Addicted 2 Fresh

So, # 7 and # 6 are Young Money. You know mos def that Drake is on this list I wonder where? We’ll have to wait and find out…

Last year, Nicki Minaj was a buzzed-about femcee who was holding her own in the male-dominated rap game. Now, she’s a star in her own right, eclipsing many of her peers and becoming an icon for her Barbiez worldwide.

Her influence — whether it’s through her music and the many lyrical characters she embodies, her fashion sense or speaking out about important issues like child abuse and discrimination — is now strong enough that the MTV News Hip-Hop Brain Trust voted her the #6 Hottest MC in the Game. And, like the true pioneer she is, she’s the first woman to make the list.

“She showed that not only is she the most talented female right now, she’s one of the most talented rappers,” MTV News’ Shaheem Reid said during the Hottest MCs roundtable discussion. “This girl has star power. She took a little bit of [Lil] Wayne’s blueprint … and she just jumped on records.”

Indeed, aside from the fact that Nicki had a radio staple this summer with the Annie Lennox-sampling single “Your Love” — which hit #1 on Billboard’s Rap Songs chart — where she really made her presence felt was in the company of others, outshining the best of them. Witness her standout verses on songs with Kanye West, Rick Ross and Jay-Z (‘Ye’s “Monster”) and Ludacris (“My Chick Bad”) and her show-stealing appearance on DJ Khaled’s star-studded “All I Do Is Win” remix. She also stood out among her crew on Young Money’s “Bedrock,” while arguably out-spitting Drake on his own song, “Up All Night.”