Minnesota hip hop list without Eyedea?! Great links, though. Lot of good music.
I was never a fan of Eyedea's music personally, but I hung out with him on a couple ocassions before he died. I grew up in Saint Paul, and while I didn't go to school with him, he went to Highland High School where many of my friends went. Spent a few nights out with him and his friends before he got really famous, mostly back when he was still doing his blaze battle stuff. I remember the first time I met him, and he told me his real name, I had no idea who he was, then his friends were calling him Eyedea. And I was like "Eyedea... like the rapper that I've seen on HBO blaze battles?" and he was a very modest and down to Earth dude about it all, albeit a bit "emo". But there are plenty of other local artists I could mention, but just kept to the more mainstream ones. I could have thrown POS in there too, but he doesn't have as mass appeal of atmosphere and brother ali, same thing with eyedea. Not everyone liked his music as much as the others on RhymeSayers label. But he is definitely worth noting.
I didn't "know" him, but had friends that did. I met him maybe 3 times, but we certainly didn't know each other. Just out drinking with mutual friends and what not. I also saw Slug in my Best Buy when I worked there a long time ago, asked him if I could help him find anything and he just said "probably not" and kept walking. Perks of living in the Twin Cities. But just wanted to be clear I didn't KNOW him, just met him through mutual friends a few times, and talked with him a few times. That's it.