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.
A Top 50 countdown of most popular East Coast Hip Hop artists in order of streams on Spotify as lead artist is as follows:
- 50DJ Premier
- Streams as a lead artist: 89.4M
- Streams as a featured artist: 431.0M
- Most streamed song of all time by DJ Premier: Everything I Am with 234.9M streams
- 49Smif-N-Wessun
- Streams as a lead artist: 95.0M
- Streams as a featured artist: 21.4M
- Most streamed song of all time by Smif-N-Wessun: Wreckonize with 30.1M streams
- 48The Sugarhill Gang
- Streams as a lead artist: 109.9M
- Streams as a featured artist: 146K
- Most streamed song of all time by The Sugarhill Gang: Rapper's Delight with 42.8M streams
- 47Masta Ace
- Streams as a lead artist: 121.2M
- Streams as a featured artist: 2.8M
- Most streamed song of all time by Masta Ace: Da Grind with 16.5M streams
- 46Das EFX
- Streams as a lead artist: 122.5M
- Streams as a featured artist: 272.0M
- Most streamed song of all time by Das EFX: Check Yo Self with 269.9M streams
- 45Queen Latifah
- Streams as a lead artist: 129.8M
- Streams as a featured artist: 4.6M
- Most streamed song of all time by Queen Latifah: U.N.I.T.Y. with 39.1M streams
- 44Beanie Sigel
- Streams as a lead artist: 130.0M
- Streams as a featured artist: 162.4M
- Most streamed song of all time by Beanie Sigel: Feel It In The Air with 25.9M streams
- 43Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
- Streams as a lead artist: 142.2M
- Most streamed song of all time by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth: They Reminisce Over You with 85.4M streams
- 42Styles P
- Streams as a lead artist: 143.2M
- Streams as a featured artist: 194.2M
- Most streamed song of all time by Styles P: Good Times with 81.9M streams
- 41Onyx
- Streams as a lead artist: 151.7M
- Streams as a featured artist: 8.2M
- Most streamed song of all time by Onyx: Slam with 74.0M streams
- 40Biz Markie
- Streams as a lead artist: 184.7M
- Streams as a featured artist: 14.9M
- Most streamed song of all time by Biz Markie: Just a Friend with 156.6M streams
- 39Black Star
- Streams as a lead artist: 186.7M
- Streams as a featured artist: 4.9M
- Most streamed song of all time by Black Star: Definition with 55.8M streams
- 38EPMD
- Streams as a lead artist: 188.6M
- Streams as a featured artist: 24.3M
- Most streamed song of all time by EPMD: Da Joint with 82.7M streams
- 37Q-Tip
- Streams as a lead artist: 197.8M
- Streams as a featured artist: 250.3M
- Most streamed song of all time by Q-Tip: Yah Yah with 74.1M streams
- 36Slick Rick
- Streams as a lead artist: 255.3M
- Streams as a featured artist: 28.4M
- Most streamed song of all time by Slick Rick: Children's Story with 78.3M streams
- 35Ghostface Killah
- Streams as a lead artist: 298.1M
- Streams as a featured artist: 1.35B
- Most streamed song of all time by Ghostface Killah: Protect Ya Neck with 135.2M streams
- 34De La Soul
- Streams as a lead artist: 315.6M
- Streams as a featured artist: 1.0M
- Most streamed song of all time by De La Soul: Rock Co.Kane Flow with 40.4M streams
- 33Immortal Technique
- Streams as a lead artist: 325.8M
- Streams as a featured artist: 6.4M
- Most streamed song of all time by Immortal Technique: Dance With The Devil with 83.8M streams
- 32Raekwon
- Streams as a lead artist: 331.8M
- Streams as a featured artist: 3.52B
- Most streamed song of all time by Raekwon: C.R.E.A.M. with 465.2M streams
- 31Pete Rock
- Streams as a lead artist: 335.5M
- Streams as a featured artist: 45.6M
- Most streamed song of all time by Pete Rock: They Reminisce Over You with 85.1M streams
- 30Jadakiss
- Streams as a lead artist: 338.8M
- Streams as a featured artist: 715.2M
- Most streamed song of all time by Jadakiss: Don't Like.1 with 225.7M streams
- 29GZA
- Streams as a lead artist: 382.9M
- Streams as a featured artist: 672.6M
- Most streamed song of all time by GZA: Protect Ya Neck with 135.2M streams
- 28Big L
- Streams as a lead artist: 435.2M
- Streams as a featured artist: 34.9M
- Most streamed song of all time by Big L: Put It On with 99.2M streams
- 27Cam'ron
- Streams as a lead artist: 462.1M
- Streams as a featured artist: 174.7M
- Most streamed song of all time by Cam'ron: Hey Ma with 187.2M streams
- 26Lil' Kim
- Streams as a lead artist: 464.9M
- Streams as a featured artist: 367.7M
- Most streamed song of all time by Lil' Kim: Quiet Storm with 72.0M streams
- 25Public Enemy
- Streams as a lead artist: 501.7M
- Most streamed song of all time by Public Enemy: Harder Than You Think with 104.6M streams
- 24Rakim
- Streams as a lead artist: 514.0M
- Streams as a featured artist: 18.1M
- Most streamed song of all time by Rakim: When I B On Tha Mic with 99.1M streams
- 23Mos Def
- Streams as a lead artist: 619.5M
- Streams as a featured artist: 181.1M
- Most streamed song of all time by Mos Def: Ms. Fat Booty with 252.8M streams
- 22Naughty by Nature
- Streams as a lead artist: 658.3M
- Most streamed song of all time by Naughty by Nature: Hip Hop Hooray with 163.6M streams
- 21Ol' Dirty Bastard
- Streams as a lead artist: 705.9M
- Streams as a featured artist: 645.5M
- Most streamed song of all time by Ol' Dirty Bastard: Got Your Money with 181.7M streams
- 20LL Cool J
- Streams as a lead artist: 883.1M
- Streams as a featured artist: 222.1M
- Most streamed song of all time by LL Cool J: All I Have with 130.0M streams
- 19The Roots
- Streams as a lead artist: 883.6M
- Streams as a featured artist: 146K
- Most streamed song of all time by The Roots: You Got Me with 169.2M streams
- 18Method Man
- Streams as a lead artist: 975.2M
- Streams as a featured artist: 3.40B
- Most streamed song of all time by Method Man: C.R.E.A.M. with 465.2M streams
- 17Big Pun
- Streams as a lead artist: 978.0M
- Streams as a featured artist: 38.4M
- Most streamed song of all time by Big Pun: Still Not a Player with 332.9M streams
- 16Gang Starr
- Streams as a lead artist: 986.8M
- Most streamed song of all time by Gang Starr: Full Clip with 153.6M streams
- 15Run–D.M.C.
- Streams as a lead artist: 1.47B
- Streams as a featured artist: 1.1M
- Most streamed song of all time by Run–D.M.C.: Walk This Way with 532.6M streams
- 14Mobb Deep
- Streams as a lead artist: 1.52B
- Streams as a featured artist: 300.1M
- Most streamed song of all time by Mobb Deep: Shook Ones, Pt. II with 551.5M streams
- 13Fat Joe
- Streams as a lead artist: 1.70B
- Streams as a featured artist: 392.2M
- Most streamed song of all time by Fat Joe: What's Luv? with 438.3M streams
- 12Busta Rhymes
- Streams as a lead artist: 1.75B
- Streams as a featured artist: 1.32B
- Most streamed song of all time by Busta Rhymes: Look At Me Now with 433.6M streams
- 11Ja Rule
- Streams as a lead artist: 1.79B
- Streams as a featured artist: 560.1M
- Most streamed song of all time by Ja Rule: Always On Time with 444.0M streams
- 10A Tribe Called Quest
- Streams as a lead artist: 2.14B
- Streams as a featured artist: 4.0M
- Most streamed song of all time by A Tribe Called Quest: Can I Kick It? with 296.2M streams
- 9MF DOOM
- Streams as a lead artist: 2.21B
- Streams as a featured artist: 238.5M
- Most streamed song of all time by MF DOOM: Rapp Snitch Knishes with 325.5M streams
- 8DMX
- Streams as a lead artist: 2.77B
- Streams as a featured artist: 443.5M
- Most streamed song of all time by DMX: X Gon' Give It to Ya with 755.2M streams
- 7Beastie Boys
- Streams as a lead artist: 3.06B
- Streams as a featured artist: 161K
- Most streamed song of all time by Beastie Boys: Sabotage with 425.7M streams
- 6Nas
- Streams as a lead artist: 3.33B
- Streams as a featured artist: 1.06B
- Most streamed song of all time by Nas: Rodeo with 311.3M streams
- 5Wu-Tang Clan
- Streams as a lead artist: 3.58B
- Streams as a featured artist: 72.6M
- Most streamed song of all time by Wu-Tang Clan: C.R.E.A.M. with 465.2M streams
- 4A$AP Rocky
- Streams as a lead artist: 9.88B
- Streams as a featured artist: 4.14B
- Most streamed song of all time by A$AP Rocky: Praise The Lord with 1.31B streams
- 3The Notorious B.I.G.
- Streams as a lead artist: 12.26B
- Streams as a featured artist: 447.3M
- Most streamed song of all time by The Notorious B.I.G.: Hypnotize with 1.21B streams
- 250 Cent
- Streams as a lead artist: 12.43B
- Streams as a featured artist: 4.41B
- Most streamed song of all time by 50 Cent: In Da Club with 1.60B streams
- 1JAY-Z
- Streams as a lead artist: 12.92B
- Streams as a featured artist: 9.00B
- Most streamed song of all time by JAY-Z: Umbrella with 1.64B streams