HARLEM

After almost two years in prison, former Dipset rapper JR Writer returned home to Harlem at the end of last year, and he got right back into the game by dropping the track "First 48" within the same month.

Before A$AP Mob came to power, Harlem was once ruled by a crew known as The Diplomats.

Many rappers took part in protests following the tragic wave of violence that ensued last week, beginning with the police killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and continuing with an attack on a peaceful protest in Dallas on Thursday night that resu

Harlem spitter Marty Baller is back with a heavy club track track called "Flex," which is clearly an important buzzword in the Trillagain Island camp considering A$AP Ferg's recent collab with Tory Lanez.

Is Jim Jones making a comeback? The rapper dropped off a surprising collaboration with Rich Homie Quan, Desiigner and ASAP Ferg (that's two New Yorkers and one ATLien) last week, "Finnesse," to much fanfare.

Today, Puff Daddy announced that he would be founding a charter school in his home neighborhood in Harlem.

UPDATE (02/26/16 7:20pm): Swizz Beatz (who's also pictured in the above gallery) has visited AraabMuzik at Harlem Hospital, and he posted a picture of himself standing next to Araab, shown lying in his hospital bed, to Instagram.

A$AP Twelvyy has decided to drop off a little something to keep the momentum rolling after putting out his new single with Harry Fraud last Friday.

Harlem and Chinatown connect on "Going Down," the new record from China Mac and Dave East.

The last we heard from Knocka was last summer's street collab with Tory Lanez, and the Harlem emcee is picking up right where he left off with his new single: "Get Money, Stay Out the Way." The new record features fellow Harlemite Dave East as well as Wav

Harlem's Don Mykel has impressed with each of his recent releases, and he's just dropped off a big one, "Infinite," produced by KE on the Track.

We haven't heard from A$AP Ferg in quite some time, but the Harlem rapper recently performed at the "TIDAL X" concert at the Barclays Center, and while on the red carpet before the show, he told XXL the title of his upcoming album: Always Strive and

Harlem rapper NAKIM has't released new music over a year -- until now.

We haven't heard from Knocka since last fall, when he got Maino and Chinx together for a big remix of "Dance Like a Stripper." Today, the Harlem emcee is back, starting his 2015 run in a big way by getting one of the hottest talents outta Toronto, Tory Lanez,

Dave East's new video kicks off with a stereotypical image of a music festival-goer, a young girl wearing floral patterns and frolicking around in a carefree manner, then cuts abruptly to East and his friends in the trap.

A$AP Rocky's new album is the talk of blogs, but we decided to take the album to real-life people and see what their reaction is to that jiggy motherfucker's new album.

Cashflow first got his name out by recording in-car freestyles, such as "Ladies vs Thots," which now has a combined 5 million views on his socials. "Ladies vs Thots" turned into a single, and now the Harlem rapper is back with "One Life to Live." 

SQUiRE is a young emcee outta Harlem who's now trying to make it in Atlanta. He's performing shows every night of the week, carefully building a loyal following. You can immediately hear his experience, and his devotion to the craft, on "Let's Duet".

Harlem's Dave East continues to impress with consistent new heat, but he wants us to know he's not just another festival-hopping rapper. Fuck Coachella, Dave East is stuck in the trap.

One of the year's biggest surprises has been the return of Charles Hamilton.

Big L is legendary for a few reasons. His punchlines, his freestyles, and his legendary album Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous are the basis to his influence.

In the video for "Told Ya," the lead single off V-Day II EP, Dipset-affiliate Vado and his wingman Chinx wax lyrical in the shadow of such NYC landmarks as the Corona Park Unisphere and the Manhattan Bridge.

Big Lean is an unsigned rapper from Toronto, though he's already connected with some big names in the game. For his new "Benjamin$" video, Big Lean travels to Harlem and brings out Dipset's Juelz Santana.

"The crown is still mine cause I drop ill rhymes." Big L, Rest In Peace.

The music world was pleasantly surprised late last year when singer-songwriter D'Angelo made his official return to music with his critically-acclaimed Black Messiah album.

How long does it take for a music genre to get its own museum? About 40 years, apparently. It's been a long time coming, but the Hip Hop Hall Of Fame will finally open its doors to the public in the year 2017.

HotNewHipHop's On The Come Up series profiles rising stars in the rap game that show strong promise and the will to succeed. Most of the time, they're new to the site but deserve some shine.

It's been a while since we've heard from Charles Hamilton, an eccentric rapper from Harlem who was very briefly signed to Interscope after being included in XXL's 2009 freshman class.