Taking on the task of creating a 24 hour playlist is a bit ridiculous in the first place, narrowing it to a specific genre and city, even more so, but I like a challenge, and I love Hip-Hop. I'm sure the results here could be hotly contested, so let me start with what the playlist is not.
It is not a claim to historically document NY Hip-Hop in any significant way
It is not a claim to accurately portray all of the greatest NY Hip-Hop songs ever made, though I will say that most, if not all of the greatest NY rappers are present.
It is not created by a person who is from, or has ever lived in New York state or city.
So what the hell is it then?
It is a list of songs I made based on personal preference. Each song or artist is either from New York, or so ingrained within it that they may as well be (Guru is from Boston. Think a lot of people would make that association?). For groups or collectives, I used the rule that half or more of the members had to be associated with NY.
I had to play it a little fast and loose (Tupac is from New York, but c'mon, he's Cali sound the whole way), and I was bound to what could be found on a music streaming service, so don't judge too harsh.
Phew. Have a listen. Have fun.
This is an Apple Music playlist primarily because there are exclusive titles there that would have prevented me from posting some good stuff in Spotify, although I am working on a Spotify variant of the list, as many more people use that service.
A spreadsheet of all the artists and songs can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11rPVVt4jDHJ5nOfjWXAbD_s7gEvOmtlKYRVpPZ9Ikco/edit?usp=sharing