Queens
Story, bloodline and 11 names
Two Queenses. In Hollis, Run-DMC stripped the disco out and put rock guitars in, and hip hop went platinum. In Queensbridge — the largest public housing project in North America — Marley Marl figured out how to sample a drum hit, and the Juice Crew, then Nas and Mobb Deep, made it the most-quoted six blocks in rap.
- 1973The Bronx
- 1982Queens
TransferHarlem
Hollis kids grew up on Flash and Herc routines traded hand to hand on cassette. Run's older brother had already built Kurtis Blow uptown, so the business was in the house before the records were.
Next stopsLong Island, Brooklyn, New Orleans, Virginia Beach, Chicago and 4 more
14 years old, freestyled the answer record that started rap's first beef cycle.
Jazz loops, Linden Blvd, and the blueprint for every thoughtful rap group since.