The Ultimate New York Rap Mix: One Song From Every Rapper on Complex's Top 50 List (2026)
Complex resurfaced their 50 Best New York Rappers of All Time list this week, and the response was predictable: Azealia Banks told them to get defunded, Jadakis...
Complex resurfaced their 50 Best New York Rappers of All Time list this week, and the response was predictable: Azealia Banks told them to get defunded, Jadakiss told Fat Joe he doesn't care about the ranking, and the rest of us argued about it on our phones as soon as it hit xTwitter. The list is imperfect in the way all lists of this kind are engineered to be imperfect enough to drive clicks, but it's also genuinely interesting to think through, and rather than just argue about it, I built a mix.
The concept was simple: one song from each of the 50 artists, my choice. No restrictions on era, album, or format. One song per artist, and we keep it moving.
Some picks were easy, some required a bit of thought. I will be upfront that finding something I actually wanted to hear from A Boogie Wit da Hoodie and Cardi B required more digging than the rest of the list combined and Nicki Minaj gets her slot via the Monster verse, because really nothing she has done since has hit that bar. Also I really wanted to end the mix with NY State of Mind to close things out thematically, but On the Real has always been my favorite Nas track so...
The mix runs about an hour and thirty minutes, let me know in the comments what picks you would have chosen differently!
Tracklist
- GZA The Genius -- Liquid Swords
- Kool Keith -- Livin' Astro
- Mos Def -- Sunshine
- Foxy Brown -- Get Me Home
- ODB -- Shimmy Shimmy Ya
- Brand Nubian -- All for One
- Nicki Minaj -- Monster verse
- Chef Raekwon feat. Ghostface -- Rainy Dayz (Long Remix)
- MC Lyte -- 10 Dis
- Big Punisher feat. Joe -- Still Not a Player
- MF Doom -- Doomsday
- Fat Joe -- Dat Gangsta Shit
- De La Soul -- Me, Myself and I
- KRS-One -- MCs Act Like They Don't Know
- DMX -- Ruff Ryders' Anthem
- French Montana -- Pop That
- Lloyd Banks -- Warrior
- Ja Rule -- Holla Holla
- Jay-Z -- Brooklyn's Finest
- A$AP Rocky -- F**kin' Problems
- Big L -- Ebonics
- Noreaga -- Superthug
- Fabolous -- Breathe
- Q-Tip -- Vivrant Thing
- Method Man -- Bring the Pain
- Big Daddy Kane -- Ain't No Half Steppin'
- Jadakiss -- Checkmate
- Slick Rick -- Children's Story
- Public Enemy -- Fight the Power
- Run-D.M.C. -- Sucker M.C.'s
- Eric B. & Rakim -- I Know You Got Soul
- Mase -- Feel So Good
- Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel -- White Lines
- Cardi B -- Bodak Yellow
- A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie -- Drowning
- Kool Moe Dee -- I Go to Work
- Pop Smoke -- Dior
- 50 Cent -- Ski Mask Way
- LL Cool J -- I'm Bad
- Busta Rhymes -- Woo Hah!! Remix
- Prodigy -- Keep It Thoro
- Ghostface Killah -- Nutmeg
- The Notorious B.I.G. -- Warning
- Lil' Kim -- Queen B*tch
- Biz Markie -- Just a Friend
- Styles P -- Good Times
- Jim Jones -- We Fly High
- Cam'ron -- Oh Boy
- Kool G Rap & DJ Polo -- Ill Street Blues
- Nas -- On the Real
Complex resurfaced their 50 Best New York Rappers of All Time list this week, and the response was predictable: Azealia Banks told them to get defunded, Jadakiss told Fat Joe he doesn't care about the ranking, and the rest of us argued about it on our phones as soon as it hit xTwitter. The list is imperfect in the way all lists of this kind are engineered to be imperfect enough to drive clicks, but it's also genuinely interesting to think through, and rather than just argue about it, I built a mix.
The concept was simple: one song from each of the 50 artists, my choice. No restrictions on era, album, or format. One song per artist, and we keep it moving.
Some picks were easy, some required a bit of thought. I will be upfront that finding something I actually wanted to hear from A Boogie Wit da Hoodie and Cardi B required more digging than the rest of the list combined and Nicki Minaj gets her slot via the Monster verse, because really nothing she has done since has hit that bar. Also I really wanted to end the mix with NY State of Mind to close things out thematically, but On the Real has always been my favorite Nas track so...
The mix runs about an hour and thirty minutes, let me know in the comments what picks you would have chosen differently!
Tracklist
- GZA The Genius -- Liquid Swords
- Kool Keith -- Livin' Astro
- Mos Def -- Sunshine
- Foxy Brown -- Get Me Home
- ODB -- Shimmy Shimmy Ya
- Brand Nubian -- All for One
- Nicki Minaj -- Monster verse
- Chef Raekwon feat. Ghostface -- Rainy Dayz (Long Remix)
- MC Lyte -- 10 Dis
- Big Punisher feat. Joe -- Still Not a Player
- MF Doom -- Doomsday
- Fat Joe -- Dat Gangsta Shit
- De La Soul -- Me, Myself and I
- KRS-One -- MCs Act Like They Don't Know
- DMX -- Ruff Ryders' Anthem
- French Montana -- Pop That
- Lloyd Banks -- Warrior
- Ja Rule -- Holla Holla
- Jay-Z -- Brooklyn's Finest
- A$AP Rocky -- F**kin' Problems
- Big L -- Ebonics
- Noreaga -- Superthug
- Fabolous -- Breathe
- Q-Tip -- Vivrant Thing
- Method Man -- Bring the Pain
- Big Daddy Kane -- Ain't No Half Steppin'
- Jadakiss -- Checkmate
- Slick Rick -- Children's Story
- Public Enemy -- Fight the Power
- Run-D.M.C. -- Sucker M.C.'s
- Eric B. & Rakim -- I Know You Got Soul
- Mase -- Feel So Good
- Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel -- White Lines
- Cardi B -- Bodak Yellow
- A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie -- Drowning
- Kool Moe Dee -- I Go to Work
- Pop Smoke -- Dior
- 50 Cent -- Ski Mask Way
- LL Cool J -- I'm Bad
- Busta Rhymes -- Woo Hah!! Remix
- Prodigy -- Keep It Thoro
- Ghostface Killah -- Nutmeg
- The Notorious B.I.G. -- Warning
- Lil' Kim -- Queen B*tch
- Biz Markie -- Just a Friend
- Styles P -- Good Times
- Jim Jones -- We Fly High
- Cam'ron -- Oh Boy
- Kool G Rap & DJ Polo -- Ill Street Blues
- Nas -- On the Real