From Drake to Kid Cudi

Which of these young bucks will go against Eminem when the full bracket opens up next Monday?

Alright, Internets: here we go again. So…Joe Budden’s pissed. Joell Ortiz is pissed. Mickey Factz is pissed. But the scary part? We ain’t even gotten started yet! For real.

So to that end, let the games begin! Today, VIBE opens up voting on the first round of the play-in bracket to determine which of the next generation rappers will go against Eminem for the opportunity to be crowned The Best Rapper Ever, as chosen by you, the VIBE reader. Last year, you named Eminem The Best Rapper Alive, pushing him past Jay-Z in the finals by a whopping 3 to 1 (69 percent to Jay’s 31 percent). This year, we’ve doubled the field from 64 to 128, and expanded the pool to include any and every iconic rapper of all time, living or dead, forgotten or on effin’ fire. But before we get there (the full bracket opens next Monday, May 18), we have to settle the debate of the moment: Who’s hot enough right now to earn a shot at the top?

Is it the incredibly prolific Charles Hamilton? Wale, who’s D.C. all day? Kid Cudi, who came out of retirement just to compete (we kid!)? Jay Electronica, who’s clearly got some musical genius in his genes? Drake, whose buzz grows louder with every sold out show? B.o.B.­­ Bobby Ray? Blu, the West Coast’s brightest hope? Or, um, Asher Roth?

You tell us! This week, we’ll roll through a lightning three round bracket to fill in the full bracket’s final spot. You have until midnight tomorrow night to vote on this round (one vote per user, per day). We’ll unveil Round II on Wednesday, and the finals on Thursday. By Friday, we’ll know whom you’ve chosen to proceed into the full competition, and then we’ll really get down to business. In the meantime, check back daily and be sure to download the full bracket here, fill it out with your predictions of how you think this will all play out, and mail your completed bracket back to the VIBE office, postmarked before May 23, 2009, for your chance to win an engraved iPod Touch. It’s survival of the illest, for real!