Harlem, New York

Everything Harlem is known for

6 songs mention this city 18 artists from here

Harlem, New York, an iconic neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, has a rich musical identity. It is internationally known as a center for Black culture and has been a powerhouse for artistic and cultural movements for over a century, including jazz and hip-hop.

This vibrant area has been home to 18 artists in our collection, including hip-hop artists A$AP Rocky and Puff Daddy. Seven songs in our collection mention Harlem, such as "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z and "Take What's Yours" by Mase.

Music in Harlem

Songs About Harlem

All I Know
Lil Flip
95%
"Houston, Harlem"
harlem river blues reprise
justin townes earle
90%
Everyday
A$AP Rocky
65%
Blasphemy
2Pac
60%
"We should cry if they cried when we buried Malcolm X"
Empire State of Mind
Jay-Z
50%
"I used to cop in Harlem, hola, my Dominicanos"
wolves of new york
luke callen
20%

Artists From Harlem

A
A$AP Rocky
hip-hop Pop: 86
P
Puff Daddy
hip-hop Pop: 82
D
Diddy
hip-hop Pop: 73
C
Cam'ron
hip-hop Pop: 64
M
Mase
hip-hop Pop: 63
M
Max B
hip-hop Pop: 63
D
Doug E. Fresh
hip-hop Pop: 62
D
Dipset
hip-hop Pop: 60
D
Dave East
hip-hop Pop: 58
K
Kurtis Blow
hip-hop Pop: 58
J
Jim Jones
hip-hop Pop: 52
B
Biz Markie
hip-hop Pop: 50
T
Tito Puente
latin Pop: 50
S
Smoke DZA
hip-hop Pop: 46
B
Benny Carter
big band, jazz, swing music Pop: 43
S
Shemekia Copeland
blues Pop: 39
V
V Don
hip-hop Pop: 38
U
UFO Fev
hip-hop Pop: 25

Rivers & Roads in Song near Harlem

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Harlem.

Hudson River 8 songs Interstate 95 13 songs New Jersey Turnpike 4 songs

Musical Heritage

CBGB — Birthplace of American Punk RoadyGoat

1973

The narrow storefront at 315 Bowery was CBGB, the grimy club where American punk and new wave were essentially born. Hilly Kristal opened it in December 1973, and the name is one of music's great ironies: CBGB & OMFUG stood for 'Country, BlueGrass, Blues, and Other Music For Uplifting Gourmandizers' (Kristal meant a 'voracious eater' — of music). Almost no country or bluegrass ever played there. Instead the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Patti Smith and Television cut their teeth on its tiny stage through the 1970s. CBGB closed on October 15, 2006 over a lease dispute, and Kristal died of lung cancer the following year. The space later became a John Varvatos clothing boutique (opened April 2008), which kept some of the club's graffiti and posters; 'CBGB 73' is still etched in the cement at the entrance.

6.4 mi away

Holsten's — The Sopranos' Cut-to-Black Diner RoadyGoat

1939

Holsten's Brookdale Confectionery sits at 1063 Broad Street in Bloomfield, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and candy shop that has been making its own chocolate and ice cream since 1939 (and is still open). It earned a permanent place in TV history on June 10, 2007, when 'Made in America,' the series finale of HBO's 'The Sopranos,' filmed its last scene in one of Holsten's vinyl booths. Tony Soprano, played by James Gandolfini, ordered onion rings and punched up Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin'' on the jukebox before the screen abruptly cut to black for roughly ten seconds — an ending so sudden many viewers thought their cable had failed. The original booth became a fan shrine, but it was actually sold at auction in March 2024 for about 82,600 dollars; the shop welcomes fans to sit in its place today.

12.6 mi away

History of Harlem

Sylvia's Restaurant RoadyGoat

Sylvia Woods opened her soul food restaurant on Lenox Avenue in Harlem in 1962 with a small loan and big ambition. She became known as the Queen of Soul Food, serving smothered chicken, collard greens, and candied yams to everyone from Muhammad Ali to Nelson Mandela. The restaurant survived Harlem's toughest decades and became a symbol of Black entrepreneurship and cultural pride.

McSorley's Old Ale House RoadyGoat

McSorley's has been pouring in the East Village since 1854, making it New York City's oldest bar. Abraham Lincoln drank here. Woody Guthrie drank here. The menu is light ale or dark ale — that's it. Sawdust covers the floor. Wishbones hang from the gas lamp, left by soldiers heading to World War I who never came back. Women weren't allowed until a 1970 court order.

6.2 mi away

Lombardi's Pizza RoadyGoat

Gennaro Lombardi opened America's first licensed pizzeria on Spring Street in Manhattan in 1905. The coal-fired oven produces a charred, blistered crust that set the template for New York-style pizza. Every pizza dynasty in New York — Patsy's, John's, Totonno's — traces its lineage back to Lombardi's. The original location closed in 1984 but reopened around the corner in 1994, and the coal oven has been burning ever since.

6.7 mi away

Harlem - Lenox Avenue

1920

Lenox Avenue in Harlem was the cultural epicenter of the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of African American art, literature, and music in the 1920s and 1930s.

Apollo Theater

1934

The Apollo Theater at 253 West 125th Street has been the most important venue for Black performers in America since 1934.

Central Park

1858

Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, Central Park was the first major public park in America and reshaped urban planning worldwide.

World Trade Center / Ground Zero

2001

Site of the September 11, 2001 attacks that destroyed the Twin Towers and killed 2,977 people.

7.8 mi away

Ellis Island Immigration Station

1892

From 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island in New York Harbor.

9.2 mi away

Tin Pan Alley

1885

The stretch of West 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue where the American popular music publishing industry was born.

5.0 mi away

Things to Do in Harlem

historical 9.9 mi away
Statue of Liberty

Give me your tired your poor. 305 feet of copper freedom since 1886.
historical 0.2 mi away
Apollo Theater

Amateur Night launched Ella James Brown and a young Michael Jackson. Harlem's crown jewel.
food 6.2 mi away
McSorley's Old Ale House

NYC's oldest bar since 1854. Lincoln drank here. You get light or dark — that's it. Sawdust floors and wishbones on the gas lamp.
food 6.5 mi away
Katz's Delicatessen

I'll have what she's having. NYC's legendary pastrami since 1888.
food 6.7 mi away
Lombardi's Pizza

America's first pizzeria opened in 1905 on Spring Street in Manhattan. Coal-fired oven. The original New York slice started here.
food 7.1 mi away
Peter Luger Steak House

Brooklyn's legendary porterhouse palace since 1887. Cash only. The steak sauce is iconic. Zagat's top steakhouse for 30 straight years.
food 12.9 mi away
Di Fara Pizza

One man hand-cutting basil and drizzling olive oil on every pizza since 1965 in Brooklyn.
food 16.4 mi away
Nathan's Famous (Original)

The Coney Island hot dog stand that started it all in 1916. Home of the July 4th eating contest. Mustard not ketchup.

Everything Near Harlem

391 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

Explore Harlem on the Map
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