Kanye West Reveals His Surprising Hip-Hop Mount Rushmore

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares
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Kanye West Reveals Surprising Hip Hop Mount Rushmore Beefs
Rapper Kanye West hoists his Grammy award onstage in 2008. West has been awarded 22 Grammys throughout his career as a producer and rapper. © Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images News Kanye West
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Kanye West's unexpected picks for his hip-hop Mount Rushmore come from a recently leaked extension of his 2025 interview with Justin Laboy.

Kanye West has a long and tense history with many of his most iconic collaborators, whether it's falling out with Jay-Z or distancing himself from Pusha T. But Ye is always changing his mind and reevaluating history, as he proved while revealing his surprising hip-hop Mount Rushmore last year.

This new revelation comes from a leaked extended version of his interview with Justin Laboy on The Download, whose original version came out on February 4 of last year. Auorabao caught the leaked extension on YouTube.

"I'm going to remove you and make it easier," Laboy told the Chicago artist, as caught by THUGGERDAILY on Twitter. "Now you got three slots outside of you being the GOAT. Putting Ye up here, three more people besides yourself to round out the Mount Rushmore." He ended up saying five names in the following order: Future, Drake, Young Thug. "That's my answer," Ye remarked, later adding Playboi Carti. "Oh, new GOAT, Carti," he shared. "Carti. Yeah, next generation. You know, if you put it by generation. I exist in every generation."

It's a far cry from the last time Kanye West shared a similar list. That's mostly because of his complex relationship with some of these artists.

Kanye West's Beefs

Starting with Future, the Yeezy mogul hasn't had too much beef with him, although he did accuse Pluto and Metro Boomin of ghosting him after his "Like That" remix. Speaking of which, Kanye West's past comments on Kendrick Lamar and Drake also made many fans raise their eyebrows at this early 2025 Mount Rushmore. Ye switched up on Kendrick after initially supporting him against Drizzy, and praised the 6ix God in the aftermath after a decade of tension with him.

Kanye West also feuded with Playboi Carti, although this was presumably after this Justin Laboy interview. As for Young Thug, Ye hasn't said anything negative about him in recent years.

Maybe this Mount Rushmore reflects a new framework of understanding for Kanye, or it's just another change of opinion that he might contradict later. Some fans also question the absence of older legends that he's praised heavily before, such as Nas. Maybe this was more about the names that are the most relevant in today's rap landscape.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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