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New York and the East Coast · Uptown Manhattan · since 1979

1979
East Coast
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Harlem

Uptown Manhattan
Uptown flash · disco rap · flossing
Ride the roster1:40
Story, bloodline and 6 names

Uptown got to the record deal first. Kurtis Blow became the first rapper signed to a major label, and the neighborhood set hip hop's enduring relationship with style, hustle and being seen. Forty years later Dipset and A$AP Mob are still working that same seam.

Bloodline · 1 stop from The Bronx
  1. 1973The Bronx
  2. 1979Harlem

Uptown heard the Bronx park tapes, then got to the record deal first: Kurtis Blow was managed by a Queens college kid named Russell Simmons working the same party circuit.

Next stopsQueens, Philadelphia, Virginia Beach

Rush ManagementThe DiplomatsA$AP Mob
Roster
1979
Kurtis Blow

First rapper signed to a major; first certified gold rap single.

YTW
1984
Doug E. Fresh

The Human Beat Box — the mouth as a drum machine.

YTW
1993
Big L

The sharpest punchline writer of the 90s, killed on 139th at 24.

YTW
2001
Cam'ron & The Diplomats

Pink mink, non-sequitur flow, an aesthetic the internet is still quoting.

YTW
2001
Immortal Techniquedeep cut

Fully independent, unsigned, uncompromising political rap.

YTW
2011
A$AP Rocky

Harlem kid who rapped Houston-screwed and dressed like a Paris show.

YTW

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