Best nonurban rapper - Baby Shel - 2015 Best of MN

The first act from outstate Minnesota to win Vita.mn's Are You Local? contest, this hotblooded, cool-flowing rapper calls the Red Lake Indian Reservation home. He's seen more hard times than your average urban rap star, and the rise-above messages in his songs have finally proven autobiographical. After several years and untold miles making the five-hour drive south to pick up any gig he could in the Cities, he has wound up on such festival lineups as Summer Set in Somerset, Wis. (Aug. 14-16) and SJ1 in Duluth (June 12-13). BabyShelMusic.bandcamp.com