This Rap Map Shows All Of NYC’s Hip Hop Artists By Borough

Nora Barnicle • May 13, 2016

Biggie Smalls, Lil Kim, A Tribe Called Quest, Run-D.M.C., Busta Rhymes… if you’ve ever been in a bar when “Empire State of Mind” has come on, you know without a doubt that hip-hop is one of this city’s most celebrated cultural exports.

From Wu-Tang’s “C.R.E.A.M.” to The Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn,” it’s pretty hard to not embrace our hip-hop legacy.

Artists at Very Small Array have mapped out where all the biggest names lived long enough to claim turf in and around the five boroughs. Everyone knows that Diddy hails from Harlem and that Biggie repped Bed-Stuy through and through, but can you spot any Queens or Bronx names you didn’t know about?

Cue the essential NYC hip-hop playlist. Starting with…

Featured cover image: Very Small Array
Video via: Youtube/Notorious B.I.G.