The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

In the Jasmine Deli, Zach and Brandon Bagaason - the brothers that constitute the rapper/producer team Big Quarters - don't mess with the menu. Regulars well-acquainted with the selection at this Vietnamese spot on Eat Street, they ordered without consulting the dual-language laminated pages.

It seems sometimes like every debut rap album is long-awaited, highly anticipated. We heard the usual phrases a couple weeks ago on Muja Messiah's premier release ("They said this would never get done...I made it happen. I was part-time hustlin', now I'm full-time rappin' ").

"Don't wait for the critics to jump on this dude before you start giving it up," says everybody's favorite Albino rhymer, Brother Ali. He's speaking about Muja Messiah, the latest local rapper to make a big splash in the national underground hip-hop scene. "Muja is the shit. The man is right with his."

^{first published on realbuzz.com}