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Hip Hop And Rap

New York, from hardcore to Def Jam

Beastie Boys

The Beastie Boys came out of the Young Aborigines, a New York City hardcore punk band formed in 1979. In 1981 Michael Diamond, John Berry and Kate Schellenbach started playing as the Beastie Boys with Adam Yauch, and Adam Horovitz replaced Berry in 1982. Their DJ, Rick Rubin, co-founded Def Jam and signed them. Licensed to Ill (1986) was the first rap album to hit number 1 on the Billboard 200. Paul's Boutique, produced by the Dust Brothers, followed in 1989. For Check Your Head in 1992 the trio picked up their instruments again, and Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and To the 5 Boroughs all went to number 1. Yauch died of cancer in May 2012, aged 47, and the group disbanded.

Born in London, masked in New York

MF DOOM

MF DOOM was born Daniel Dumile in Hounslow, London, in 1971 and grew up in Long Beach, New York. As Zev Love X he formed KMD in 1988 with his younger brother DJ Subroc, and they released Mr. Hood on Elektra in 1991. In 1993 Subroc was struck by a car and killed. Elektra dropped the group and shelved Black Bastards until 2000. Dumile turned up again at open mics at the Nuyorican Poets Café with his face covered. As the masked MF DOOM he released Operation: Doomsday in 1999, then Madvillainy with Madlib, Mm..Food, and The Mouse and the Mask with Danger Mouse, plus records as Viktor Vaughn. Refused re-entry to the US in 2010, he settled in Britain, and he died in Leeds on October 31, 2020.

The Bronx, Ultramagnetic MCs, 1984

Kool Keith

Kool Keith was born Keith Matthew Thornton in New York City on October 7, 1963. In 1984 he founded the Bronx group Ultramagnetic MCs with Ced Gee, TR Love and Moe Love, and their 1988 album Critical Beatdown, on Next Plateau, became a new school classic. Going solo, he reinvented himself as Dr. Octagon for Dr. Octagonecologyst in 1996, produced by Dan the Automator and Kutmasta Kurt, with scratching by DJ Qbert. Sex Style followed in 1997. Then, both in 1999, came First Come, First Served as Dr. Dooom and Black Elvis/Lost in Space, his only major-label album. By 2012 he had at least 58 alter egos. He has kept recording since, from the Dr. Octagon reunion Moosebumps in 2018 to Karpenters in 2025.

Chicago, formerly Common Sense

Common

Common was born Lonnie Rashid Lynn in Chicago on March 13, 1972. He debuted as Common Sense with Can I Borrow a Dollar? in 1992. Resurrection, in 1994, got him wider acclaim and also a lawsuit from a reggae band with the same name, which forced him to shorten it. Signed to MCA, he made Like Water for Chocolate in 2000, executive produced by Questlove with major contributions from J Dilla. Be, produced almost entirely by Kanye West, came out in 2005, and Finding Forever debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2007. He won an Academy Award with John Legend for a song from Selma. In 2024 he released The Auditorium Vol. 1 with Pete Rock.

Staten Island, nine MCs, 1992

Wu-Tang Clan

Wu-Tang Clan came together on Staten Island, New York City, in late 1992 under producer RZA. His rap roots went back to a 1981 group with his cousins GZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard. The name came from the kung fu film Shaolin and Wu Tang, and the nine original members drew on martial-arts cinema, Five-Percent Nation teachings and comic books. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) came out on Loud/RCA in November 1993. Their deal let members negotiate solo contracts with other labels, and solo albums started arriving in 1994, Method Man's Tical among them. Wu-Tang Forever debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in 1997. Ol' Dirty Bastard died in November 2004, and a farewell tour wrapped up in Philadelphia in July 2025.

Oxnard, the man of many aliases

Madlib

Madlib was born Otis Lee Jackson Jr. in Oxnard, California, in 1973. He sampled his first record at 11, from his father's collection, and his younger brother is the producer Oh No. His father released Psyche Move, a 1995 EP by Madlib's group Lootpack, and it caught the ear of Peanut Butter Wolf, who signed them to Stones Throw in 1998. After that the aliases and partnerships piled up: Quasimoto on The Unseen in 2000, the imaginary jazz band Yesterdays New Quintet, Jaylib with J Dilla, and Madvillain with MF DOOM, whose Madvillainy topped a lot of critics' year-end lists in 2004. Piñata and Bandana with Freddie Gibbs came later. In January 2025 the Los Angeles wildfires destroyed his home, and decades of music and equipment with it.

Butterfly, Doodlebug and Ladybug

Digable Planets

Digable Planets formed in Philadelphia in 1987 with Seattle-born Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, Philadelphia native Craig "Doodlebug" Irving and Mariana "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira, from Silver Spring, Maryland. Butler produced their debut, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space), released on Pendulum/Elektra in February 1993. It leaned heavily on jazz samples, reached number 15 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold, and its lead single won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1994. Blowout Comb followed in October 1994. In early 1995 the trio broke up, citing creative differences. They reunited to tour in 2005 and again in 2016, while Butler went on to form Shabazz Palaces.

Queens, Native Tongues, 1985

A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985 around Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White. In 1988 the Jungle Brothers, schoolmates of Q-Tip and Muhammad, came up with their name, and that year Tribe co-founded the Native Tongues collective. People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm came out in 1990, The Low End Theory in 1991 and Midnight Marauders in 1993. The Love Movement, in 1998, was announced as their last. Phife Dawg died of complications of diabetes in March 2016. That same year We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted them in 2024.

The Collection