Image via Complex Original/Warren Cochrane
It’s a question that has been igniting arguments for decades. Who is the King of New York?
Twenty-five years after heated discussions about artists like JAY-Z, Nas, and Biggie broke out across the five boroughs and beyond, the debate continues today. A new generation of artists are jockeying to wear the crown in the city that birthed rap. And, as we head into the summer of 2020, the conversation is wide open. There is no unanimously agreed-upon King, but there are plenty of contenders.
Gassed up by his record-breaking return from incarceration, 6ix9ine is claiming the throne is his because he’s putting up bigger numbers than anyone else, but many argue that, when he testified against his former Nine Trey members, he lost the credibility and respect required to be a true king. Meanwhile, Bronx artists like A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Lil Tjay have leaned into a melodic style, and built massive followings in the process. In Brooklyn, there are plenty of drill rappers, like Fivio Foreign and Sheff G, who are also eyeing the throne. And you can’t count out veteran artists like JAY-Z, Nicki Minaj, ASAP Rocky, and Cardi B, who have put in years of work to establish themselves as fixtures in New York rap.
So, as we near the midway point of 2020, who runs New York? And what does this say about the current state of rap in the city? Does the throne still matter at all? Members of the Complex editorial staff were asked each of these three questions. Their answers are below. Let the debate begin.
Who is the current King of New York?
Eric Skelton, deputy music editor
Pop Smoke is still the King of New York, until someone else takes the crown. To sit on the throne, your music needs to be inescapable, and three months after his death, Pop Smoke’s music is still blasting from car speakers and apartment buildings in every corner of New York. 6ix9ine is putting up ungodly numbers online right now, but he doesn’t come close to having the amount of respect that Pop Smoke has in actual New York neighborhoods. Can you really be the king if people are embarrassed to play your music outside? I’ve heard “Dior” and “Welcome to the Party” outside the doors of my Brooklyn apartment four times today. I haven’t heard one person play “Gooba” in New York since it dropped. Before his tragic death, Pop Smoke was the leader of a movement (drill) that had become the new sound of the city. He captured the gritty, fearless spirit that has existed in New York for decades and updated it for a new generation, bringing a sense of pride and excitement to Brooklyn that hadn’t been felt in years. For that, he deserves to hold the crown until a worthy heir takes it. Other young artists like A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Lil Tjay, Fivio Foreign, and Sheff G are making noise, but until any of them match the energy that Pop Smoke brought to New York last summer, the crown will stay in Canarsie.
Jessica McKinney, staff writer
JAY-Z. The King of New York should be an artist who has made a substantial amount of material (including current releases), a commercially successful body of work, and an undeniable influence on music and culture. Hov checks off each box. He has a musical catalog that spans decades; his discography continuously charts on Billboard; and his influence over rappers—both rookies and veterans alike—is indisputable. Some might say JAY-Z isn’t putting numbers on the board right now, or “artist A” and “artist B” are more popular at the moment, but Hov’s impact has never been about achieving viral moments online. He’s been playing an influential role in the New York rap landscape for years—sometimes without even having to be seen. That’s the type of power only a king possesses.
Angel Diaz, editorial producer
I wrote about this in 2015 and really couldn’t come to a conclusion. I mentioned Nicki, Rocky, French, Jigga, Ka, and Roc Marci. I don’t think we would be having this conversation if Pop Smoke didn’t pass. He was well on his way to laying claim to an absent throne. Westside Gunn has proclaimed himself King, even if he’s not from the five boroughs. Is his proclamation less valid, even if he’s helping push a sound revitalized by Marci and Ka at the start of this past decade? Roc Marciano is the Godfather of the bleak, yet soulful east coast street production that has been brought back into the conversation after laying dormant and stale in the mid-2000s, but can he claim the title without the commercial success that Nas, Big, and JAY had? Do Cardi and Nicki lay claim due to their massive success? I honestly don’t think we’re any closer than we were in 2015, which isn’t a necessarily a bad thing. The Brooklyn drill scene, along with Griselda, Ka, Roc Marciano, A$AP (don’t sleep on Twelvyy), Nicki, and Cardi has things in a good place. NYC finally has a plethora of sounds and players, like it once did during the ’90s and early 2000s.
Frazier Tharpe, senior editor
The throne is empty. There’s a power vacuum in the city and we’re in the midst of a pivotal transition period that will determine New York’s future, not unlike ’97-98.
Edwin Ortiz, news director
JAY-Z. Lyrically, he’s still one of the best, with the legendary Brooklyn MC staying relevant more than 30 years after his debut, which is a rarity in the rap game. Legacy and rap skills are complemented by the fact that Hov is still performing at a high rate. If we’re looking at the last three years or so—because recency does play a factor in gauging King of New York rights—his 2017 album 4:44 could be considered the best hip-hop album from a New York rapper during that period, a time that also includes his standout verses across Jay Electronica’s A Written Testimony and a lauded collaborative project with Beyoncé. If we’re looking at the last 10 years, 4:44 still stands as one of the best hip-hop releases, New York or not. And if we’re keeping it New York-centric, 4:44 arguably comes behind only Watch the Throne. What a surprise. Music sales and Billboard hits are coming in at a slower clip than at his peak (for what it’s worth, JAY also hasn’t really made a concerted effort to appeal to commercial success in recent times, outside of the Magna Carta Holy Grail x Samsung marketing moment), and his direct impact on the new crop of rappers may not be as widespread as when the Kanyes, Drakes, and Kendricks were coming up, but his overall presence is still felt in New York and beyond. So, he’s making better music than his New York contemporaries, he’s still good for a platinum plaque or two, and he’s got the heart of the city.
Shawn Setaro, associate editor
Steven Victor. The seemingly obvious choice for King of New York, Pop Smoke, is sadly no longer in the running after his murder. So, instead, it makes sense to give the title to someone who is in the process of turning Pop Smoke from a talented-but-far-from-fully-formed rapper into an icon by overseeing documentaries and posthumous albums. I wouldn't be surprised if Victor, in the process of popularizing his artist, also does a lot for the Brooklyn rap scene as a whole—certainly far more than any individual artist. In fact, he has already started: he has signed the major producers in the subgenre to his new label, and he told us that he’s actively searching for the next breakout drill rap star.
Jacob Moore, founder and GM of Pigeons & Planes
I don’t think it makes sense to call anyone the King of New York right now. Pop Smoke had the breakthrough hits, the love from his city, powerful momentum, and such a bright future, but he’s gone. 6ix9ine has the attention, but he’s playing the role of the bad guy in an apocalypse movie. I’m not sure how many people are actually fans, versus following along for entertainment. There are others like A Boogie and Lil Tjay who have the impact and the numbers, but they don’t dominate the conversation outside of a young audience. And then there’s JAY-Z, and I’m not sure if he cares much about the King of New York title at this stage in his life and career. The reason this King of New York thing has become such a hot topic is because it always leads to an argument, and that’s because there’s no great answer. Whoever you pick, there’s a hole in your argument.
Donnie Kwak, GM of Complex
I’m going to cheat here and give a few answers: The King of New York Emeritus is Hov, still. The King of New York, based on the usual criteria—level of respect and frequency of rotation—is Pop Smoke (R.I.P.). But if our candidate pool is limited to active, living rappers, then the current King of New York is... ABG Neal. Sike, it’s 6ix9ine.
Lucas Wisenthal, director of content development
It’s not a question of who the King of New York is. It’s who it should have been. And that’s Pop Smoke. That fact crystallized for me as I listened to State of Emergency, the project Lil Tjay dropped last week. The EP reaches its apex on its second track, the regrettably titled “Zoo York,” which features both Pop and a rapper indebted to him, Fivio Foreign. Tjay sings the hook and his own verse, while Fivio delivers serviceable bars punctuated by his standard ad-libs. And then, with a little more than a minute to go, Pop commandeers the song. “Got 52 shots in this Glock, bet a n***a won’t let up,” he raps in his baritone. “XD young n***a totin’ Beretta.” Pop’s presence on any song is hard to overstate. “You hear some little-ass kid with a light-ass voice,” he said in his interview with Complex—the last one he ever gave. “But then, when you hear the lion roar, it’s like, ‘Whoa!’” The 20-year-old’s life was cut down before he could release an indisputable classic. But he rapped with enough authority to prove he would have. And he was among the architects of a sound that reenergized a city—a fact to which a walk through almost any outer-borough neighborhood will attest. So the throne is vacant, but if you live here, this much should be clear to you: Pop Smoke would have occupied it.
What does this say about New York rap right now?
Eric Skelton
(Selection: Pop Smoke) New York rap is in a transitional period. In the absence of Pop Smoke, the Brooklyn drill scene is without a true leader who could viably claim the throne. And the city’s biggest stars—veteran artists like JAY-Z—aren’t active enough in 2020 to be obvious contenders. Unless 6ix9ine figures out how to travel back in time and gains the respect he needs in order to properly assume the title, we can also ignore his claims, no matter how many King of New York billboards he buys or Instagram likes he gets. The crown is up for grabs right now, which means we can look forward to healthy competition among an exciting new crop of rappers. I can’t wait to see guys like Sheff G, Lil Tjay, and Fivio Foreign duke it out in the years to come. Don’t count out A Boogie, either. As soon as he’s comfortable actually saying it, he could conceivably claim the title, too.
Jessica McKinney
(Selection: JAY-Z) New York rap is always evolving, and there are emerging artists who have made waves in a short amount of time, but none of them have been able to hold on to their reign long enough, whether that be due to legal issues, loss of interest from fans, or untimely death. So, to say a 50-year-old rapper—who hasn’t put out a project in three years—is the King of New York, means that New York rap is still grasping for its next big moment.
Angel Diaz
(Selection: empty throne) New York rap is in a great space, because the king could be anybody at any given moment.
Frazier Tharpe
(Selection: empty throne) In 1997, we saw a king’s untimely demise, as his reign was just entering its imperial phase. This year saw an emergent leader’s ascension tragically cut short. Pop Smoke’s coronation was more or less confirmed; he was already in the midst of completing the jump from hometown hero to household name. Now, as his cohort Fivio Foreign takes the baton, the field is wide open. Is Lil Tjay one crossover hit away from taking it? Is it waiting for Bobby Shmurda? Someone else we’re not even considering with the weight that we should be? Or is it someone who hasn't even blown yet but is in the lab focused and waiting?
Edwin Ortiz
(Selection: JAY-Z) Five years ago, Complex’s Angel Diaz penned a piece that asked the question, Who’s Running New York Rap? In 2020, the answer still feels less definitive than in past eras. At 50, JAY-Z may wear the crown, but he’s surrounded by a number of thriving rappers who could make the claim and not be far off. Cardi B’s cultural impact and commercial success (including every song on her debut album Invasion of Privacy going at least platinum) makes her a top contender. Nicki Minaj and ASAP Rocky are still in the conversation, even if their most recent material hasn’t been on par with their earlier work. And A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie—who told Everyday Struggle he’s “almost there”—has grown into one the more consistent acts from New York.
Shawn Setaro
(Selection: Steven Victor) Choosing someone who’s not a rapper is a not-entirely-serious way of commenting that there is no unifying force in the city—a reflection of not only hip-hop, but pop culture as a whole. Everyone is microtargeted, and there are a million subcultures, each seemingly with its own streaming service. We’re past the days of arguing, “Who’s the best MC: Biggie, JAY-Z, or Nas?” And while you could (and some people surely will) make a strong case for the two remaining parts of that holy trinity, both of them do so much outside of hip-hop (and release music so infrequently in today's always-on culture) that they seem to be playing a different game entirely than the likes of A Boogie or 6ix9ine.
Jacob Moore
(Selection: empty throne) New York rap is all over the place, as it often is. You’ve got the aggressive drill, the melodic YouTube hits, the respected lyricists, the left-field experimentalists, and a million variations all happening at once and generating varying degrees of hype at different moments. I enjoy eras in music where artists from a city all get along, work together, and build a cohesive, lasting sound for their hometown, but it doesn’t always play out like that, and that’s fine, too. It definitely keeps things interesting.
Donnie Kwak
(Selection: JAY-Z, Pop Smoke, 6ix9ine) The throne is up for grabs. You could say that indicates a dearth of viable contenders, which is true. But, without a clear frontrunner and a burgeoning Brooklyn drill scene, competition for the crown could intensify in the coming months. We are in the age of parity in New York rap; dynasties are dead.
Lucas Wisenthal
(Selection: Pop Smoke) Until Pop Smoke, Fivio Foreign, Sheff G, and a handful of others surfaced, New York didn’t have a definitive contemporary sound. It’s been years—arguably more than a decade—since JAY-Z or Nas released anything that would reinsert them into the conversation. A Boogie has hits, but he’s not present enough to hold the title. No one not named Pop Smoke—alive or dead—has been able to rally the city behind a sound and movement in more than 15 years. That there’s no other choice says everything you need to know about New York rap right now.
What meaning does the ‘King of New York’ title hold in 2020?
Eric Skelton
The title is still important. Rap has evolved a lot since it first bubbled up from the streets of this city decades ago, but the King of New York crown still holds a lot of weight—even among the youngest generation. Why else would 6ix9ine be so fixated on it? If it didn’t matter, why would A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Lil Tjay be beefing over it? Why would you be reading this far into an article about the King of New York if it lost all significance? It might not hold the level of prestige it had in past decades, but it still means something to become the hottest rapper in the five boroughs. The majority of rap media is still located here, as well as many of the most important labels. If you’re the King of New York, you’re going to get more attention than rappers in other cities. We saw that with Pop Smoke, when “Welcome to the Party” became inescapable in Brooklyn last summer and the rest of the world started paying attention. And we’ll see it again when the heir to the throne emerges.
Jessica McKinney
The title doesn’t hold as much weight as it did, say 10 years ago. Everyone can call themselves King—even artists who have nothing to do with the city. It’s a label you claim when you want to stir up controversy or draw extra attention to yourself. It sounds nice, but a club that everyone can claim isn’t all that appealing.
Angel Diaz
It doesn’t mean what it used to, but that can change. It almost did before Pop was taken away from us.
Frazier Tharpe
The definition and bonafides haven't changed: the King of New York has to be successful, a reputable contender for dominance in the genre overall, but whose sound and image is endemic to the city—bonus points for leading the city on a new sonic wave (i.e. Pop and drill). The king has to be a credible leader, someone who garners enough respect to organize a posse cut like “Reservoir Dogs.” You can’t get the title without the respect of the city, which someone like Tekashi doesn’t have—it’s an elected position by force of will, but not so feudal as to the point of literally none of your peers taking the claim seriously. If no one condones your antics, you’re king of nothing. The King of New York is not just the most popular rapper out of New York. That rules out Tekashi. It also, with all due respect, kind of rules out a Cardi B, who quickly attained a pop crossover—but she’s such a true Bronx girl that she credibly could campaign for the title if she really wanted to? (Does she, is the question.) There’s an age factor, too. JAY-Z left local politics long ago. What’s a king to a God? I’d love to see the A$AP Mob re-cohere and reclaim their 2011 energy, but they too might have gone too international. Does anyone even want to be the King of New York anymore, or are 2020s crop already thinking globally?
Edwin Ortiz
In the past, you could argue being the King of New York pretty much meant you were also the top act in rap, period. That no longer is the case as New York’s overall dominance in the game has waned. A snapshot of this can be seen through Complex’s Best Rapper Alive list. Below is a breakdown of rapper selections from the state of New York by decade (10 wins and 30 honorable mentions for a max total of 40 selections):
1980s: 36 (10 wins, 26 honorable mentions)
1990s: 25 (6 wins, 19 honorable mentions)
2000s: 14 (3 wins, 11 honorable mentions)
2010s: 7 (1 win, 6 honorable mentions)
While it’s lost some of its importance, the title will continue to hold significance as long as New York rappers keep striving for the crown (and have the work to back it up).
Shawn Setaro
The rap marketplace is so big and fragmented now that I don’t expect to see someone with the universal respect and excitement of Big/Nas/Jay in their mid-to-late ’90s prime to appear for a while. Instead, it makes sense to acknowledge that the kingmakers, the people with the power and vision to create stars, have become the true kings of the realm.
Jacob Moore
It doesn’t have a lot of meaning, in my opinion. Anyone can call themselves the King of New York, but it holds a lot more weight when everybody else agrees.
Donnie Kwak
The head that wears the crown is uneasier than ever. The ’90s Kings were Biggie, Nas, and JAY-Z, two of whom survived to enjoy long music careers and successful afterlives as businessmen. Back then, King of New York was primarily a rap title, a designation bestowed on the rapper who commanded the airwaves in hip-hop’s most important city. In this era, the title is more fraught, and more connected to the streets. The last three Kings of New York were Bobby Shmurda, Pop Smoke, and 6ix9ine—each had his reign cut short for reasons outside of music. These days the King is a moving target—for police and for enemies, industry and otherwise. 6ix9ine is back, and Shmurda comes home in December; we’ll see if either of them can sustain a run at the top. Actually, let me scrap my original answer. The King of New York is Cardi B.
Lucas Wisenthal
It means more than it did in 2019 and less than it did in 1999, when the South exploded. Still, when was the last time a 19-year-old—someone to whom Enta da Stage may not exist—could spur any kind of debate by crowning himself king? Owning that title won’t put you in the Best Rapper Alive conversation, but it holds weight again.
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