MTV Base: SA's Hottest MCs
MTV Base: SA's Hottest MCs is an annual segment that airs on MTV Base on the first two days of December each year. The segment consists of a panel of judges who are usually South African hip hop performers or personalities associated with the South African Hip Hop Genre.
Synopsis
The finalists of the list, are judged according to the following criteria
- Impact
- Lyrics
- Sales
- Buzz
- Style
- Intangibles
2014
Sizwe Dhlomo was the mediator for the 2014 segment, and the judges were South African music producer Amu, Metro FM's Naked DJ, YFM and Club 808's Mo Flava, Live Amp Presenter Loot Love, record label A&R Kevin Mdubeki and MTV Base's scheduler and Cashtime's DJ Vigilante
| Judge | Known for (at the time) |
|---|---|
| Sizwe Dhlomo |
|
| Amu |
|
| Naked DJ |
|
| Mo Flava |
|
| Loot Love |
|
| Kevin Mdubeki |
|
| DJ Vigilante |
|
| Melanie Triegaard |
|
| Slikour |
|
| Rank | Finalist | Recognition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K.O | ||
| 2 | Cassper Nyovest | ||
| 3 | AKA | ||
| 4 | Khuli Chana | ||
| 5 | Riky Rick | ||
| 6 | Reason | ||
| 7 | Kid X | ||
| 8 | Da L.E.S | ||
| 9 | Kwesta | ||
| 10 | Maggz |
2015
| Judge | Known for |
|---|---|
| Sizwe Dhlomo[1] |
|
| Loyiso Gola |
|
| T'bo Touch |
|
| Ms Cosmo |
|
| Vukile Zondi |
|
| Slikour |
|
| Melanie Triegaard |
|
| Fred Kayembe |
|
| Rank | 2014 | Finalist | Recognition | Movement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Cassper Nyovest |
|
Went up from 2 previous year | |
| 2 | 3 | AKA |
|
Went up from 3 previous year | |
| 3 | 1 | K.O |
|
Went down from 1 previous year | |
| 4 | 5 | Riky Rick | Went up from 5 previous year | ||
| 5 | - | OkMalumKoolKat | First appearance | ||
| 6 | 9 | Kwesta | Went up from 9 previous year | ||
| 7 | 4 | Khuli Chana | Went down from 4 previous year | ||
| 8 | 7 | Kid X | Went down from 7 previous year | ||
| 9 | - | iFani | First appearance | Zakwe, Reason and Gigi Lamayne were considered for these positions
| |
| 10 | - | L-Tido | First appearance |
The top 3 artists from the previous year's list shuffled positions, but maintained the top 3 spots.
2016
| Panellist | Known for |
|---|---|
| Pro Verb |
|
| Slikour |
|
| Amu |
|
| Spoken Priestess |
|
| Rashid Kay[2] |
|
| DJ Capital |
|
| Rank | 2015 | 2014 | Finalist | Recognition | Movement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Cassper Nyovest[3] |
|
Maintained Number 1 position | |
| 2 | - | - | Emtee |
|
Highest entrance rank | |
| 3 | - | - | Nasty C | |||
| 4 | 6 | 9 | Kwesta | Went up from 6 in previous year | ||
| 5 | 2 | 3 | AKA | Went down from 2 in previous year | ||
| 6 | 4 | 5 | Riky Rick |
|
Went down from 4 in previous year | |
| 7 | - | - | Fifi Cooper |
|
||
| 8 | - | - | A-Reece | |||
| 9 | 5 | - | OkMalumKoolKat | |||
| 10 | - | - | GiGi Lamayne | Maraza was considered for this position |
2016 had the highest number of first time finalists. Ambitiouz Entertainment has three artists appearing on the list, all for the first time: newcomers Emtee, FiFi Cooper and A-Reece. Emtee made the highest jump from non-appearance in the previous years to number 2 this year.
A-Reece is the youngest artist to appear on the list, being only a month younger than Nasty C.
This year's list debuted the highest number of Under 25's.
Rashid Kay and Spoken Priestess's decisions received mixed to negative reception from television viewers while others questioned Rashid Kay's eligibility to be a panellist for this year's segment.
Kwesta and Cassper Nyovest are the only artists included since the list's inception to consistently rise to a higher rank each subsequent year.
Appearances
| Artist | Number of Appearances | Cumulative average rank since first appearance | Peak Position | Peak Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cassper Nyovest | 3 | 1.333 | 1 | 2015 - 2016 |
| Emtee | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2016 |
| Nasty C | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2016 |
| AKA | 3 | 3.333 | 2 | 2014 |
| K.O | 3 | 4.666 | 1 | 2014 |
| Riky Rick | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2015 |
| Kwesta | 3 | 6.333 | 4 | 2016 |
| FiFi Cooper | 1 | 7 | 7 | 2016 |
| Khuli Chana | 1 | 7 | 4 | 2014 |
| OkMalumKoolKat | 2 | 7 | 5 | 2015 |
| A-Reece | 1 | 8 | 8 | 2016 |
| Kid X | 2 | 8.333 | 7 | 2014 |
| Reason | 1 | 8.666 | 6 | 2014 |
| Da L.E.S | 1 | 9.333 | 8 | 2014 |
| iFani | 1 | 9.5 | 9 | 2015 |
| GiGi Lamayne | 1 | 10 | 10 | 2016 |
| L-Tido | 1 | 10 | 10 | 2015 |
| Maggz | 1 | 10 | 10 | 2014 |
References
- "MTV Base SA Hottest MCs 2015 Panel Revealed | HYPE Magazine". www.hypemagazine.co.za. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
- "MTV Base SA Hottest MCs 2015 Panel Revealed | HYPE Magazine". www.hypemagazine.co.za. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
- "Cassper is SA's hottest MC, again | IOL". Retrieved 2016-12-05.