I think the verbal cosign is damn near meaningless outside of maybe Kanye (because he's a bit uptight by nature), since it's hard for you to discern if someone is being political or legitimately fucks with an artist.
I guess it's hard to say for Em, you're right, but he is so hands-off with things even in the rare chance he does cosign someone that I guess his power might not be that great?
Drake helped Future, J. Cole, French, Rocky, 2 Chainz and more take the next big step in their careers. Drake is pretty much a veteran in this stage of the game. I really do believe he's a tastemaker for his huge following, and not just female fans either.
Jay is obvious. He is very calculated so when he comes out to play, people take notice. He has an illustrious history of this that doesn't need specific examples because he is the most powerful man in hip-hop music.
Ye is a bit strange. I think his cosigns are meaningful and still meaningful post-Swift with artists like Chief Keef, but for some reason I feel like it's more hip-hop savvy people that care who Ye is working with, and because of his broad following, he's a tastemaker outside of and within hip-hop which is unique. For the most part, I think many of his own artists have done pretty well and not really a Diddy/Em record, but he's helped a lot of mainstays today propel themselves further. Think about all the interviewees out there just trying to get any tidbit they can about what it's like to work with Kanye.
