Debating Who Belongs on Hip-Hop’s Mt. Rushmore

(Note: Not my top 4, just some crappy Photoshop I'm re-using from a related story.)

Today's President's Day, which means I'm stuck in front of a computer working (the rap interwebs doesn't give a fuck about U.S. history) and you're probably sitting at home killing time with the day off from school/work. So what better time to launch into a ridiculously complicated, undoubtedly contentious debate? Namely, who belongs on Hip-Hop's Mt. Rushmore?

First some ground rules so this doesn't turn into a completely meandering commenting clusterfuck:

1) Just like the real Mt. Rushmore, there are only four slots available.

2) Most importantly, these are NOT the four best rappers. These are the four people who were the most instrumental in making hip-hop what it is today. If these people didn't exist, hip-hop would look, sound and operate completely differently.

For example, obviously Tupac was one of, if not the, greatest rapper of all-time. But did he have as big of an influence on west coast hip-hop, and by extension hip-hop in general, as Dr. Dre? And, as much as it pains me to write this, could the same could be said of Biggie vs. Diddy?

Maybe, maybe not. Hence the heated debate.

3) After we've collectively exhausted ourselves, I'll take the four most popular/well debated answers and create the official Hip-Hop Mt. Rushmore for RefinedHype Nation.

On a closing note, I'm making a strong opening push for two people. First, DJ Kool Herc. He may not be as famous, but as much as this could be said of any one person, the man invented hip-hop. If Herc hadn't been spinning those South Bronx house parties back in the '70s, none of this would exist. In other words, he's the George Washington of hip-hop.

And second, Def Jam founder Russell Simmons. Although huge points go to the often overlooked Rick Rubin, Simmons was the first to prove that hip-hop could be a commercially successful music on the level of rock and pop, forcing a music industry determined to treat hip-hop as a fad to recognize it as a legitimate force.

I'm open to someone laying down an argument that knocks one of those two guys out of the top four, but it's going to be pretty fucking hard to convince me. And on that note, let's get to it.......