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.

A Top 50 countdown of most popular East Coast Hip Hop artists in order of streams on Spotify as lead artist is as follows:

50 DJ 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
49 Smif-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
48 The 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
47 Masta 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
46 Das 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
45 Queen 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
44 Beanie 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
43 Pete 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
42 Styles 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
41 Onyx: 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
40 Biz 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
39 Black 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
38 EPMD: 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
37 Q-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
36 Slick 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
35 Ghostface 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
34 De 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
33 Immortal 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
32 Raekwon: 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
31 Pete 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
30 Jadakiss: 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
29 GZA: 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
28 Big 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
27 Cam'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
26 Lil' 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
25 Public 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
24 Rakim: 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
23 Mos 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
22 Naughty 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
21 Ol' 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
20 LL 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
19 The 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
18 Method 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
17 Big 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
16 Gang Starr: Streams as a lead artist: 986.8M; Most streamed song of all time by Gang Starr: Full Clip with 153.6M streams
15 Run–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
14 Mobb 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
13 Fat 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
12 Busta 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
11 Ja 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
10 A 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
9 MF 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
8 DMX: 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
7 Beastie 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
6 Nas: 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
5 Wu-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
4 A$AP Rocky: Streams as a lead artist: 9.88B; Streams as a featured artist: 4.14B; Most streamed song of all time by A$AP Rocky: Praise The Lord with 1.31B streams
3 The 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
2 50 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
1 JAY-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