rome streetz

Blue Chips is a monthly rap column that doubles as a scouting report. Each month, SPIN selects a rapper (or group of rappers) who could be Rookie of the Year candidates turned Hall-of-Famers or forgettable flashes in the pan. Only the passing seasons (and the number of streams) will tell. To read previous columns, click here. Griselda Records rappers have dominated the conversation surrounding New York’s street rap renaissance for the last five years. Individual and consolidated talent, the Shady Records affiliation, album packaging, musical glut, onomatopoeic gun noises — there are reasons for their prominence. But their shadow often obscures New York rappers equally gifted at delivering grimy vignettes in slick, simile-laden rhymes. If you scan the credits of recent projects from Griseld...