Top 20 New York rappers of the current generation to watch out for
New York has given the world some of the greatest and most famous musicians of all time -talk of Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, Tupac Shakur, and 50 Cents, to name a few. However, times have changed, and a younger generation is coming up. So, who are these new rappers? And are there any new upcoming New York rappers who will fit the shoe of their predecessors?
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New York City has been considered the home for most iconic hip-hop artists and rappers, with old school New York rappers dominating the genre for years. So, who is the best rapper? In this article, we explore those names that make up the list of New York rappers.
Top 20 New York rappers now
Who is the best rapper in New York? The question of the best rapper in New York is debatable. While it may not have a conclusive answer, some may argue that old school rappers make better rappers as compared to new age rappers. However, both ages have an equal chance of making the list. Note that this list is in no particular order.
1. Nicki Minaj
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Profile summary
| Active | 2004 - Present |
| Born | 8 December 1982 |
| Genre | Hip-hop |
| Also known as | Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty |
When you talk about female New York rappers, Nicki should cross your mind. Since her debut in 2004, Nicki has made a remarkable contribution to New York's rap world.
With four studio albums, one compilation album, 123 singles, three mix tapes and 20 promotional singles, Nicki has received 596 nominations and 322 Award wins, among them being American Music Awards, BET Awards, and Billboard Women in Music, among others. Nicki Minaj is the most-awarded artist with seven wins and twelve nominations.
2. Asap Rocky
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Profile summary
| Active | 2007 - Present |
| Born | 3 October 1988 |
| Genre | Hip-hop, trap |
| Also known as | Rakim Athelaston Mayers |
Asap did not come to play. He is among the few whose studio albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. He has won several awards and received a couple of nominations. Rocky is also a producer and director. He directs his music videos and produces records under the pseudonym Lord Flacko.
3. Pop Smoke
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Profile summary
| Active | 2017 - 2020 |
| Born | 20 July 1999 |
| Died | 19 February 2020 |
| Genre | Hip-hop, Brooklyn drill |
| Also known as | Bashar Barakah Jackson |
With a career that lasted barely two years, Pop Smoke is one of the young New York rappers that died at an early age. He began his musical career in late 2018, gaining popularity in 2019 and finally met his death in 2020. His second mixtape made it to number seven on the Billboard 200. He died twelve days after its release.
4. Cardi B
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Profile summary
| Active | 2015 - Present |
| Born | 11 October 1992 |
| Genre | Hip-hop |
| Also known as | Belcalis Almánzar-Cephus |
Is Cardi B the best female New York rapper yet? She has won multiple awards in and out of musical accolades. The WAP hitmaker released her first studio album in 2018, and it debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. She became the first and only woman to win the Grammy award for Best Rap Album as a solo artist and the second female rap album nominated for Album of the year.
Her other accolades include a Grammys Award, fourteen BET Hip hop Awards, six American Music Awards, Six Guinness World Records, eight Billboard Music Awards and two ASCAP Songwriter of the year awards. In 2018, Time magazine had her on its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world and Billboard as Woman of the year in 2020. In other words, she is among the best female rappers right now.
5. French Montana
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Profile summary
| Active | 2002 - Present |
| Born | 9 November 1984 |
| Genre | Hip-hop |
| Also known as | Karim Kharbouch |
French Montana is one of the underground New York rappers who has survived the industry. He debuted as a teen battle rapper under the name Young French, where he released a series of street DVDs drawing inspiration from the Smack DVD series, which was popular then. He has since released French Revolution Vol 1, his debut studio album Excuse my French and Jungle rules which got to number 3 on the Billboard 200.
6. Lil Tecca
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Profile summary
| Active | 2017 - Present |
| Born | 26 August 2002 |
| Genre | Hip Hop |
| Also known as | Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe |
He is one of the young New York rappers to make it with their first single debut. He has two mixtapes and a successful album, with all his singles debuting among the top on the US Billboard chart.
7. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
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Profile summary
| Active | 2015 - Present |
| Born | 6 December 1995 |
| Genre | Hip hop, trap, R&B |
| Also known as | Artist Julius Dubose, A Boogie |
Artist Julius Dubose's rap journey began in 2015 but didn't take off too well due to a lack of expertise. His songs lacked good rhythm and flow. He worked with a trainer, and after getting his techniques right, he released his first full-length project in 2016, which earned him a position on the Forbes list of up-and-coming rappers. He has since then released four studio albums, two mixed tapes, 33 music videos, four extended playlists and 49 singles.
8. Lil Tjay
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Profile summary
| Active | 2017 - Present |
| Born | 30 April 2001 |
| Genre | Hip-hop, Trap, drill |
| Also known as | Tione Jayden Merritt |
Tione is one of the promising upcoming New York rappers with about five years of being in the industry as of 2023. He has so far released two studio albums, three extended plays and forty singles. He has been nominated for Favourite hip hop song, Brit Awards, Hollywood Music in Media Awards and iHeartRadio Music Awards.
He has had Billboard features, with his best performing being Calling My Phone, a collaboration with Atlanta singer 6lack, which debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
9. Sleepy Hallow
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Profile summary
| Active | 2017- Present |
| Born | 20 December 1999 |
| Genre | Hip hop, Brooklyn drill, Emo rap |
| Also known as | Tegan Joshua Anthony Chambers |
Chambers had his first breakthrough in 2018 with the single Flows. Later, in 2021, his single '2055' peaked at 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the highest charting song.
10. Fivio Foreign
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Profile summary
| Active | 2011 - Present |
| Born | 29 March 1990 |
| Genre | Hip-hop, Brooklyn drill |
| Also known as | Maxie Lee Ryles III, Lite Fivio, Fivie |
Though he has been in the industry since 2011, Fivio Foreign rose to fame in 2019 with his single Big Drip. In 2020, he featured on Drake's song Demons, his first Billboard Hot 100 at number 34. He then collaborated with Lil Tjay and Pop Smoke on Zoo York, which was 65 on the Hot 100.
Towards the end of 2021, he featured on Kanye West's single Off the Grid, which peaked at number 11 on the Hot 100 and gave him further recognition. Fivio released his debut album BIBLE on 8 April 2022.
11. Nas
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Profile summary
| Active | 1991- Present |
| Born | 14 September 1973 |
| Genres | Hip-hop |
| Also known as | Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones |
Since his debut album in 1994, Nasir has been a constant in the music industry. After thirteen nominations, he won his first Grammys Award for best Rap Album at the 63rd Annual Grammys Award in 2020. Later that year, he released his 13th studio album. His latest album was released in 2022.
12. Sheff G
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Profile summary
| Active | 2017 - Present |
| Born | 23 September 1998 |
| Genres | Hip hop, Brooklyn drill |
| Also known as | Michael Kyle Williams |
Having been influenced by Chicago Drill rappers Chief Keef, Lil Bibby and G Herbo, Michael Kyle Williams produced his 2017 single No Suburban, which went viral, and he got credited as one of the pioneers of the Brooklyn Drill movement.
13. Dave East
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Profile summary
| Active | 2009 - Present |
| Born | 3 June 1988 |
| Genre | Hip-hop |
| Also known as | David Lawrence Brewster Jr. |
Dave East gained attention in 2014 when Nas signed him. He has had his mixtapes feature in the top 40 on the US Billboard 200 multiple times.
14. Asap Ferg
Profile summary
| Active | 2007 - Present |
| Born | 20 October 1988 |
| Style | Hip-hop, Trap |
| Also known as | Darold Durard Brown Ferguson Jr |
Some of Ferg's released are Trap Lord, Always Strive and Prosper, Still Striving, Floor Seats and Floor Seats II. He has been nominated for Video Director of the Year and won Rookie of the Year BET Hip Hop Awards in 2013.
15. Joey B
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Profile summary
| Active | 2010 - Present |
| Born | 20 January 1995 |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Also known as | Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott, JayOhVee, Jozif Badmon |
Joey has released three studio albums, two extended plays, three mixed tapes, 24 singles and 46 guest appearances.
16. Young M.A
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Profile summary
| Active | 2011 - Present |
| Born | 3 April 1992 |
| Genre | Hip-hop |
| Also known as | Katorah Kasanova Marrero |
The release of her hit single "Ooouuu" gained her recognition and peaked top 20 on The Billboard Hot 100. She was nominated for BET and MTV Artist of the year and Female Hip-Hop Artist of the year awards. In 2018, she was featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30.
17. Teyana Taylor
Profile summary
| Active | 2005- present |
| Born | 10 December 1990 |
| Genre | Hip-hop, R&B, Pop |
| Also known as | Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert , Spike Tee |
Taylor has won and had nominations for several musical awards, of which she has won three, the most recent being in 2020 under the BET Awards.
18. Sheck Wes
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| Active | 2017 - Present |
| Born | 10 September 1998 |
| Genre | Hip-hop |
| Also known as | Khadimou Rassoul Cheikh Fall |
Wes was born to his Senegalese parents in Harlem and was raised in a Muslim household. He started his musical career at age eleven but only gained popularity in 2018 with his song Mo Bamba. He has since remained at the forefront of Harlem's rap scene.Wes has worked closely with Travis Scott and Kanye West.
19. Ron Suno
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Profile summary
| Active | 2019 - Present |
| Born | 3 August 2000 |
| Genre | Hip-hop, drill |
| Also known as | Keron Joel Foriest |
The release of the hit song and video "Pinnochio", was the highlight of his musical career. The song got 15 million views on TikTok, over 9 million on YouTube with about 6 million plays on Spotify. In 2020, Suno released a single, "Spider-Man" featuring New York rapper Fivio Foreign.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who are the best old school New York rappers of all time? 50 Cent, Method Man, The Notorious B.I.G., L.L. Cool J, JayZ, D.M.X.,
- Who is the best rapper in New York 2022? In 2022, the best rappers were Nicki Minaj, Cardi B and Pop smoke.
- Who are the top 10 New York rappers of all time? JayZ, 50 Cent, The Notorious B.I.G, Busta Rhymes, Nas, Diddy, D.M.X., Ja Rule, Fat Joe, and Lil' Kim are not in a particular order.
- Who are the top 5 rappers in America? The most famous rappers in America, according to YouGovAmerica, are Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Eminem, JayZ and Icecube.
- Who are the underground New York rappers 90s? Underground Rappers in the 1990s include 50 Cent, Tupac Shakur, G.Z.A., and Nas, among others.
- Who are NY rappers who died young? Some of the big names who died young include Tupac Shakur (25), The Notorious BIG (24), Pop Smoke (20), Take Off (28).
The above-featured best New York rappers have managed to keep our lives entertained with just a press of a button, so when next the conversation of Hip hop rappers' kings and queens comes on, be sure to borrow a leaf, if not the whole tree, from the article above.
Yen.com.gh has published a list of the best female rappers who have battled their way to the top. They have changed the narrative and laid grounds for more female artists to come out and practice their talents.
Get to know these women, who they are, their contribution to the music industry and the songs produced.
Source: YEN.com.gh
