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Curated category

East Coast hip-hop groups

  • Eric B. & RakimEric Barrier stood in the basement of a home in Wyandanch, New York. He held a record by Fonda Rae that played "Over Like A Fat Rat".
  • Native TonguesThe Native Tongues took their name from a line in the song African Cry by Motown-offshoot funk group New Birth. That lyric reads took away our native tongues…
  • Wu-Tang ClanIn the late 1980s, cousins Robert Diggs, Gary Grice, and Russell Jones formed a group named Force of the Imperial Master in Staten Island.
  • A Tribe Called QuestIn the St. Albans neighborhood of Queens, New York City, Kamaal Fareed and Malik Taylor grew up as childhood friends before they ever stepped into a…
  • Brand NubianIn 1988, Grand Puba stood in a recording studio at Jazzy Jay Studios. He needed to find new members after his group Masters of Ceremony dissolved.
  • Boogie Down ProductionsThe year 1986 marked the birth of Boogie Down Productions in the South Bronx. KRS-One and DJ Scott La Rock formed the core of this new hip-hop group.
  • Grandmaster Flash and the Furious FiveGrandmaster Flash and the Furious Five formed in 1978 within the South Bronx of New York City. The group began as a trio called the Three MC's featuring…
  • The Sugarhill GangEnglewood, New Jersey, 1979. Sylvia Robinson stood in a recording studio and assembled three men from her hometown into a group.