A hip-hop lover’s guide to New York

“We had our own little rap scene in New Jersey,” says the writer Kathy Iandoli, “but when I’d made the decision to take my passion for hip-hop and make it a profession, that’s when I knew I had to go to New York City.” 

Iandoli did just that, and has spent the last 25 years chronicling the music she loves for Vibe, The Source and XXL, as well as writing books including God Save the Queens: The Essential History of Women in Hip-Hop and her new fiction release The King of New York (out May 21), and appearing in Netflix series Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop. After all, it was female rappers who first sparked her interest in the genre.  

“New York City’s personality and character is highly identified by each of its boroughs,” says Iandoli. “Manhattan will always boast this Big City sensibility, whereas you go uptown to Harlem and there’s a whole other swag to it, especially because of the roots in Black music.” For many rap artists wanting to make it big, few things mattered more than performing at Harlem landmark the Apollo Theater, where everyone from Run D.M.C. to The Fugees to Jay-Z has taken the stage.

“Head downtown to the East Village, Lower East Side, and you’re talking more about the grittier parts of the scene that helped shape both hip-hop and punk,” adds Iandoli. 

Hip-hop shopping

“If people are trying to get their sneaker swag on, go to Stadium Goods. It’s really risen up the ranks as the spot,” says Iandoli of the “premium aftermarket” store that the New York Times described as “Tiffany’s for sneakerheads.” In terms of records, “We have a Rough Trade that opened up in Midtown, which I think is pretty cool, but Academy Records [with locations in East Village and Brooklyn] is still here and vibrant if you want vinyl.” 

For literature, Iandoli drops in at the famous Strand bookstore, a New York institution dating back to 1927, boasting “18 miles of books”—around 2.5 million new, used and rare publications. Outside of Manhattan, she also gravitates to The Lit. Bar in the Bronx—the borough’s only independent book shop, which grew out of a huge local protest movement to save the borough’s reading facilities in 2014. “There’s a wine bar in the back, but it’s very heavily hip-hop inspired and it’s a really cool spot,” she says.  

Eats and beats

“Just down the street from The Lit. Bar is a spot called Beatstro, a hip-hop themed restaurant. “They represent for hip-hop but it’s not corny,” says Iandoli. The lounge, which “celebrates the Bronx as well as its rich Puerto Rican and African American presence,” displays artwork including paintings by Andre Trenier and photos by legendary local Joe Conzo (the Beats n’ Brunch menu with everything from chicken and waffles to shrimp and grits also comes highly recommended). “Hip-hop is so big that it’s so easy to exploit, but these places retain their integrity,” she says. 

Where to stay

“I’m a huge fan of The W and maybe it’s just because I’m a Wu-Tang fan,” Iandoli laughs in reference to the group’s iconic W logo. “And every time I would go to a party on the rooftop of the Empire Hotel, I would hear Empire State of Mind. If you’re looking to make the place you stay a hip-hop reference—and I do—go to those places.” 

The Universal Hip-Hop Museum opens in the Bronx in 2024