One of the latest online Hip-Hop debates has gained a lot of traction over the past couple of days, and as a result, the discussion surrounding who would make the cut for a hypothetical rap Mount Rushmore has transitioned from simple Twitter fodder to an ongoing media story. For those unfamiliar with the tweet that prompted responses from celebrities like LeBron James and Nicki Minaj, see below.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1397973637043347459
The viral tweet that creatively positioned Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole on the Mount Rushmore of 2010s Hip-Hop has so far earned itself 8.9k retweets, 2.7k replies, and 5.7k likes. However, it's the celebrity responses that have made the debate even more exciting. Yesterday, Nicki Minaj commented on the original tweet with a vague "wow," and today, LeBron James dove head-first into the debate and declared that the final spot was owed to none other than Future Hendrix.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1398331324394475523
LeBron's hot take was enough to send Twitter Hip-Hop enthusiasts into a tizzy, and surprisingly, it even inspired a response from Nicki. "Never thought I’d get the opportunity to give you the alley oop," the Beam Me Up Scotty rapper jokes before officially claiming the last spot as her own. "But you almost had it. It’s N I C K I…EMMMM I N A J!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
https://twitter.com/_/status/1398361903970222083
While Nicki's reply to LeBron is comical in tone, there is plenty of legitimacy in her claim that she deserves to be one of the four greatest rappers from the previous decade. All four of her albums have landed within the top 10 spots on the Billboard 200, and both her debut and sophomore albums reached the number one position. In that same time frame, Nicki racked up the vast majority of her 118 Billboard Hot 100 hits. Furthermore, Nicki has also inspired an entire generation of female rappers, so it would be hard to justify leaving her off of this highly contentious 2010s Mount Rushmore.
With that said, which four artists do you think deserve to be on the hypothetical 2010s rap monument?
