During the last few years, a number of California rappers turned into bona fide hip-hop trendsetters—something that had not really happened for well over a decade. Coming on the heels of L.A. enclave Odd Future’s breakthrough in 2010, the sudden rise of Kendrick Lamar and his Top Dawg Entertainment crew gave the strong impression that West Coast rap, at large, could once again make a difference on a national scale.

But what was ironic about the idea of a new West wave, in terms of style, was that the N.E.R.D. and Eminem-worshipping Odd Future clan couldn’t care less about their state’s regional rap lineage. Instead, they served as evidence of how strong, unprecedented voices could develop in relative isolation and emerge fully formed from an Internet petri dish. Even TDE’s work, in a sense, can feel standalone: Kendrick is a post-Kanye rap star, in that his appeal and ambition is much broader than his region. Though Kendrick’s stories are set in L.A., the music itself is informed by Mobb Deep as much as Ice Cube.

In pinpointing the ways in which the identity of West Coast rap has grown and begun to affect the global hip-hop scene in recent times, it’s necessary to acknowledge Compton producer DJ Mustard. His spare, synth-bass-and-handclaps sound started brewing on the national level with Tyga’s 2011 breakthrough “Rack City” before taking command of the hip-hop charts—and eventually the Top 40—over the last two years. (It also defined one of the half-decade’s most formidable West Coast rap LPs, YG’s My Krazy Life.) Mustard’s “ratchet” sound played a large role in California's hip-hop resurrection, stealing a bit of the spotlight from the South, whose trap and snap production had dominated the culture for most of this century.

Mustard’s sound did not arise out of nowhere, however. In addition to being presaged by his associate Ty Dolla $ign’s production (most notably on YG’s 2009 “Toot It and Boot It”), it strongly recalled the spare rhythmic architecture that had been prevalent in San Francisco-area rap since the national breakthrough of the hyphy movement in 2006. (In fact, contemporary Bay Area artists accused Mustard of cribbing their sound—and Mustard was even slapped by Oakland pimp-rap staple Mistah F.A.B. in response to dismissive comments he made about the Bay’s legacy.)

To be fair, Bay music is less committedly smooth than the average Mustard-produced track and it often pairs loose flows with its rigid, dance-floor-ready BPMs. This approach—evolved from the work of larger-than-life forefathers Mac Dre and E-40—pervades the music of the post-hyphy stars of the late 2000s and today, from Lil B’s old group the Pack to Kreayshawn and her White Girl Mob to resident regional superstars HBK.

In both Northern and Southern California, modern hip-hop is by no means organized along a simple club vs. lyrical divide. Compton rapper YG’s work of the last year-and-a-half, for instance, combines modern Mustard sounds with cues from traditional Death Row G-funk and DJ Quik’s disco tendencies. Meanwhile, nu-gangsta rappers like Crenshaw traditionalist Nipsey Hussle and laconic anecdotalist Dom Kennedy focus on fairly traditional d-boy raps. The Bay has a separate gangsta-rap tradition extending from the work of Mob Figaz in the late ‘90s and ‘00s; tragically, the group’s undisputed shining star, the Jacka, was shot and killed in February. The influence of the Figaz’s unique brand of introspective, often self-effacing gangsta rap and hazy, melodic production pervades today in work of Bay rappers like Berner, J. Stalin, and even cloud-rap pioneers Main Attrakionz.

The following playlist is meant to provide a cross-section of the dominant sounds in West Coast hip-hop of the last few years as well as highlight some interesting cross-pollinations and anomalies. For the most part, I’ve avoided huge radio hits or music that has already been covered extensively on this website. These songs are exciting because they've affected wider hip-hop culture or because they showcase an artist inhabiting their own lane with self-confidence while still taking cues from music they grew up with.