Rap Monument

Three cities. One track. 35-plus minutes deep.

NYC — August 20, 2013. ATL — August 28, 2013. LA — week of September 9, 2013.

Hudson Mohawke (Nip Thug to those who know) and S-Type built the wave. Noisey rounded up the roster — New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles — and shot it as a three-stop tour across August and September 2013. Drove NY-to-ATL Aug 20–28, ATL-to-LA Aug 28–Sep 3, then settled in LA the following week. Every rapper laid a verse in their hometown, on their wave, in their pocket. Killer Mike, Pusha T, Young Thug, Nipsey, Danny Brown, Raekwon, Prodigy, Heems, Action Bronson, Flatbush Zombies, Bodega Bamz, YG, Zebra Katz, Meyhem Lauren, Vado, Pill, Two-9, Rockie Fresh — and on.

Nick mixed the whole monument. Three cities, three rooms, three attitudes — but one record. Held together at the desk so the geography reads but the through-line never breaks.

Dropped on Noisey March 25, 2014. The full piece below, then the three city BTS docs, then every verse as its own video — the full archive in one place. Click any rapper in the credits to go to their world.