Today, MTV released the final five for its Hottest MC’s list and deservingly so Eminem claims the number one spot for 2010. His comeback to the music scene this year was one to remember with the success of his Recovery LP, the historic Detroit/NY concert series with Jay-Z and high profile features on tracks with Drake, B.o.B. and Lil’ Wayne.

Em got back in the swing of things this year, first by ripping the all-star posse cut “Forever,” which, despite being released in September 2009, had enough momentum to keep playing all the way into 2010. Then he guested on the Lil Wayne single “Drop the World,” a highly anticipated duet between the two rappers that had been buzzed about for years; added a poignant verse to the remix of B.o.B’s “Airplanes”; and even dropped a couple of freestyles (on Drake’s “Over” beat and Lloyd Banks’ “Beamer, Benz or Bentley”).

It all led up to the release of the first single from Recovery, “Not Afraid.” The song was a turn of form for Em that found him spitting motivational rhymes and encouraging people to face their fears, for better or worse. In a post-recession America, it felt like a message people really needed to hear: Don’t give up, because we’re all in this together. “Not Afraid” hit #1 on the Hot 100 and pushed Recovery to 741,000 units sold its first week. Em followed that with “Love the Way You Lie,” which was poignantly assisted by Rihanna.

After the jump you can view Jay-Z, Kanye West, Drake and Rick Ross plus the full Top 10 list….

Jay-Z who was #1 on last years list, follows up this year with a #2 placing. This year guest features on songs from Rick Ross, Kanye West and Drake plus his entreprenerial ventures with Roc Nation’s ever growing lineup and producing the Tony-winning Broadway play “Fela” with Will & Jada Smith landed him at number two.

And then there’s the things Jay does outside of hip-hop (he’s not a businessman; he’s a business, man). Despite not being able to woo LeBron James to New Jersey, he’s still a minority owner in the Nets. Along with Will Smith and his wife Jada, Jay produced the Tony-winning Broadway play “Fela.” Plus, he’s the head of Roc Nation, which manages acts as wide-ranging as Mark Ronson, the Ting Tings and recent signee Willow Smith. He also still has a pair of 40/40 sports clubs in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. All these ventures allowed Jay to top Forbes‘ Hip Hop Cash Kings list, with $63 million earned in 2010 alone.

Originally Kanye was named #4 on the list with Drake being at #3, but the MTV roundtable looked back and made a change giving ‘Ye the nod at the third spot on the list. While last year with no album out and a classic mixtape, Drake landed at #3 on the 2009 list. This year with his debut album Thank Me Later dropping this past June the Toronto rapper lands at #4 this year.

To round out the top 5, Rick Ross gets the last spot based on his dominant year with his Albert Anastasia EP and his Teflon Don album which pretty much was the soundtrack to everyone’s summer.

“Teflon Don, that’s the album of the year right now, I don’t care what it sold,” MTV News’ Shaheem Reid said during the Hottest MCs roundtable. “From ‘I’m Not a Star’ down to ['All the Money in the World'], ‘Tears of Joy,’ it just really grips your soul when you hear him having the foresight to bring Cee-Lo back. Cee-Lo was singing his heart out. I feel like I’m in church.” “A lot of artists make trendier records, and those trends come and go,” MTV News supervising producer Sean Lee said. “But as far as records and art that’s gonna stand the test of time, that’s what Ross is doing.”

“B.M.F.” was big at urban radio, hitting #6 on the Billboard Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was almost impossible to not hear it bumping from a car stereo everywhere you turned.

MTV’s Hottest MC List Top 10:

1) Eminem

2) Jay-Z

3) Kanye West

4) Drake

5) Rick Ross

Previously:

6) Nicki Minaj

7) Lil’ Wayne

8) Waka Flocka Flame

9) B.o.B.

10) Ludacris