The Most Uniquely Popular Rap Songs Across America (According to Spotify)

Every city has its own unique taste, and we wanted to figure out how that manifested from city to city. So with some help from Spotify, we found the most uniquely popular rap songs in cities across the nation. Here's how the data was pulled, per Spotify:

First we determine the most distinctly popular songs in each city as compared to the listening habits of the rest of the world (in this case, global superstars would be weeded out of the mix as they're popular everywhere).

Then, within the 100 most distinctly popular songs we look for the top hip-hop/rap track within each city. The results were totally unpredictable and surprising.

We were expecting to uncover a bunch of regional hits, but what we got was something else. In some cities, it's a rising local artist getting spins. In others, it's a random classic from decades ago. Read on to see what your city is listening to, and follow P&P on Spotify to see the list updated each month.

See our February 2016 edition of this feature here.

Year released: 2016

Total Spotify streams: 231,165

Artist hometown: Compton, CA

The Honorable C.N.O.T.E. provides production on this addictive banger from AV. The Compton rapper finds a pocket right from the jump, and his city has responded. For those interested, AV made a video to help you money dance the right way.

Year released: 2004

Total Spotify streams: 2,455,329

Artist hometown: Vallejo, CA

Mac Dre's impact on music in the Bay Area cannot be overstated. His role as the godfather of hyphy music is just the beginning—Mac Dre continues to inspire an entire generation of rappers, from his contemporaries like E-40 to modern tastemakers like Drake.

Year released: 2015

Total Spotify streams: 2,433,691

Artist hometown: Chicago

Lil Durk and Chief Keef combined forces for "Decline," a 2015 single that didn't need an album to catch fire in Chicago. The former rivals sound great together, aided by the singular skills of Young Chop on the beat.

Year released: 2016

Total Spotify streams: 5,789,774

Artist hometown: New York City

South Bronx native Fat Joe struck gold with "All The Way Up," his collaboration with French Montana and Remy Ma. It's the kind of song that became a staple of nightclub playlist almost immediately—it spews the kind of confidence usually reserved for those at the top of the pyramid, but these three rap vets were kind enough to share in their richesse.

Year released: 2015

Total Spotify streams: 358,600

Artist hometown: Philadelphia

Sonny Digital didn't hold back on the beat for "Fall N Luv," PnB Rock's heartsick denunciation of romance. It's truly epic—you can almost see the tears flowing through the impactful drums and dramatic piano. PnB does his thing too, even if that means he leaves a couple of suitors broken-hearted.

Year released: 2016

Total Spotify streams: 2,864,799

Artist hometown: Atlanta

Young Thug's Slime Season 3 isn't just another mixtape. It represents a big step forward for Thug as an artist—he's figured out how to take his raw talent and channel it into specific beats, and the hypnotic hiccups of "With Them" are case in point. The non-sequitur punchlines and frantic yelps are still front and center, but Thug is learning to pick his points, and he's hitting them. Just ask Boston.

Year released: 1999

Total Spotify streams: 302,791

Artist hometown: Dallas

Mr. Pookie's biggest hit is still rumbling in Dallas. "Crook For Life" sounds like Texas, from the that rapid-fire flow and plinking pianos to the ruthless lyrics. Over a decade and a half after its release, Mr. Pookie's "Crook For Life" still resonates with the Dirty South.

Year released: 1998

Total Spotify streams: 778,615

Artist hometown: Houston

Screwed Up Click member Fat Pat makes an appearance this week with one of his biggest hits, "Tops Drop." The single reached all the way to No. 5 on the U.S. Rap charts when it was originally released, and it has stuck around since. If there's one thing we've learned from these lists, it's that Texas has a lot of pride in its homegrown talent, and Houston is no exception. "Tops Drop" was the single from his debut album Ghetto Dreams, released in 1998, the same year the Houston rapper was shot and killed. The song samples Yarbrough and Peoples' "Don't Stop the Music."

Year released: 2012

Total Spotify streams: 1,564,320

Artist hometown: Houston

If you don't love "Summertime," ask a friend to check for a pulse. This is a summer anthem of the highest quality—Z-Ro and Slim Thug detail the glory of mansion parties, custom cars, and steaks on the grill as only they can. The seasons are changing, and Z-Ro should be back in rotation.

Year released: 2015

Total Spotify streams: 98,857

Artist hometown: Memphis

The title track off Blac Youngsta's 2015 album I Swear To God has legs. It's still getting plays in Youngsta's hometown months after the release—the rapper is signed to Yo Gotti's CMG label, and his most recent album is proof the move has worked out.

Year released: 2016

Total Spotify streams: 242,889

Artist hometown: Atlanta

Local talent continues to spill out of Atlanta at a prodigious pace, and YFN Lucci is the latest rapper to start buzzing in his hometown. "Young Fly N*gga" isn't another trap anthem, though—the drums certainly sound like something Metro Boomin could put together, but there's a bittersweet edge to the song that gives it depth. It's off Lucci's second full-length album, Wish Me Well 2.

Year released: 2015

Total Spotify streams: 149,746

Artist hometown: New Orleans

There are plenty of gritty, grimy rap tracks in this list. "Halfway" provides an alternative. S-8ighty's love song is an unfettered proclamation of all the good things that romance can provide, complete with promises to love his girl for the longest.

Year released: 2015

Total Spotify streams: 21,131

Artist hometown: St. Louis

La4ss started bubbling in St. Louis off the success of his single "Jayson Tatum," and kept the momentum going with his full-length Hood Hottest Youngin back in November. "Bullshit" is one of the follow-up hits, and deceptively twinkly sample that quickly devolves into a hard-hitting diatribe directed at a former romantic interest.

Year released: 2015

Total Spotify streams: 193,151

Artist hometown: Oakland, CA

Damian Lillard may be best known as the Portland Trail Blazers' star point guard, but don't think he's another basketball player leveraging his fame into a half-hearted rap stunt: Lillard—or Dame DOLLA, as he's known on Spotify—has passion and a message.

Year released: 2015

Total Spotify streams: 421,981

Artist hometown: Seattle, WA

Seattle local Sol has his hometown by its ear with "Ain't Gon' Stop," a feel-good jam about hard work and ambition. It has all the ingredients for a hit—those bright horns, a gospel chorus—but that can't take you all the way. Sol has charisma that bleeds through the speakers, and the people are starting to listen.

Year released: 2013

Total Spotify streams: 460,000

Artist hometown: Kansas City

Tech N9ne knows how to appeal to the locals. While simultaenously wooing Royals fans throughout the Midwest with "KCMO Anthem," Tech is also running Denver with "Colorado." The best part? It's actually a good song, too!

Year released: 2016

Total Spotify streams: 16,222

Artist hometown: Detroit, MI

Detroit local Bandgang Masoe goes off on "Keep It" with a little help from Dame and Jig. A foreboding piano sample clears the way, and Masoe does the rest. It's "real gutta gutta shit," three minutes of snarling finishers and beat-passing. This is a modern posse cut, and these three kill it.

Year released: 2015

Total Spotify streams: 133,082

Artist hometown: Miami, FL

Cuban duo Yomil & El Dany have started blowing up in a big way. Their run begin back in September with the release of their full-length album Doping and "Estamos Pa' To'" followed shortly afterwards in December. With so many international sounds working their way into the mainstream, it won't be surprising if Yomil & El Dany's buzz starts spreading outside of Miami in the future.

Year released: 2015

Total Spotify streams: 4,191,134

Artist hometown: Brooklyn, NY

Troy Ave's biggest hit has reached the shores of Hawaii. "She Belongs To The Game" has been out since last year, but the NYC rapper is still getting spins in the middle of the ocean.

Year released: 2013

Total Spotify streams: 5,693,058

Artist hometown: Columbia, South Carolina

The untimely death of South Carolina rapper Speaker Knockerz was a tragedy. The 19-year-old passed away in 2014 from a heart attack, but his music is still bumping in Milwaukee. But it's not just a posthumous tribute—"Freak Hoe" is the kind of "Back That Azz Up"-flavored dance floor hit that can stand the test of time.

Year released: 2015

Total Spotify streams: 719,228

Artist hometown: Philadelphia

PnB Rock has made an appearance on every one of these Spotify lists since we started making them six months ago. The Philadelphia artist signed a deal with Atlantic Records last summer, and his RNB3 album arrived shortly after, in October. With a freshly-dropped collaboration with Fetty Wap in the books, things are only going to get crazier.

Year released: 2015

Total Spotify streams: 450,000

Artist hometown: Kansas City

Tech N9ne's anthem for his hometown continues to reverberate around the walls of Kansas City. It's not hard to see why—the "stomp stomp clap" worked for Queen, and it's working here. "KCMO Anthem" has remained a rallying cry for the Midwest, even though the World Series champion Royals (for whom the song was originally written) are just starting a new season.

Year released: 2016

Total Spotify streams: 6,759,021

Artist hometown: Compton, CA

King Kendrick makes a rare appearance this month with one of the more downtempo cuts off untitled unmastered. "untitled 05" is a hazy, late-night-jazz-lounge vibe that gets flipped on its head when Kendrick bursts through the fog with a blistering verse. Still, it's not that surprising to see D.C. bumping this song in particular—looks like the city likes its deep cuts.

Year released: 2016

Total Spotify streams: 80,000

Artist hometown: College Park, Georgia

2 Chainz's Collegrove is billed as a collaboration with Lil Wayne, but the track blowing up in Nashville is one that Chainz did solo. "Not Invited" is 2 Chainz in top form, with snarky punchlines, call-and-response ad-libs, and braggadocio galore.

Year released: 2016

Total Spotify streams: 731,486

Artist hometown: Atlanta

21 Savage continues to spread out from his hometown, and "Red Opps" is a big reason why. It's the kind of creeping, snarling song that manages to induce adrenaline while maintaining its cool. It's a threatening track, and 21 Savage doesn't even have to raise his voice.