The Greatest East Coast Rappers of All Time

The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Philly… the East Coast ain’t just where hip hop was born, it’s where the legends were made. For decades, this was the epicenter where the illest MCs honed their skills and dropped the kind of heat that changes the game forever.

We talkin’ about the raw stories of Nas, the streetwise flow of Jay-Z, Rakim spittin’ like a prophet, and the mind-bending lyricism of Black Thought. We gotta pay respects to Biggie’s untouchable flow, the politically charged rhymes of Chuck D and KRS-One, and the one-of-a-kind styles of MF DOOM and Q-Tip. This list digs deep into the heart of East Coast hip hop, honoring the icons, the underdogs, the cats still hustlin’ to keep the legacy strong.

The most streamed East Coast Hip Hop artist is The Notorious B.I.G. with 10.09B streams, which includes 9.97B as lead artist and 117.5M from features, followed by 50 Cent (10.47B) and JAY-Z (14.55B).

A top list of East Coast Hip Hop artists in order of streams as lead artist is as follows:

1 The Notorious B.I.G.: Streams as a lead artist: 9.97B; Streams as a featured artist: 117.5M; Most streamed song of all time: Hypnotize with 1.12B streams; Most streamed song today: Hypnotize with 605K daily streams
2 50 Cent: Streams as a lead artist: 7.44B; Streams as a featured artist: 3.04B; Most streamed song of all time: In Da Club with 1.47B streams; Most streamed song today: In Da Club with 928K daily streams
3 JAY-Z: Streams as a lead artist: 6.99B; Streams as a featured artist: 7.56B; Most streamed song of all time: Umbrella with 1.50B streams; Most streamed song today: Umbrella with 941K daily streams
4 A$AP Rocky: Streams as a lead artist: 6.51B; Streams as a featured artist: 2.76B; Most streamed song of all time: Praise The Lord with 1.21B streams; Most streamed song today: Sundress with 1.4M daily streams
5 DMX: Streams as a lead artist: 2.17B; Streams as a featured artist: 196.9M; Most streamed song of all time: X Gon' Give It to Ya with 712.1M streams; Most streamed song today: X Gon' Give It To Ya with 299K daily streams
6 Beastie Boys: Streams as a lead artist: 1.71B; Most streamed song of all time: Sabotage with 395.6M streams; Most streamed song today: Sabotage with 227K daily streams
7 Nas: Streams as a lead artist: 1.57B; Streams as a featured artist: 842.4M; Most streamed song of all time: Rodeo with 305.7M streams; Most streamed song today: N.Y. State of Mind with 185K daily streams
8 Wu-Tang Clan: Streams as a lead artist: 1.51B; Streams as a featured artist: 1.2M; Most streamed song of all time: C.R.E.A.M. with 437.6M streams; Most streamed song today: C.R.E.A.M. with 197K daily streams
9 Fat Joe: Streams as a lead artist: 1.43B; Streams as a featured artist: 255.9M; Most streamed song of all time: What's Luv? with 408.5M streams; Most streamed song today: What's Luv? with 226K daily streams
10 MF DOOM: Streams as a lead artist: 1.32B; Streams as a featured artist: 56.3M; Most streamed song of all time: Rapp Snitch Knishes feat. Mr. Fantastik with 286.0M streams; Most streamed song today: Rapp Snitch Knishes feat. Mr. Fantastik with 316K daily streams
11 A Tribe Called Quest: Streams as a lead artist: 1.28B; Streams as a featured artist: 491K; Most streamed song of all time: Can I Kick It? with 278.9M streams; Most streamed song today: Can I Kick It? with 116K daily streams
12 Run–D.M.C.: Streams as a lead artist: 1.26B; Streams as a featured artist: 1.1M; Most streamed song of all time: Walk This Way with 500.9M streams; Most streamed song today: Walk This Way with 217K daily streams
13 Mobb Deep: Streams as a lead artist: 1.23B; Streams as a featured artist: 141.9M; Most streamed song of all time: Shook Ones, Pt. II with 513.7M streams; Most streamed song today: Shook Ones, Pt. II with 278K daily streams
14 Busta Rhymes: Streams as a lead artist: 1.10B; Streams as a featured artist: 968.6M; Most streamed song of all time: Look At Me Now with 415.8M streams; Most streamed song today: I Know What You Want with 203K daily streams
15 Big Pun: Streams as a lead artist: 897.4M; Streams as a featured artist: 29.4M; Most streamed song of all time: Still Not a Player with 305.5M streams; Most streamed song today: Still Not a Player with 155K daily streams
16 Gang Starr: Streams as a lead artist: 757.9M; Most streamed song of all time: Full Clip with 144.9M streams; Most streamed song today: Work with 70K daily streams
17 Method Man: Streams as a lead artist: 550.1M; Streams as a featured artist: 2.32B; Most streamed song of all time: C.R.E.A.M. with 437.6M streams; Most streamed song today: C.R.E.A.M. with 197K daily streams
18 The Roots: Streams as a lead artist: 514.7M; Most streamed song of all time: You Got Me with 159.1M streams; Most streamed song today: You Got Me with 78K daily streams
19 Mos Def: Streams as a lead artist: 506.3M; Streams as a featured artist: 151.9M; Most streamed song of all time: Ms. Fat Booty with 239.3M streams; Most streamed song today: Ms. Fat Booty with 102K daily streams
20 Naughty by Nature: Streams as a lead artist: 476.3M; Most streamed song of all time: Hip Hop Hooray with 148.9M streams
21 Big L: Streams as a lead artist: 339.6M; Most streamed song of all time: Put It On with 92.2M streams; Most streamed song today: The Enemy with 64K daily streams
22 GZA: Streams as a lead artist: 321.5M; Streams as a featured artist: 591.2M; Most streamed song of all time: Protect Ya Neck with 132.5M streams; Most streamed song today: Protect Ya Neck with 58K daily streams
23 Rakim: Streams as a lead artist: 231.9M; Streams as a featured artist: 6.0M; Most streamed song of all time: When I B On Tha Mic with 93.5M streams; Most streamed song today: When I B On Tha Mic with 45K daily streams
24 Raekwon: Streams as a lead artist: 179.0M; Streams as a featured artist: 2.22B; Most streamed song of all time: C.R.E.A.M. with 437.6M streams; Most streamed song today: C.R.E.A.M. with 197K daily streams
25 Pete Rock: Streams as a lead artist: 170.7M; Streams as a featured artist: 32.1M; Most streamed song of all time: Grown Man Sport with 61.9M streams; Most streamed song today: Grown Man Sport with 32K daily streams
26 Jadakiss: Streams as a lead artist: 151.5M; Streams as a featured artist: 288.4M; Most streamed song of all time: New York with 45.4M streams; Most streamed song today: Why with 7,796.0 daily streams
27 De La Soul: Streams as a lead artist: 151.2M; Streams as a featured artist: 651K; Most streamed song of all time: Rock Co.Kane Flow with 37.7M streams; Most streamed song today: Eye Know with 28K daily streams
28 Ghostface Killah: Streams as a lead artist: 126.8M; Streams as a featured artist: 1.22B; Most streamed song of all time: Protect Ya Neck with 132.5M streams; Most streamed song today: Protect Ya Neck with 58K daily streams
29 Q-Tip: Streams as a lead artist: 125.2M; Streams as a featured artist: 223.7M; Most streamed song of all time: Yah Yah with 73.5M streams; Most streamed song today: Get It Together with 11K daily streams
30 Beanie Sigel: Streams as a lead artist: 71.6M; Streams as a featured artist: 66.3M; Most streamed song of all time: Guess Who's Back with 24.7M streams; Most streamed song today: Feel It In The Air with 12K daily streams
31 Queen Latifah: Streams as a lead artist: 61.4M; Streams as a featured artist: 491K; Most streamed song of all time: U.N.I.T.Y. with 37.3M streams; Most streamed song today: U.N.I.T.Y. with 14K daily streams
32 DJ Premier: Streams as a lead artist: 50.4M; Streams as a featured artist: 359.1M; Most streamed song of all time: Everything I Am with 208.5M streams; Most streamed song today: Everything I Am with 203K daily streams
33 Black Thought: Streams as a lead artist: 40.1M; Streams as a featured artist: 110.2M; Most streamed song of all time: Yah Yah with 73.5M streams; Most streamed song today: Crowns for Kings with 8,094.0 daily streams
34 Kurtis Blow: Streams as a lead artist: 38.0M; Most streamed song of all time: The Breaks with 18.7M streams; Most streamed song today: Basketball with 1,902.0 daily streams
35 Kool Moe Dee: Streams as a lead artist: 20.1M; Most streamed song of all time: Wild Wild West with 6.6M streams; Most streamed song today: How Ya Like Me Now with 1,823.0 daily streams
36 Stetsasonic: Streams as a lead artist: 13.1M; Most streamed song of all time: Talkin' All That Jazz with 6.7M streams; Most streamed song today: Rollin' Wit Rush with 1,159.0 daily streams
37 Inspectah Deck: Streams as a lead artist: 11.3M; Streams as a featured artist: 1.87B; Most streamed song of all time: C.R.E.A.M. with 437.6M streams; Most streamed song today: C.R.E.A.M. with 197K daily streams
38 Schoolly D: Streams as a lead artist: 5.7M; Most streamed song of all time: P.S.K. 'What Does It Mean'? with 2.9M streams; Most streamed song today: P.S.K. 'What Does It Mean'? with 698.0 daily streams
39 Mc Shan: Streams as a lead artist: 3.9M; Most streamed song of all time: The Bridge with 1.9M streams; Most streamed song today: The Bridge with 515.0 daily streams
40 Killah Priest: Streams as a lead artist: 3.0M; Streams as a featured artist: 60.1M; Most streamed song of all time: 4th Chamber with 40.8M streams; Most streamed song today: 4th Chamber with 20K daily streams
41 Grandmaster Melle Mel: Streams as a lead artist: 669K; Most streamed song of all time: White Lines with 104K streams; Most streamed song today: Kickback with 70.0 daily streams