1 / 11

Harlem World: Proud Musical Moments - Whether its Duke Ellington performing at the Cotton Club in 1927 or tomorrow's superstar getting his or her big break at BET's Apollo Live in 2013, Harlem has always made music history. The neighborhood's aural tradition turned a new chapter when local-boy-made-good A$AP Rocky's debut album, Long.Live.ASAP, hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 earlier this week. Here, we take a look at some the proudest musical moments in the history of one of the world's proudest neighborhoods. —Alex Gale(Photo: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

2 / 11

Duke Ellington Unveils "Take the A Train" - Jazz great Duke Ellington and his orchestra, who reigned the Harlem music scene with a mythical residency at the legendary Cotton Club, debuted "Take the A Train," penned especially for them by Billy Strayhorn, in 1939. The song became the band's signature and a jazz standard, and it's always been associated with Harlem: "You must take the 'A' train, to go to Sugar Hill, way up in Harlem," the most popular version of the song advises. (Photo: Keystone/Getty Images)

3 / 11

The Apollo Theater Opens - The opening of the Apollo Theater was a literal landmark moment for Harlem. For years, the iconic theater was one of the only major venues in New York that would frequently feature up-and-coming black entertainers, helping launch the careers of Ella Fitzgerald, The Jackson 5, Gladys Knight and many more. Today, the Apollo is also home to BET's new show Apollo Live, which keeps the legacy of its legendary Amateur Night alive.(Photo: Courtesy Apollo Theatre)

Photo By Apollo Theatre

4 / 11

Minton's Jazz Club Opens - Minton's, which opened its doors in 1938, played a key role in the development of modern jazz, also known as bebop, in the 1940s, when Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and others would perform at legendary jam sessions. The club closed in 1974, reopened again in 2006, but shut down again four years later. (Photo: Wikicommons)

5 / 11

The Palmieri Brothers Drop Harlem River Drive - In 1971, Harlem's riverside highway, perfect for a beautiful nighttime ride, got its own special ode on this classic fusion album from Latin jazz legends Eddie and Charlie Palmieri. Two years later, jazz flutist Bobbi Humphrey would name a timeless song after the same road. (Photo: EMI Records)

6 / 11

Kurtis Blow Signs Record Deal - Old school icon Kurtis Blow put the Harlem rap scene on the map when he dropped the 1980 classic "The Breaks," hip hop's first gold-selling single. (Photo: Leigh Vogel/WireImage)

7 / 11

Mase Releases Harlem World - Mase — a former member of Children of the Corn, Harlem's premier crew in the '90s, led by the legendary Big L — enthusiastically repped his hood's legendary swag on his multi-platinum 1998 debut, Harlem World. (Photo: Bad Boy Records)

8 / 11

Big L's The Big Picture - Big L was Harlem's undisputed underground rhyme champ until he was struck down by gunfire in 1999. A year later, Rawkus Records released this album, comprised of material he was working on at the time of his death. The album was certified gold and helped cement L's legend and legacy for years to come. (Photo: Rawkus Records)

9 / 11

XXL's December '98 issue, "The Greatest Day in Hip-Hop History" - The unforgettable cover to XXL magazine's December 1998 issue was a hip hop recreation of "A Great Day in Harlem," the classic Art Kane 1958 photograph of jazz greats assembled in front of a Harlem brownstone. XXL's take featured dozens of rap luminaries old school and new, from Q-Tip to Luke to Kool Herc. (Photo: XXL Magazine)

10 / 11

Cam'ron Drops Come Home With Me - In 2002, Cam'ron's breakthrough Roc-A-Fella debut set the stage for the rise of Dipset, who would run Harlem for almost a decade. The crew's emergence seemed to revive the old Harlem/Brooklyn rivalry within the walls of the Roc, however, eventually fueling a bitter split between Uptown repper Damon Dash and Bed-Stuy's Jay-Z. (Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Photo By Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records/ Roc-a-Fella Records

11 / 11

A$AP Rocky Hits No. 1 - Harlem's what he's repping. Proud Uptown native A$AP Rocky's No. 1 debut, Long.Live.ASAP, which dropped earlier this month, may signal a new rap renaissance for the historic neighborhood. Many are calling his A$AP Mob crew the next-generation Dipset. (Photo: Interscope Records)