Ok...it's obvious that there is a gap in eras due to age differences. I think we can separate the MCs by "In the beginning", late '70s and '80s"..."The big bang!", all '90s ..."The new school", 2000 to now.
I myself am more familiar with the 2 first ones, as i've kinda lost contact with my information sources for what's happening now...unless they are older MCs from back in the day still kickin it
And i think the prior quote of "Gangstarr, KRS, Tribe, ..." as not being rap/Hip Hop, was misunderstood and misread. I believe he tried to say that THEY represent the culture the most and to the fullest. My observation...