Danny Brown - Hottest MC

Danny Brown’s new album ‘Old’, set to feature collaborations with A$AP Rocky, Purity Ring and Rustie, is yet to have a release date slapped on it – but was reported as all finished in December. Ahead of that, the Detroit rapper has shared one-off track Hottest MC – a clear-as-day reference to MTV’s annual Hottest MCs rundown, with Drake and Future among those so far named in the top ten.

Over a scorched, psychedelic beat from Brooklyn producer Harry Fraud, Danny stakes his claim to being The Greatest: “I’m the future and the present, same damn time”. Naturally, these come with a couple of references to adderall-poppin’ thrown in for good measure. He’s set his sights on mainstream hip hop before with Radio Song, but whereas that ‘XXX’ cut was built on playful scorn, here he’s in more guttural, combative mode. Stream it below.

Danny Brown isn’t the only rapper to have reacted to the list. Kanye – who only made seventh on the list – called into US radio station Hot 97 for a bit of public venting, putting the low ranking down to his recent penchant for kilt-wearing and lacklustre reactions to ‘Cruel Summer’: