Hip-hop is how old now? Over 40 years old? I think it’s time we start speaking of the genre in terms of decades at this point when it comes to impact, imo.
What Em was doing when he came out wasn’t the same as LL, Rakim, and the rest. Just like when Jeezy and Gucci hit the scene with trap music which was a byproduct of crunk music. And now all this crap today is a byproduct of trap music.
So Em didn’t have more or less impact than the OGs. He was a product of the time. He didn’t change the culture, he just help the genre expand to a much larger demographic of people. That’s what Def Jam was trying to do when they was crossing over with DMC and Aerosmith. They just didn’t hire a white boy on their label. But Dre did. Lol.