24.2.15

Famous Rappers From New York

By Olivia Cross


The hip hop music industry is filled with talent, but some of the best talent in the rap game rose to the top during the 1990s, when the feud between the West coast and the East coast was rife. The best rappers from New York are now well into their forties, and some of them are no longer living. However, they all had a strong influence in shaping the industry thanks to their experiences and hardships.

Shawn Carter, known to the world as Jay Z, is one of, if not the most successful rap icon today. At forty five years old, Jay Z is still creating music that tops charts around the world, often collaborating with his wife Beyonce, a music industry icon in her own right. Jay Z hails from Brooklyn and paid tribute to his home state in a single entitled 'Empire State Of Mind', in which he collaborated with R&B singer Alicia Keys.

Jay Z has nineteen Grammy awards to his name. He also has the privilege of three albums featured on Rolling Stone's greatest albums of all time list. As well as his music career, Jay Z runs Rocawear clothing line, and is the business mogul for Roc-A-Fella Records and Roc Nation.

Tupac Shakur is legendary in the music industry, particularly when discussing the rivalry between the East coast and West coast in hip hop. A number of publications have named 2pac as one of the greatest artists of all time. His record sales worldwide have landed him a spot as one of the all-time bestselling artists as well.

Tupac Shakur was an incredibly influential rapper. He was born in 1971 in East Harlem. His life ended abruptly in 1996, where he suffered multiple gunshot wounds in a drive by shooting. Many will attest to the conspiracies surrounding his tragic death.

One cannot talk about Tupac Shakur without making mention of hip hop's other influential artist of the same time, Christopher Wallace. Better known as Notorious B. I. G., Biggie Smalls or Biggie, Wallace was raised by his mother in Brooklyn. Jay Z, Busta Rhymes and Biggie all attended the same high school. In 1997, Biggie was shot to death in a drive by shooting, just like Tupac Shakur.

Li'l Kim, Biggie's girlfriend for some time, also comes from Brooklyn. She got her start thanks to Biggie Smalls after giving him a freestyle, which impressed him immediately. After spending a lot of her younger years on the streets, Li'l Kim is the only other female rapper besides Missy Elliott with 3 albums at platinum status.

Sean Combs, who is known by a number of other stage names, is, like Jay Z, a hip hop mogul. He was born in Harlem and spent his childhood in Mount Vernon in New York, NY. Best friends with Biggie, his tribute song to the rapper after his death featuring Biggie's wife Faith Evans landed the top spot on the billboard charts. In 2013, Sean 'Puffy' Combs placed first as hip hop's richest man in Forbes magazine.




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