and already there’s been an irritated radio phone-in from the media-dodging Kanye West, who was unhappy with his No. 7 ranking, a video rant from A$AP Rocky, who would rather not be ranked at all than to land at No. 8 on the list and now, Danny Brown has taken out his frustrations with the list on the “diss” record“#HottestMC.”

On the Harry Fraud-produced track, the Motor City rapper shuns his normal off-kilter rhymes for a more direct message aimed at MTV’s annual list and, more importantly, egging on the competitive nature of MCs who made the list and those that didn’t or won’t: “Your rhymes are cheap/You release your poor product/You’re a servant in my world/No rap gods curse you/When judgment day’s upon you/Reality’s a virtue.”

In addition to his one-off track, he took to Twitter to lob a more personal salvo at MTV’s Brain Trust: “F— a top 10 list … ni–a im the Greatest Rapper Ever.” As for his thoughts on which emcee should get top billing on the much-debated about list, Danny, of course, had an opinion: “Kendrick is #1 make no mistake bout that or that list is complete f—ery. ” Kendrick Lamar, obviously a fan of the ecclectic artist’s work, let it be known that he approved Brown’s message in 140 characters or less: “Danny Brown killn this new track. Hard. Uncut tho.”

For his part, though, Brown reeled his venom back in and set the record straight that his song wasn’t personal, even admitting that he didn’t deserve to be on the list because he’s never put an album out for sale. “That song wasn’t to diss nobody … I just wanted to show n—-s I can think of a #Bar or 2 lol,” he tweeted before making light of Kanye’s assertion that he gave moderator Sway Calloway his first TV, “I gotta start giving away free tvs bruh bruh.”

Listen to the stream of “#HottestMC,” then enjoy the reactions below.

@cadenceweapon the part with the dead rappers rolling around in their graves and causing natural disasters on danny brown’s #HottestMC track is awesome

@okayplayer No diss, but @XDannyXBrownX makes a strong case for why he should have been on MTV’s list with “#HottestMC”

@Domotelli Can’t believe I ever doubted @XDannyXBrownX

@ScottEGoodwin Ironic how @XDannyXBrownX immediately redefines where he left off dropping that #HottestMC #TRUUTHH

@CigStone I f— with @XDannyXBrownX for that #HottestMC. If u don’t think you’re the best or working to be it, why try? F— striving for mediocrity.

@scroods If hottest mc is any sign of how good old is gonna be, @XDannyXBrownX is about to drop one of the best albums of the year.

@whootybish Oh you take bubble baths and listen to Trey Songz? Bitch I take baths and listen to @XDannyXBrownX.

@big_business_ i thank the hip hop gods everyday for danny brown

@boliver36 For dudes talking about MCs whining about the list, Danny Brown is actually doper than everybody on that list so far (not everyone on it).

@dian0saur i love how danny brown is so cracked tf out, but will still spit the most obscure pop culture facts out of his dirty, toothless grill #baws

@idreezy Danny brown doesn’t even look like a rapper, perfect example of not judging a book by its cover

@shady2pointO Fun Fact: Danny Brown was close to signing to G-Unit. 50 Cent liked his music but didn’t sign him because he wore skinny jeans.

@ThisGuyAnge Pretty sad this is what it took for everybody to hop on @XDannyXBrownX #bouttime #HottestMC

@Kalib_Shiets Listening to Danny Brown and mean muggin kids in the halls hahaha

@DennisBunjaku am i the only one that doesn’t actually like danny brown ?

Tags danny brown, hottest mcs