The Backpack Boyz are Oakland and Los Angeles, top of the California food chain, and they earned it in the most competitive market on earth. California’s scene is big enough to sustain strains the rest of the country never sees, so when a crew breaks out of it nationally, that tells you everything.

They broke out on the strength of their lemon and cherry work, and Platinum Lemon Cherry Gelato is the flag: the cut that proved the exotic label could mean something specific instead of just a price point.

The crosses below carry Backpack Boyz cuts into seed form.