Eminem has earned yet another accolade. Rolling Stone has bestowed the rap titan with its current King of Hip-Hop title based on his album sales, YouTube views, and social-media scores.


Not far behind Marshall Mathers is Lil Wayne, who claims second place based on his album and ticket sales, online rankings, and awards, while his Young Money cohort Drake comes in third.

The list is not a ranking of all-time greatest MCs. Instead, the magazine selected 20 solo rappers who have dropped an album from 2009 through the first seven months of 2011. The positions were determined by album sales, rankings on the R&B/hip-hop and rap charts, YouTube views, social media, concert grosses, industry awards, and critics’ ratings.

Contenders included Big Boi, B.o.B, Diddy, Drake, Eminem, Fabolous, Lupe Fiasco, Gucci Mane, Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, T.I., Waka Flocka Flame, Kanye West, and Wiz Khalifa.

Despite the “king” title, Nicki Minaj is the sole female on the list, beating out some of her male peers for the No. 6 spot. See the full list below.

Rolling Stone’s “Kings of Hip-Hop” List

1. Eminem
2. Lil Wayne
3. Drake
4. Kanye West
5. Jay-Z
6. Nicki Minaj
7. Rick Ross
8. Ludacris
9. Gucci Mane
10. T.I.
11. Snoop Dogg
12. Diddy
13. Pitbull
14. Fabolous
15. Wiz Khalifa
16. B.o.B
17. Waka Flocka Flame
18. Lupe Fiasco
19. Kid Cudi
20. Big Boi

Kid Cudi posted a pic of himself on his Tumblr alongside upcoming actor Jaden Smith. He wore A Bathing Ape New Era hat and a Bape 1st Camo shirt ($263). Jaden was seen wearing a LA Raiders cap, a Comme Des Garcons Play Black Emblem Cardigan ($360), and a Louis Vuitton belt.

Kid Cudi performed new tracks from his upcoming album Man Of The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager at New York’s BAPE, and although that might seem like an odd venue for a mini-show, Cudi has some close ties to the designer retail chain—he worked there for a period of his pre-fame life. Fans filled the store to max capacity, and luckily, Cudder managed to make it through the entire performance without manhandling a fan. Whew! Live video of “REVOFEV” below.


“Working there, was a huge big deal for me,” says Cudi of BAPE NY. “They felt my struggle, they gave me opportunity. Gave me a nine-to-five when I had nothing… even for a couple weeks I didn’t even eat lunch. BAPE is a huge chapter of my struggle.”

We’re not sure accosting a fan in the crowd is the best move for him to make just a few days after telling everyone that you’re “good now” after being arrested for breaking down a door (among other things). Then again, this isn’t Cudi’s first swan dive into a crowd to confront an discourteous audience member, and he even has the entire support of his fans singing along to “Pursuit of Happiness” and chanting his name while he does it! We supposed real Cudi fans don’t care that he might want to look into anger management classes.

In non-violent news from last night’s show, Cudder also debuted a new song, rap-singing to it a capella and using the crowd’s handclapping as his beat.

Kid Cudi made a stop in Los Angeles on Tuesday (Dec. 22) for a performance of “Pursuit of Happiness” on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.” The night before he performed “Elevatas” with Robin Thicke at the singer’s show at Club Nokia (video below), the same evening he was pulled over at gunpoint by police in a case of mistaken identity.

The show must go on. In the wake of her ill-fated “Fame Kills” tour with Kanye West, a solo Lady Gaga will embark on a North American tour in late November. While she won’t share the stage with Mr. West, the rapper’s protégé Kid Cudi will come along for the ride.


The “Poker Face” singer’s 22-date outing, titled “The Monster Ball,” will begin on November 27 in Montreal, and close on January 21, 2010 in her hometown of New York City. Kid Cudi will be the supporting act for the entire leg.

Lady Gaga will release The Fame Monster, a repackaging of her debut album The Fame, on November 23. The set will feature eight new songs, including the first single “Bad Romance.”

“A message to all my little monsters: The Fame Monster will come out four days before the first live show,” the pop star said in a statement. “You have exactly 96 hours to learn all of the lyrics so you can sing along. Dress accordingly.”

“The Monster Ball” Tour Dates

November 27 – Montreal, Quebec, Canada – The Bell Center
November 28 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada – Air Canada Center
November 29 – Ottawa, Ontario, Canada – Scotiabank Place
December 1 & 2 – Boston, MA – Wang Center
December 3 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna
December 9 & 10 – Vancouver, BC, Canada – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
December 13 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic
December 18 – Las Vegas, NV – TBD
December 19 – San Diego, CA – San Diego Sports Arena
December 21 – Los Angeles, CA – Nokia Theatre
December 29 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theater
December 31 – Miami, FL – Knight Center
January 3 – Orlando, FL – The Hard Rock
January 7 – St. Louis, MO – The Fox
January 8 & 9 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
January 12 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theater
January 16 – Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata
January 20 & 21 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall

Kid Cudi fans probably noticed that the rapper’s Twitter page mysteriously disappeared shortly before his album release. Mr. Solo Dolo shed some light on what may have led to the deletion.


Cudi’s desire for more privacy contributed to the dismantling of his Twitter account and blog. “I always have strange numbers calling my phone, and e-mails too,” he tells Rap-Up.com. “My last e-mail got hacked. However, I hate the fact that you can have on one device about eight different ways for someone to contact you. If you think about it, it’s kinda creepy.”

“I have an iPhone and I don’t even utilize all of the applications on it. Just alone on an iPhone you can have multiple e-mails—I have two e-mails—text messaging, some people have AIM on there, MySpace, Facebook—and I don’t even have those things.”

All the technology was getting too much for the “Day ‘N’ Nite” hitmaker. “With Twitter, my two e-mails, text messaging, and my phone ringing, that’s just overwhelming. And you gotta think of it like this, what did they do before there were cell phones? Use a pay phone or write a letter. Or you catch ’em at the crib.”

The 25-year-old MC wants to go back to the old-school days when it was harder to reach people. “I think I want to take it back to that. Sometimes it just shouldn’t be that easy for you to get in contact with me.”

Kid Cudi performed “Day ‘N’ Nite” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday. His debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with over 100,000 copies.