Who Really Belongs on the Mount Rushmore of R&B? It’s Time We Have the Real Conversation
Every so often, social media gifts us a conversation so loud it echoes through group chats, comment sections, and barbershops alike. The latest? A fresh wave of AI-generated images carving out a Mount Rushmore of R&B — complete with the familiar faces of Chris Brown, Usher, R. Kelly, and Michael Jackson. It was meant to be a harmless nod to greatness. What it sparked instead was a necessary and overdue conversation about how we define, gatekeep, and honor Black music history. Because truthfully — are we even having the right conversation? The Mount Rushmore Obsession The Mount Rushmore concept is pop culture’s favorite shortcut for naming the “greatest of all time.” It borrows from the iconic American monument where four presidents’ faces are etched in stone, immortalized for generations to see. In Black culture, we’ve adopted it as a quick way to settle debates about rap, sports, comedy, and of course — R&B. But if there’s one thing this R&B debate reveal...
