He was the only rapper who performed at the concert for new york a month after 9/11, he's got more number one albums than everybody in history except the Beatles.

When it comes down to it, I guess it's how you interpret the question. To me, nobody else has really hit those "heights" if we're talking about mainstream exposure in pop culture. Other rappers/groups has definitely had higher peaks within the hip-hop community (see: 50 in 2003), but I thought the question was who has reached the highest highs overall, and to me, you have to have Jay in the discussion...