Troy Ave – ‘New York City’ Feat. Raekwon, N.O.R.E. & Prodigy

Troy Ave may not have the immediate appeal of an A$AP Rocky or Joey Bada$$, but he's put in the groundwork with his 'Bricks In My Backpack' mixtape series. Prepping his debut LP, ambitiously titled 'New York City: The Album,' the Brooklyn upstart looks to reclaim the K.o.N.Y. crown -- and he's definitely putting together a strong case.

For the first single and title track off the album, Troy calls on a few veterans in Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon, N.O.R.E. and Prodigy of Mobb Deep to put on for the five boroughs. There may be a generational gap in the group, but all four connect nicely for a chilling flashback to that crack rap era.

And just in case you thought New York pride was dead, Harry Powder drops a stern reminder: "New discussion, New York artists want to be southern/ The city's lost, so out-of-towners find themselves frontin'/ It was B.I.G., Jay Z, now Troy Ave hereafter/ Kendrick Lamar's just a weirdo rapper."