Jay wrote a letter to MTV News, reacting to his latest accolade of Hottest MC in the Game.

“MTV, Thanx for this nod of appreciation,” Jay wrote. “Although I don’t strive to be ‘hot’ for any particular year, I thank you for the acknowledgment. My whole goal is to be recognized as the best ever. I created the term ‘best rapper alive’ as a sign of respect to my fallen comrades (Biggie and Tupac). I believe I’ve allowed a significant grace period, and I believe I would not be respecting myself if being the absolute best was not my goal, and that’s why I continue to push myself until exhaustion … salute.

“Sidebar: Kanye moment if I may … Eminem?!?! I think you do the credibility of this list a disservice if you don’t thoroughly explain his omission,” Jay continued. “As of this second he has the highest selling rap album of the year and a scene stealing verse on the best ‘posse’ cut of the year . (*Hands mic back to Taylor Swift … and nobody was harmed, I apologize in advance.)”

(Editor’s note: Eminem’s absence from the Top 10 is explained right here.)

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Told you… The order is a little off to me (Yeezy > Weezy, Gucci > Ross) and Em should’ve been in the last half, but none of that comes close to offending me as much that year Game was #3.

Previously: #5 Rick Ross | #6 Gucci Mane | #7 Young Jeezy | #8 Fabolous | #9 Curtis | #10 Raekwon

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Why He’s Hot:

How did Rick Ross make it to the Hottest MC List’s top five in back-to-back years? Because this top-tier word assassin released what seven of Roundtable members consider the preeminent hip-hop release of the year, Deeper Than Rap.

Deeper ceaselessly and seamlessly did its job, entertaining throughout with Ross’ lithe lyrical delivery, which forms a mesmeric marriage with soulfully melodic tracks that play like the score to an Oscar-winning film.

“Magnificent” mixed Ross’ sophisticated thuggin’ with John Legend’s Grammy-winning starpower and vocal luster to make for one of the most heavily spun hits this year. The striking “Mafia Music” was strong enough to ignite a musical and Internet war with G-Unit. While “Maybach Music 2″ — featuring T-Pain, Kanye West and Lil’ Wayne — was one of the preeminent posse cuts of the year.

Despite all the controversy surrounding his past as a corrections officer, most of rap’s elite not only kept their embrace of Ross, but they worked with him on mixtapes as well as on his LP. The fans, for the most part, didn’t seem to care either. Deeper Than Rap sold more than 150,000 copies in its first week of release. Although those numbers didn’t quite match the quality of the work, the album did top the Billboard albums chart — a feat all three of Ross’ albums have accomplished.

Link: Rick Ross Bosses Up As The #5 Hottest MC In The Game

Previously: #6 Gucci Mane | #7 Young Jeezy | #8 Fabolous | #9 Curtis | #10 Raekwon

As much as I love DTR, I think Gucci should’ve been #5 and Ross #6.

#5 – #1 will be revealed during “Diddy’s Starmaker” this Sunday @ 10pm.

Why He’s Hot: It’s been in the air for a couple of years now. Gucci Mane’s name has been bubbling — no, boiling over — in the underground scene, and he’s been inching his way closer and closer to cracking into the top 10 Hottest MCs in the Game since ’07. The Gucc didn’t just break through this year; he’s been able to leapfrog all the to way to the middle of the pack by having a cult following of pavement dwellers in the ‘hood and charming Middle America with a gold-tooth grin and a gaggle of guest spots on high-charting pop hits.

In all his flamboyant splendor, Gucci has accrued a die-hard core following that devours everything he puts out with extreme delight. The mode of attack for La Flare — as he calls himself — has been spending sleepless nights in the studio recording literally hundreds of records. As soon as a song is done — or a hefty amount of them, anyway — he puts it out. Gucc has almost replaced Lil Wayne as the street-CD poster child.

The Atlanta native will never get spoken about in the conversation of great wordsmiths, like a Royce Da 5’9″ or a Jadakiss. His subject matter is great, but his wordplay is sometimes criticized for being elementary. So if it isn’t his rhyme schemes that have been winning him new fans and accolades and keeping his core satisfied, what is it? Simply put, Gucci is a character.

If Drake is #2/#3 (that’s IF, I don’t have inside info,) then Gucci should’ve been #4/#5.

Why He’s Hot: Young Jeezy may not yet have a mainstream, marquee name like some of his platinum peers, but the Snowman is an undeniable rap goliath. In hip-hop, his moniker holds just as much weight as the other big dogs. How else could he bring out Kanye West and Usher during the big Birthday Bash concert in his hometown of Atlanta last summer, and then turn around in 2009 and usher out surprise guests Mary J. Blige and Lil Wayne? And by the way, when Jay-Z decided to perform his earthshaking “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” in concert for the first time anywhere on the globe, he came out during Jeezy’s set at the “Summer Jam” show in New Jersey. And he followed that with a prominent slot on Lil Wayne’s “America’s Most Wanted” tour last summer, which ran for six weeks and was one of the most successful tours of the year thus far.

Link: Young Jeezy Rides Recession To The #7 Spot On Hottest MCs In The Game

Previously: #8 Fabolous | #9 Curtis | #10 Raekwon

Link: Fabolous Is The #8 Hottest MC In The Game

Previously: #9 Curtis | #10 Raekwon

Despite no official album, Fif has stayed hot with mixtapes, Web presence and publicity.

Link: Curtis Hangs Tough As The #9 Hottest MC In The Game

Previously: Video: Hottest MC In The Game, #10 Raekwon

You already know Crybaby won’t be nearly as gracious.

Besides Snoop Dogg last year, Raekwon has had the longest career of any MC to make the Hottest list. Translation: A tenured vet is still just as relevant as new cats coming into the game.

“I look at it as a blessing, man,” Rae said. “I’m just saying, [the Roundtable] is giving the veteran more medals. I paid my dues in the game. I think I was taught by the best. I was one of them dudes that take rap crazy serious — how you look, how your sneakers look. So for me, I just feel like people is placing the medals on a n—a that made it home. I made it home. Rap was supposed to be over for n—as a long time ago. They say rap, your career only goes on for five years if you ain’t really just that n—a. If you that n—a, it’s an endless career you could make. I felt like I knew I wasn’t over. I feel like respect is due. If it wasn’t me, if it was the next n—a that had a similar, same kind of track record, that’s still busting his hammer writing and going in still. I pay attention to every n—a. I still feel privileged that n—as still see what the god can do. All praises for that.”

Link: Raekwon Calls Placing #10 On Hottest MCs List ‘A Blessing’

One a day until Friday, #5-#1 will be revealed during Diddy’s Starmaker this Sunday.

Full write-up: MTV News – #10 Hottest MC In The Game: Raekwon

On September 28, my fellow MTV News Hip-Hop Brain Trust members and I will start to release our — keyword being “our” — list of the Hottest MCs in the Game. Number 10 will be announced on the 28th, nine on the 29th, etc. through October 2. Then, on October 4 during “P. Diddy’s Starmaker,” we will reveal numbers five through one. Numero uno, the number-one spot.

You know the drilly by now, right? I mean, this is the third year we’ve done it. Well, in case you forgot or just didn’t know, a group of my MTV News colleagues and I sit down at a roundtable and discuss who we think are the 10 hottest cats in the game right now. Each year the audience is very vocal with comments, and some people even come up to us on the street to tell us how much they agree or disagree with our list. We love it.

This year, there were over 1.2 million votes in our fan poll. The cumulative votes will be factored into the Brain Trust’s rankings. But keep in mind, this is still the Brain Trust’s list. Personally, I like having the fans’ votes factored in. We’re all in this together. I love the debate, and as anxious as you are to see who we picked, I’m even more interested to tell you guys. The Miss Cleo in me says that this is going to be our most controversial list ever. Just remember to have fun with it. That’s right — have fun, enjoy it. You’ll get excited. You might — almost definitely at some point — get upset. But this is hip-hop. This is the music and culture we love.