A source of pride for the Twin Cities hip-hop scene in its first three years, the Soundset festival has also become a great resource for out-of-town rappers and DJs to break into that scene. Never mind that none of them knows how to pronounce Shakopee.

Sure, thousands of concertgoers will see local favorites Atmosphere, Brother Ali, and P.O.S. again this year as the festival returns to the fields outside Canterbury Park for its fourth and possibly biggest year. You're going to see these usual suspects under pretty unusual circumstances, too. Atmosphere is playing its first hometown show behind the quirky new album "The Family Sign." Ali has been off working on new material, and so has P.O.S., who's performing exclusively with his Doomtree crew this year. Also look for an all-star tribute to the late Mikey "Eyedea" Larsen during the Face Candy improv set.

You'll see a lot of new faces from the local scene, too. St. Paul self-starter MaLLy, collegiate Minneapolis duo Duenday and Chicago transplant Longshot -- three of the buzzingest new rap acts in town -- rightfully landed debut slots at the fest. So did local rap vet Gene Poole, who has returned from hiatus and is fresh from opening Atmosphere's tour. It's even the first time soul-poet scene queen Desdamona has delivered her own set, if you can believe it. Also, look for the return of Rhymesayers co-founder Musab, now going by Sab the Artist.

Best of all, you're going to see two bona-fide giants of hip-hop. OutKast's co-founder and arguably better half Big Boi finally comes to town in support of his worth-the-wait solo debut. Also a welcome addition is New York trio De La Soul, whose 1989 debut "Three Feet High & Rising" is to underground hip-hop what "Sgt. Pepper's" was to psychedelic rock.

Despite all that, the defining performers this year might be everyone else who's coming to town to take advantage of Soundset's growing national prominence, which Entertainment Weekly and other national publications are naming among this year's most noteworthy summer festivals. The attention shouldn't come as a surprise. Not a lot of cities have underground rap fests drawing 17,000 people, as Soundset did last year.

Two standout newbies from last year's festival, Yelawolf and Wiz Khalifa, are now packing clubs on their own this year (Khalifa is set to headline Cabooze Plaza on June 16). Who might be the breakout newcomers this year?

Getty Images
Big Boi

Slug's pick The Atmosphere frontman is especially hot for Los Angeles rapper Evidence, who took part in Soundset's debut year outside the Metrodome with Dilated Peoples but is cutting a new path as a solo act. Said Slug:

"In case you didn't hear me when I yelled it out of my car window, 'Do not miss Evidence's performance at Soundset!' From sunny Los Angeles. A pro. A veteran. A gentleman. As one half of Dilated Peoples, he has toured the world and rocked too many faces (even grabbed a Grammy for production work he did on one of Kanye West's albums). As a solo artist, he continues to swing the sword that delivers good music to your earholes. Keep a lookout for his new album 'Cats & Dogs,' due later this year on a little local Minneapolis label called Rhymesayers. Seriously, if you miss him at Soundset, I will delete you from my Friendster page."

Ant's pick Atmosphere's co-founding producer/DJ had this rave for one of his fellow mix masters, who performs with Oakland duo Zion-I:

"There are few artists that are what they say they are. Grouch is as real as it gets. His music truly reflects who he is as a person, and I admire him and his music greatly. The way that he lives and treats his family, friends and fans is beautiful. That is conveyed in his songs and makes me want to be a better person. With that being said, you know I'm gonna be up and at Soundset early this year to make sure I catch the Grouch with Zion-I."

Toki Wright's pick Returning as Soundset's co-host, the hip-hop educator and Rhymesayers star picked out a protégé of Master P and Lil' Wayne whose third album, "Pilot Talk," earned ample critical raves last year. Wright said:

"I'm looking forward to checking out Curren$y from Louisiana. He's done a lot of behind-the-scenes work with No Limit and Cash Money Records over the years. He's consistently dropped dope mixtapes and albums, has unique rhymes and laid-back delivery. I always like seeing acts at Soundset that have something different than what's expected."

Four more Slaughterhouse: Call them "Eminem's best friends not named Dre." The all-star quartet includes Royce da 5'9", who was featured way back on "The Slim Shady LP" and just dropped the "Fast Lane" single with Em from a new EP under the moniker Bad Meets Evil. Also in the group are Eminem/Dre cohorts Joell Ortiz, Crooked I and Joe Budden, who brought the group together for the "Slaughterhouse" track on his last record.

Mac Miller: This 19-year-old rapper stays true to his age with such fun juvenile tracks as "Kool-Aid & Frozen Pizza" and "Nikes on My Feet." He is fresh out of the same Pittsburgh high school as Wiz Khalifa and has already toured and recorded with him. The magazine XXL named him one of its 2011 Freshmen.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: Seattle rapper Ben "Macklemore" Haggarty has the kind of raspy voice, poetic writing style and occasional sociopolitical bent that local Doomtree fans should dig right away, and his producer Lewis adds a cinematic electronic orchestra behind him. The Current's sister Seattle station KEXP is a big booster.

DJ Shortkut: The veteran San Francisco spinner was part of the influential Beat Junkies and Invisbl Skratch Piklz turntablist crews in the '90s (the latter group also featured Mix Master Mike and Q-bert). It's a rare treat to get him up here.

  • Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658 • Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisRstrib