Jamaica Avenue: Where Queens Helped Shape Hip-Hop

Jamaica Center, The Ave, the Colie Block — for kids and young adults coming of age in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, it was everything. Groups that helped shape and define hip-hop found their inspiration and cultivated their images on Jamaica Avenue — the center of which was the Colosseum Mall, formerly a Macy’s that was converted into a marketplace for small businesses. The Jamaica Colosseum Mall officially closed on Jan. 31