The term Mount Rushmore, most literally referring to the carved mountainside in Keystone, South Dakota, has been derived to mean the top four or pinnacle in instances outside of United States Presidents. For example, the Mount Rushmore of the Boston Celtics is Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Bob Cousy and Larry Bird.
HipHopDX has taken this idea and used it for the last two decades of Hip Hop music. In an effort to document the ever changing landscape of the art form, we have done this in four five-year installments which will be released on a weekly basis for the next month. Without further ado, here is Hip Hop’s Mount Rushmore.
*While technically these albums came out this year and are not being weighed in this decision, we wanted to add them for the sake of remaining current.
The Rundown
As Hip Hop turned almost 40 and entered middle age, the music began to get more experimental than it had been for the three decades prior. This list showcases that mid-life crisis with artists who all fall under the Hip Hop umbrella but have staggeringly different sounds. With streaming and illegal downloading services, the sales numbers also took a backseat to the cultural significance of an album and how well it succeeded in drawing people to live shows where the money is now made.
Kanye West
Album(s): My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Watch The Throne, Yeezus
Sales: 3X Platinum between these albums
After the controversial Taylor Swift incident, Kanye West went off to Hawaii in an attempt to recluse himself and get back to what he does best: make music. The result was My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, an album that earned the coveted five mics in The Source and holds up as a candidate for greatest rap album ever. Since then he has given us Watch the Throne and Yeezus and with Swish rumored later this year, Kanye West shows no signs of slowing down.
Drake
Album(s): Thank Me Later, Take Care, Nothing Was the Same, If Youre Reading This Its Too Late*
Sales: 3X Platinum between these albums
By the time Drake’s debut album Thank Me Later had been released, his mixtape So Far Gone and a handful of singles had already propelled him to stardom. The new face of Young Money took the world by storm in the blink of an eye. He proved to be more than a fad with consistent releases living up to the high standards he had established early on in his career. Both Take Care and later Nothing Was the Same aided and pushed forward the ascent of Aubrey Graham. Then there was the controversial out-of-nowhere drop of If Youre Reading This Its Too Late, which both cemented his status and placed his relationship with Young Money firmly into question.
Kendrick Lamar
Album(s): Section.80, good kid, m.A.A.d. city, *To Pimp A Butterfly
Sales: 1X Platinum between these albums
Has there ever been a more beloved album to appear at number 113 on the billboard charts then Section.80 in 2011. This was the first major warning sounded to the Hip Hop world that it’s top notch was under siege by an undersized emcee from Compton who had wordplay and cadence that seemed superhuman. Kendrick Lamar would formally take his crown with good kid, m.A.A.d city the following year, and flex on his throne with his viral earth-shattering verse on Big Sean’s “Control.”
Nicki Minaj
Album(s): Pink Friday, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, *The Pinkprint
Sales: 2X Platinum between these albums
Nicki Minaj was able to sell lots of albums and was a popular culture staple first with Pink Friday and later with The Pinkprint. Couple this with some of the greatest guest verses of the aughts, yes she out-rapped everyone on “Monster,” and you have a formidable resume. Coupled with labelmate Drake they were able to carry the banner for Young Money into a second decade-long after the heyday of Birdman and Wayne.
Honorable Mention: Killer Mike & El-P (Run the Jewels), Tech N9ne
Killer Mike & El-P never managed to become friends of the mainstream but R.A.P. Music, produced by El-P, birthed the best Hip Hop tandem since OutKast and two classic albums in Run the Jewels and Run The Jewels 2 which have cultivated a cult following. The last five years have been paramount for Tech, as he’s placed a stranglehold on the independent lane that he dominates. He’s also worked with everyone from the likes of Andre 3 stacks to Eminem and has continued to push Strange Music into the minds of a mainstream audience while keeping his core fanbase happy. He tours relentlessly and in places others dare not tread like Milwaukee, Lansing, and Duluth.
No Jcole Wow
Cole World!
FUCK J COLE
Nikki Minaj nigga please these site is a fucken joke
Nicki Minaj is almost completely pop. J Cole should have been on her place in this list. Then the list would have been legit. I am not even a J Cole fan, but he has pushed large numbers with good lyrical hip hop albums. He even outsold Kanye with Born SInner.
Cole deserves to be on this list.
Nicki Minaj also outsold Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy with her first album. She has also been able to attain success in an industry dominated by males so I think she deserves a spot, even though I am not a fan at all I just have to give props…
hhdx were so close to nailing a reasonable top 5 then came Nicki…..RTJ over her all day
j cole
J. Cole isn’t on the list????……yall internet bloggers be so disrespectful lol.
Who would he replace? He’s honorable mention, at best. DX nailed this one on the nose.
He could either replace Kanye or Nicki.
eminem 4 million with recovery
eminem 2.5 million with marshall mathers lp2
wtf pura mierda esta pagina de cagada
BETWEEN MARSHALL MATHERS LP 2 AND RECOVERY, EMINEM 6X PLATINUM
Bruh, you know DAMN WELL that Eminem’s album sales don’t equate to actual relevancy in hip-hop anymore. Maybe they did earlier, but those two albums you mentioned are not better than any of the albums from the artists on this list (well, maybe better then Nicki’s albums). Stop being a Stan, Eminem may be 6X platinum during that period, but it’s only because he is still white America’s great white hope so yall will buy everything he puts out whether it’s dope or not
I disagree with you PhillyMu… I don’t think Eminem got to where he is due to his colour but cause of pure skill… The only person I would put up against ’em in that category is kendrick. And that’s cause GKMD was an album of the century. Kanye’s last good album was my dark fantasy, point blank… Drake’s take care was too soft for rap, nothing was the same had just a few hits and lacked any real attention grabber or thriller, and nothing was the same is really him just talking about the money I’m sure he would never offer you… No one’s being a stan… Just calmly pointing out Eminem is the best… I’ll admit he may slip at times like every other artist… But at the end of the day, lyrics, originality, flows and relatability is what determines it all.. Things Eminem has locked down to a T…. And no I ain’t white…. Y’all need to stop playing the race card and accept true skill…
Top 5 of all-time: 1. Drake 2. Nas 3. Big Pun 4. Rakim 5. Ghostface
Lmfao not only did he put Drake in a top 5, he put him as #1. Guarantee he’s younger than 25.
Fuck album sales
1) If Your Reading This Its Too Late and To Pimp a Butterfly came out in 2015. List is 2010-2014. Just Saying.
2)List should be Drake, Cole, Kendrick, and Nicki… Wasn’t big on Yeezus personally and Watch the Throne was a joint album so that’s my reasoning of moving Kanye. Drake, Cole, Kendrick, and Nicki have been the new leaders of the game since 2010 so that’s my opinion.
None these albums or artists rep what real hip hop is. If it’s on the radio or MTV it’s not hip hop. This is terrible pop music for lil teenage girls to twirk too.
so the mmlp2 and recovery went more times platinum than all these albums put together not to mention Bad Meets Evil Ep and ShadyXV yet eminem is not mentioned what is this bullshit