stuffaboutminneapolis:

In the early morning hours of June 4, a crowd gathered around a van parked in a downtown Minneapolis parking lot for a spontaneous performance by some of the Twin Cities’ top MCs—including Astronautalis, a longtime Seattle resident who’s just moved to Minnesota, drawn by our strong indie hip-hop scene. Astronautalis’s move is a coup for the Twin Cities, and on Saturday morning the crowd clapped and cheered as the new arrival improvised a rap about his new home town. Afterwards, Twitter exploded with echoes of the refrain, “I love this town!”

Not that Twin Cities residents need much excuse to sing the virtues of the Twin Cities. This is sometimes in the form of insecure justification (“New York thinks they’re a big deal, but we have…”) and sometimes in the form of positive celebration (“There’s so much going on this weekend!”). At its best, though, discussion of our local lifestyle and arts scene is constructive. The Twin Cities are what we make them: our hip-hop scene didn’t just erupt fully formed, it was built over many years by many musicians and fans.

Great article by Jay Gabler, a must read.

Agreed.