So I think last year or two years ago, Wendy Williams was hosting her iconic Wendy's moments when she argued if Nicki Minaj should be called a legend or not. In fact, it was posted on different blogs and people were arguing for or against her status, with more people being in favour. I mean, the legendary Tank had to ask why she can't be called one. And if you don't know Tank, I would assume Gen Z and move on.
But really, when we say someone is a legend, what metrics or criteria do we use for that measure? Before we delve into that, let us look at the dictionary definition of what or who a legend is.
A legend according to Tara McCarty is one who has changed the course of a genre, transformed musical expression and is said to have influence. A great definition and I stand by this. The Oxford dictionary defined it as an "extremely notorious person in any field" and I have a lot of issues with this definition because that means any Femi or Ekaette can be called a legend because they are popular.
Let us examine some famous people and why we can confidently call them legends. I think this would show you why I go with Tara's definition.
Michael Jackson is known all over the world for the Moonwalk, a very impressive signature move, but also his songs and performances. There is hardly anyone in the dance world now who won't bring up MJ when they want to talk about their inspiration to dance. The likes of Breezy(Chris Brown), P-Square, Ciara and many more name him as a great influence. His albums are still making waves and he is the highest selling artiste in history, dead or alive, selling a billion and more records worldwide and this was the era that streaming and social media weren't dictators.
His performances are legendary for the casualties that just cannot handle being in his presence. He is Beyonce's biggest influence when it comes to music and performances. He used his pltform to speak on messages people didn't want to and is even famous for having fans conduct vigils at his hotel rooms whenever he was on tour or in any city. He was so great that he had to have armies as bodyguards when he went to some countries because he was just that great.
Trust me, when you say legend, the late Michael Jackson is the very definition.
Now let us talk about Cardi B, a stripper and reality star turned rapper who is famous for her shoe throwing, fighting, not writing Raps, gangsterism, WAP and her famous beef with Nicki Minaj, I hope you can see that she is definitely not a legend as your dictionary definition would put it.
Being a legend requires influence, longevity, substance, breaking barriers and she clearly is not in that league.
Being popular does not make you a legend because anyone can become one(Ice Spice the "munch" lady)
For clarification, these are legends
Beyonce
Jay Z
Kanye West
James Brown
Elvis Presley
Eminem
Dr Dre
MI
Sunny Ade
Sina Peters
FELA
Banky W
Philip Emeagwali
Tuface
P-Square
Maya Angelou
Oprah Winfrey
John Hagen
Bishop David Oyedepo
Bishop E. A. Adeboye
And these are not legends but just popular
Megan thee Stallion
Saweetie
Pop Smoke
Iggy Azalea
Rema
Oxlade
Blaqbonez
So you could argue or not but this is certainly what I think about or who I remember when I think about Legends
.
Who don't you agree with on this list? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I AM LEGEND!!!
ByQueensley Okon•1 play
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I do accept tips for my written and vocal litanies
At the end of the month, we give out prizes in 3 categories: Best Content, Top Engagers and
Most Engaged Content.
Best Content
Top Engagers
Most Engaged Content
Best Content
We give out cash prizes to 7 people with the best insights in the past month. The 7 winners are picked
by an in-house selection process.
The winners are NOT picked from the leaderboards/rankings, we choose winners based on the quality, originality
and insightfulness of their content.
Here are a few other things to know for the Best Content track
1
Quality over Quantity — You stand a higher chance of winning by publishing a few really good insights across the entire month,
rather than a lot of low-quality, spammy posts.
2
Share original, authentic, and engaging content that clearly reflects your voice, thoughts, and opinions.
3
Avoid using AI to generate content—use it instead to correct grammar, improve flow, enhance structure, and boost clarity.
4
Explore audio content—high-quality audio insights can significantly boost your chances of standing out.
5
Use eye-catching cover images—if your content doesn't attract attention, it's less likely to be read or engaged with.
6
Share your content in your social circles to build engagement around it.
Top Engagers
For the Top Engagers Track, we award the top 3 people who engage the most with other user's content via
comments.
The winners are picked using the "Top Monthly Engagers" tab on the rankings page.
Most Engaged Content
The Most Engaged Content recognizes users whose content received the most engagement during the month.
We pick the top 3.
The winners are picked using the "Top Monthly Contributors" tab on the rankings page.
Contributor Rankings
The Rankings/Leaderboard shows the Top 20 contributors and engagers on TwoCents a monthly and all-time basis
— as well as the most active colleges (users attending/that attended those colleges)
The all-time contributors ranking is based on the Contributor Score, which is a measure of all the engagement and exposure a contributor's content receives.
The monthly contributors ranking tracks performance of a user's insights for the current month. The monthly and all-time scores are calcuated DIFFERENTLY.
This page also shows the top engagers on an all-time & monthly basis.
All-time Contributors
All-time Engagers
Top Monthly Contributors
Top Monthly Engagers
Most Active Colleges
Contributor Score
The all-time ranking is based on users' Contributor Score, which is a measure of all
the engagement and exposure a contributor's content receives.
Here is a list of metrics that are used to calcuate your contributor score, arranged from
the metric with the highest weighting, to the one with the lowest weighting.
1
Subscriptions received
2
Tips received
3
Comments (excluding replies)
4
Upvotes
5
Views
6
Number of insights published
Engagement Score
The All-time Engagers ranking is based on a user's Engagement Score — a measure of how much a
user engages with other users' content via comments and upvotes.
Here is a list of metrics that are used to calcuate the Engagement Score, arranged from
the metric with the highest weighting, to the one with the lowest weighting.
1
A user's comments (excluding replies & said user's comments on their own content)
2
A user's upvotes
Monthly Score
The Top Monthly Contributors ranking is a monthly metric indicating how users respond to your posts, not just how many you publish.
We look at three main things:
1
How strong your best post is —
Your highest-scoring post this month carries the most weight. One great post can take you far.
2
How consistent the engagement you receive is —
We also look at the average score of all your posts. If your work keeps getting good reactions, you get a boost.
3
How consistent the engagement you receive is —
Posting more helps — but only a little.
Extra posts give a small bonus that grows slowly, so quality always matters more than quantity.
In simple terms:
A great post beats many ignored posts
Consistently engaging posts beat one lucky hit
Spamming low-engagement posts won't help
Tips, comments, and upvotes from others matter most
This ranking is designed to reward
Thoughtful, high-quality posts
Real engagement from the community
Consistency over time — without punishing you for posting again
The Top Monthly Contributors leaderboard reflects what truly resonates, not just who posts the most.
Top Monthly Engagers
The Top Monthly Engagers ranking tracks the most active engagers on a monthly basis
Here is what we look at
1
A user's monthly comments (excluding replies & said user's comments on their own content)
2
A user's monthly upvotes
Most Active Colleges
The Most Active Colleges ranking is a list of the most active contributors on TwoCents, grouped by the
colleges/universities they attend(ed)
Here is what we look at
1
All insights posted by contributors that attended a particular school (at both undergraduate or postgraduate levels)
2
All comments posted by contributors that attended a particular school (at both undergraduate or postgraduate levels) —
excluding replies
Below is a list of badges on TwoCents and their designations.
Comments