As legendary rappers continue to be honored with accolades like being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the same can be said about rappers having streets named after them.
It all started with Run-DMC in Queens back in 2009. The corner of 205th Street and Hollis Avenue in Hollis, Queens, was renamed Run-DMC JMJ Way in honor of the group’s member Jam Master Jay. Ever since then, street names have become one of the most cherished ways for a hometown to honor its homegrown talent.
Other rappers who have passed away have been honored as well. The Notorious B.I.G. received a street named after him in Brooklyn. In 2019, the corner of Fulton Street and St. James Place was renamed Christopher Wallace Way in celebration of the late rap legend. More specifically, there have been streets renamed in support of Hip Hop 50. Most recently, Tupac Shakur received a street with his name. Tupac Shakur Way is now in Oakland, Calif., which was done in November of 2023. The sign arrived 27 years after his death.
“It’s a moment that I know my brother would be proud of,” said Tupac’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, at the ceremony. “Establishing love and peace in the Oakland community especially mattered to him. Being able to represent safety to his people mattered to him…Let his spirit live on the rest of these years in these streets and in your hearts.”
Many of the street signs dedicated to some of your favorite rappers have been initiated due to the hard work of LeRoy McCarthy and his company HeteroDoxX Inc. Starting in 2013 with the unsuccessful proposal to co-name St. James Place and Fulton Street Christopher Wallace Way, McCarthy’s diligence has led to rappers including Tupac Shakur, Wu-Tang Clan, Biggie, Phife Dawg and others getting roads named after them.
“It’s a great look in America for hip-hop art and culture to have the same respect as other American music creations: blues, country, jazz, rock & roll, etc. have received over the decades, including a Hip Hop Resolution in the U.S. Senate,” McCarthy tells XXL. “I am proud that my company HeteroDoxX Inc. initiated for this momentum to happen, in NYC, at Capitol Hill, and across America, starting in 2013 with Christopher ‘Notorious B.I.G.’ Wallace Way in Brooklyn, NY, through to the 2023 dedication of Tupac Shakur Way in Oakland, CA; and congratulations to all of the other hip-hip street signs because hip-hop is from the streets, but it’s not over because: Hip Hop Don’t Stop.”
Since rappers advocate for their hometown so strongly, being bestowed with their own street name remains one of the highest honors. See a few of the biggest rappers to get streets named after them below, including Rick Ross, Missy Elliott, Big Pun and Nipsey Hussle and more.
