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:
- 50Big Daddy Kane
- Streams as a lead artist: 86.8M
- Streams as a featured artist: 17.1M
- Most streamed song of all time by Big Daddy Kane: Ain't No Half-Steppin' with 23.3M streams
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- 49Smif-N-Wessun
- Streams as a lead artist: 93.0M
- Streams as a featured artist: 20.9M
- Most streamed song of all time by Smif-N-Wessun: Wreckonize with 29.5M streams
- 48The Sugarhill Gang
- Streams as a lead artist: 107.5M
- Streams as a featured artist: 72K
- Most streamed song of all time by The Sugarhill Gang: Rapper's Delight with 41.7M streams
- 47Masta Ace
- Streams as a lead artist: 118.9M
- Streams as a featured artist: 3.8M
- Most streamed song of all time by Masta Ace: Da Grind with 16.3M streams
- 46Das EFX
- Streams as a lead artist: 120.4M
- Streams as a featured artist: 264.4M
- Most streamed song of all time by Das EFX: Check Yo Self with 262.1M streams
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- 45Queen Latifah
- Streams as a lead artist: 126.0M
- Streams as a featured artist: 4.4M
- Most streamed song of all time by Queen Latifah: U.N.I.T.Y. with 38.3M streams
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- 44Beanie Sigel
- Streams as a lead artist: 128.4M
- Streams as a featured artist: 161.2M
- Most streamed song of all time by Beanie Sigel: Feel It In The Air with 25.2M streams
- 43Styles P
- Streams as a lead artist: 141.1M
- Streams as a featured artist: 192.1M
- Most streamed song of all time by Styles P: Good Times with 80.4M streams
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- 42Onyx
- Streams as a lead artist: 147.3M
- Streams as a featured artist: 8.2M
- Most streamed song of all time by Onyx: Slam with 72.2M streams
- 41Biz Markie
- Streams as a lead artist: 181.1M
- Streams as a featured artist: 10.4M
- Most streamed song of all time by Biz Markie: Just a Friend with 153.5M streams
- 40Black Star
- Streams as a lead artist: 182.7M
- Streams as a featured artist: 4.6M
- Most streamed song of all time by Black Star: Definition with 54.8M streams
- 39EPMD
- Streams as a lead artist: 184.7M
- Streams as a featured artist: 24.0M
- Most streamed song of all time by EPMD: Da Joint with 81.0M streams
- 38Q-Tip
- Streams as a lead artist: 195.2M
- Streams as a featured artist: 247.6M
- Most streamed song of all time by Q-Tip: Yah Yah with 74.1M streams
- 37Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
- Streams as a lead artist: 222.4M
- Most streamed song of all time by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth: They Reminisce Over You with 83.4M streams
- 36Slick Rick
- Streams as a lead artist: 250.5M
- Streams as a featured artist: 28.0M
- Most streamed song of all time by Slick Rick: Children's Story with 76.6M streams
- 35Ghostface Killah
- Streams as a lead artist: 293.6M
- Streams as a featured artist: 1.33B
- Most streamed song of all time by Ghostface Killah: Protect Ya Neck with 135.2M streams
- 34De La Soul
- Streams as a lead artist: 303.5M
- Streams as a featured artist: 1.0M
- Most streamed song of all time by De La Soul: Rock Co.Kane Flow with 39.1M streams
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- 33Immortal Technique
- Streams as a lead artist: 317.4M
- Streams as a featured artist: 6.3M
- Most streamed song of all time by Immortal Technique: Dance With The Devil with 79.5M streams
- 32Raekwon
- Streams as a lead artist: 327.9M
- Streams as a featured artist: 3.50B
- Most streamed song of all time by Raekwon: C.R.E.A.M. with 451.8M streams
- 31Pete Rock
- Streams as a lead artist: 329.9M
- Streams as a featured artist: 43.2M
- Most streamed song of all time by Pete Rock: They Reminisce Over You with 83.2M streams
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- 30Jadakiss
- Streams as a lead artist: 335.8M
- Streams as a featured artist: 711.5M
- Most streamed song of all time by Jadakiss: Don't Like.1 with 225.7M streams
- 29GZA
- Streams as a lead artist: 374.0M
- Streams as a featured artist: 667.3M
- Most streamed song of all time by GZA: Protect Ya Neck with 135.2M streams
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- 28Big L
- Streams as a lead artist: 403.3M
- Streams as a featured artist: 31.5M
- Most streamed song of all time by Big L: Put It On with 95.7M streams
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- 27Cam'ron
- Streams as a lead artist: 451.0M
- Streams as a featured artist: 174.3M
- Most streamed song of all time by Cam'ron: Hey Ma with 182.7M streams
- 26Lil' Kim
- Streams as a lead artist: 457.8M
- Streams as a featured artist: 363.8M
- Most streamed song of all time by Lil' Kim: Quiet Storm with 70.6M streams
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- 25Public Enemy
- Streams as a lead artist: 485.4M
- Most streamed song of all time by Public Enemy: Harder Than You Think with 100.9M streams
- 24Rakim
- Streams as a lead artist: 507.3M
- Streams as a featured artist: 18.1M
- Most streamed song of all time by Rakim: When I B On Tha Mic with 96.5M streams
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- 23Mos Def
- Streams as a lead artist: 607.1M
- Streams as a featured artist: 181.0M
- Most streamed song of all time by Mos Def: Ms. Fat Booty with 246.7M streams
- 22Naughty by Nature
- Streams as a lead artist: 635.5M
- Most streamed song of all time by Naughty by Nature: Hip Hop Hooray with 156.6M streams
- 21Ol' Dirty Bastard
- Streams as a lead artist: 692.8M
- Streams as a featured artist: 640.8M
- Most streamed song of all time by Ol' Dirty Bastard: Got Your Money with 177.0M streams
- 20LL Cool J
- Streams as a lead artist: 850.4M
- Streams as a featured artist: 220.2M
- Most streamed song of all time by LL Cool J: All I Have with 130.0M streams
- 19The Roots
- Streams as a lead artist: 867.9M
- Streams as a featured artist: 146K
- Most streamed song of all time by The Roots: You Got Me with 164.3M streams
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- 18Big Pun
- Streams as a lead artist: 952.3M
- Streams as a featured artist: 37.9M
- Most streamed song of all time by Big Pun: Still Not a Player with 316.9M streams
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- 17Gang Starr
- Streams as a lead artist: 954.8M
- Most streamed song of all time by Gang Starr: Full Clip with 149.1M streams
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- 16Method Man
- Streams as a lead artist: 961.6M
- Streams as a featured artist: 3.37B
- Most streamed song of all time by Method Man: C.R.E.A.M. with 451.8M streams
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- 15Run–D.M.C.
- Streams as a lead artist: 1.43B
- Streams as a featured artist: 1.1M
- Most streamed song of all time by Run–D.M.C.: Walk This Way with 516.9M streams
- 14Mobb Deep
- Streams as a lead artist: 1.48B
- Streams as a featured artist: 293.7M
- Most streamed song of all time by Mobb Deep: Shook Ones, Pt. II with 533.0M streams
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- 13Fat Joe
- Streams as a lead artist: 1.69B
- Streams as a featured artist: 377.3M
- Most streamed song of all time by Fat Joe: What's Luv? with 424.2M streams
- 12Busta Rhymes
- Streams as a lead artist: 1.72B
- Streams as a featured artist: 1.31B
- Most streamed song of all time by Busta Rhymes: Look At Me Now with 424.9M streams
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- 11Ja Rule
- Streams as a lead artist: 1.74B
- Streams as a featured artist: 543.5M
- Most streamed song of all time by Ja Rule: Always On Time with 430.1M streams
- 10MF DOOM
- Streams as a lead artist: 1.77B
- Streams as a featured artist: 237.1M
- Most streamed song of all time by MF DOOM: Rapp Snitch Knishes feat. Mr. Fantastik with 305.7M streams
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- 9A Tribe Called Quest
- Streams as a lead artist: 2.09B
- Streams as a featured artist: 3.8M
- Most streamed song of all time by A Tribe Called Quest: Can I Kick It? with 288.0M streams
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- 8DMX
- Streams as a lead artist: 2.70B
- Streams as a featured artist: 439.6M
- Most streamed song of all time by DMX: X Gon' Give It to Ya with 733.3M streams
- 7Beastie Boys
- Streams as a lead artist: 2.99B
- Streams as a featured artist: 149K
- Most streamed song of all time by Beastie Boys: Sabotage with 411.9M streams
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- 6Nas
- Streams as a lead artist: 3.27B
- Streams as a featured artist: 1.05B
- Most streamed song of all time by Nas: Rodeo with 308.5M streams
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- 5Wu-Tang Clan
- Streams as a lead artist: 3.98B
- Streams as a featured artist: 69.7M
- Most streamed song of all time by Wu-Tang Clan: C.R.E.A.M. with 451.8M streams
- 4A$AP Rocky
- Streams as a lead artist: 9.32B
- Streams as a featured artist: 4.06B
- Most streamed song of all time by A$AP Rocky: Praise The Lord with 1.24B streams
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- 350 Cent
- Streams as a lead artist: 12.03B
- Streams as a featured artist: 4.32B
- Most streamed song of all time by 50 Cent: In Da Club with 1.54B streams
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- 2The Notorious B.I.G.
- Streams as a lead artist: 12.05B
- Streams as a featured artist: 440.8M
- Most streamed song of all time by The Notorious B.I.G.: Hypnotize with 1.17B streams
- 1JAY-Z
- Streams as a lead artist: 12.66B
- Streams as a featured artist: 8.83B
- Most streamed song of all time by JAY-Z: Umbrella with 1.57B streams
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