Though the vibrant Bay Area rap community lit the fuse on many of the stars, styles and innovations that have blown up across the map, the region might still be best known for being underestimated.
United more by strategy than sound, the city's stars are fans-first nonconformists, who have often succeeded by doing the opposite of what the industry deems bankable.
The 305's hedonistic reputation is not unearned, but there is artistry in its debauchery, and a young generation reinvesting the rewards of their predecessors' battles against censorship.
They don't say "Detroit Vs. Everybody" for nothing: Dismissed from the outside and splintered within, Michigan's rap cities turned scrap-or-die underdog status into a gritty aesthetic all its own.