NYC Rappers to Watch: The KAZI Heat Chart, Updated Mondays

By Tariq Monroe,

KAZI Heat chart for the week of Nov 9, 2026: the top 10 New York hip-hop artists, ranked by Tariq Monroe, on a map of New York City

Edition: Nov 9, 2026 · All editions

Heat is my weekly read on the New York hip-hop artists with real momentum right now. It is not a list of the biggest names in the city, and every Monday I check who climbed and who slipped. All view and listener counts are KAZI's own dated reads of official YouTube and Spotify pages unless another source is named. For the longer story on where the city's scene stands, start with Jenn Carter Proves NYC Drill Never Left.

This week: JayBay takes No. 1 back from Fergie Baby on a big week for "Shell After Shell," Dee Billz climbs two spots, and all ten artists hold a spot on the board.

JayBay

No. 1 | Heat 80 | Move: Up 1

JayBay is back on top. The "Shell After Shell" video went from 79,607 views on the morning of Nov 2 to 261,233 on the morning of Nov 9, and the "To The Left" video went from 215,308 to 321,786 over the same week. JayBay also put out "Federal Probation (On The Radar)" as a single on Oct 29. The Spotify page more than doubled, from 12,377 monthly listeners on Nov 2 to 26,173 on Nov 9, though it is still the smallest audience in the Top 10.

JayBay, "Shell After Shell" (official video)

Fergie Baby

No. 2 | Heat 74 | Move: Down 1

Harlem's Fergie Baby slips one spot but keeps climbing on his own channel: the "Uptown Shooters N' Bronx Bombers" visualizer went from 110,164 views on Nov 2 to 127,731 on Nov 9, and the Street Fighter cut went from 101,350 to 112,887. His Spotify page read 132,353 monthly listeners on Nov 9, up from 129,439. His guest spot on Erick the Architect's "YERR," with Ghostface Killah, was Music Connection's Video of the Week on Oct 27.

Fergie Baby, "Uptown Shooters N' Bronx Bombers" (official visualizer)

Sixbill

No. 3 | Heat 69 | Move: Steady

Sixbill wearing a green jungle and tiger print track jacket over a white T-shirt with a green beaded necklace
Courtesy of The Haiko Group

Sixbill holds No. 3 with a new video: "MASQUERADE" with Pz', from the Oct 16 album Pure Lust, posted Nov 4 and had 22,058 views on Nov 9. The "SEVRAGE" video went from 55,285 views on Nov 2 to 64,403, and his Spotify page edged up from 346,102 monthly listeners to 348,821. The FADER walked through the album's studio sessions on Oct 20, including how "MASQUERADE" came together.

Sixbill feat. Pz', "MASQUERADE" (official video)

Judah Weston

No. 4 | Heat 68 | Move: Steady

Judah Weston, the Lower East Side rapper The FADER profiled in August, keeps growing on Spotify: his page went from 738,563 monthly listeners on Nov 2 to 771,495 on Nov 9. The official audio for "Thumb," released Oct 30, went from 5,512 views to 10,254 over the week, and the "Ain't The Same / I'll Be Fine" video went from 130,329 to 139,437.

Judah Weston, "Ain't The Same / I'll Be Fine" (official video)

KillaMoe

No. 5 | Heat 55 | Move: Steady

KillaMoe holds No. 5. The "King Of New York" video, posted Oct 30, went from 4,362 views early that morning to 26,946 on Nov 2, and "Layoo (Remix)" with Juicy J went from 725,459 views on Nov 2 to 764,283 on Nov 9. Spotify is still the drag, at 195,946 monthly listeners on Nov 9, down from 213,148 on Nov 2.

KillaMoe x Juicy J, "Layoo (Remix)" (official video)

Dee Billz

No. 6 | Heat 42 | Move: Up 2

Brooklyn's Dee Billz (BET) climbs two spots on steady numbers. "GULAG" with Kyle Richh, released Sep 4, went from 369,249 views on Nov 2 to 380,349 on Nov 9, and his Spotify audience rose from 613,031 monthly listeners to 620,019. For the producer who helped shape Brooklyn's sound, read Axl Beats Gave Brooklyn Drill Its Defining Sound, Then Took It to Drake.

Kyle Richh x Dee Billz, "GULAG" (official video)

ksuuvi

No. 7 | Heat 40 | Move: Down 1

ksuuvi slips a spot as the October press fades, though the "BIGASSBANK" video from Oct 22 kept adding, from 51,252 views on Nov 2 to 57,275 on Nov 9. Pitchfork spent a day in the Bronx with him on Oct 8. His Spotify page read 315,913 monthly listeners on Nov 9, against 318,063 on Nov 2.

ksuuvi, "BIGASSBANK" (official video)

Kenzo Balla

No. 8 | Heat 36 | Move: Down 1

The "Get Flicky" video, posted Oct 28, went from 22,271 views on Nov 2 to 29,765 on Nov 9, and "Back 2 The Basics" with TG Flockaa went from 125,602 to 141,910. Kenzo Balla's Spotify page dipped from 111,642 monthly listeners to 108,881 over the same week.

Kenzo Balla, "Get Flicky" (official video)

Jay Critch

No. 9 | Heat 36 | Move: Up 1

Jay Critch moves up one spot on a near-flat score as the artists around him slipped. The "REGAL" video, released Oct 16, went from 68,455 views on the afternoon of Oct 29 to 68,998 early on Oct 30. Jay Critch's Spotify audience read 658,714 monthly listeners on Nov 9, against 662,989 on Nov 2.

Jay Critch, "REGAL" (official video)

Bay Swag

No. 10 | Heat 36 | Move: Down 1

Bay Swag, who grew up in Jamaica, Queens, still has one of the biggest Spotify audiences in the Top 10, but his page fell from 740,669 monthly listeners on Nov 2 to 718,945 on Nov 9. The official audio for "Drain" with Fatt Smaxk and Young KB, out Oct 16, went from 11,888 views to 14,071, and the "F*** Ya Opinion" video went from 253,750 to 260,143.

Bay Swag, "F*** Ya Opinion" (official video)

Bubbling under

How I check views

Every view and listener count in Heat is a dated read I take from official YouTube and Spotify pages, unless another source is named. When a video jumps, I compare the likes added with the new views against that video's lifetime like rate and the artist's other videos, and I check the jump against the video's earlier daily pace. When a jump doesn't hold up on those checks, I leave it out of the score and use the last pair of reads that does. The copy cites only the counts I scored, and every exclusion is logged.

Past editions

Spot a wrong number or a missing release? Email inquiries@kazimagazine.com with a link. I check every claim against the public source and fix errors in the next edition, or sooner for factual mistakes.

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