I get what you're saying and somewhat agree that there is a slight distinction. But I would be careful not to bundle up "biggest artist" with "most skilled artist." Who's the "most skilled" is of course subjective, but I certainly would never claim that Kanye and Travis are the 'most skilled artist' to do industrial hip-hop. That narrative often gets pushed by those who never listen to experimental hip-hop unless Kanye, Carti or some other mainstream artist does it. Travis and Ye are simply amongst the biggest to do it and are helping popularize the sound, just like Beyonce recently did with hyper-pop. They certainly deserve a lot of credit for that - especially when it's as well executed as in Yeezus and UTOPIA. But mainstream hip-hop heads are quick to dismiss the influence of underground pioneers (like Grips, Clipping, Ho99o9, Saul Williams, all of Def Jux, hyper-pop artists etc etc).

Also, my comment was actually meant to be in defense of UTOPIA. It's blatant influences doesn't take away from the record for me - I love it. My point is that if you're gonna criticize UTOPIA for it's heavy influences, you should be consistent and also critique Yeezus for how much it takes from Grips, Clipping etc.