Big Stat.

Twitter has become one of the most popular ways for artists to let fans into their lives. While it may seem beyond mundane to hear about what your co-worker did on a random Thursday night, when that kind of information comes from a celebrity suddenly it's infinitely more interesting, especially when you can comment back about it.

As we continue to build our hip-hop scene here in Connecticut, one issue that continues to plague us is the lack of information disseminated about the scene. People are more likely to say "I had no idea we had a hip-hop scene" than to be able to name a favorite local artist. Twitter can help with this. All it takes is for people to "follow" a few Connecticut hip-hop artists to get information about shows, albums and everything else going on in the scene, to really get the scene flowing. With that in mind, this edition of The B-Side is dedicated to the Connecticut hip-hop artists that you should consider following on Twitter today.

Dirt E. Dutch (twitter.com/Dutchman) — Dirt E. Dutch is one of our state's true superstar producers. He is a part of two dynamic duos, Troublemakers with Breez Evahflowin and Workforce with Hawl Digg, and he runs IndieFeed, which is one of the most popular underground hip-hop podcasts around. His Twitter updates range from links to his podcasts and music, to info on what the rest of the AFA crew (of which he is a member) is doing. Dutch is also good for a number of humorous tweets throughout the day. As a frequent replier, Dutch is the perfect person to follow for anyone looking to learn about the scene. With all that being said, it's really no surprise that Dutch is one of the most-followed members of the Connecticut hip-hop community.

Sketch Tha Cataclysm (twitter.com/sketchtc) — Sketch Tha Cataclysm may have moved to Minnesota, but he's still true to his Connecticut roots, making him one of our state's most important representatives in hip-hop. Hey, not a lot of artists leave and rep. Through his Twitter updates, Sketch does a great job of letting people know where he's going to be performing and also gives away free music to followers in the form of download links. Much like his AFA compatriot Dirt E. Dutch, Sketch is also very conversational, replying to dozens of tweets on a daily basis. Sketch is one of our state's brightest stars and following him on Twitter will give people a great view of how hard he works to keep that distinction. It's also really cool to have a Connecticut artist talking about performing all over the country.

Big Stat (twitter.com/bigstat) — No one in Connecticut's hip-hop scene works with bigger names than Big Stat. He recently completed a tour with legends Method Man and Redman and his latest mix CD, Don't Quit Your Day Job, is hosted by Redman as well. The onetime co-founder of Hushh, Big Stat is well known for his incredible hustle, sometimes sleeping as little as two hours on any given night just so he can drive to shows to network and/or perform. His Twitter updates reflect this hustle and come at all hours of the day and night. Big Stat also gives his followers tour updates and news on his upcoming projects. If you want to know the definition of hustle, follow Big Stat.

Plus (twitter.com/PLUSISHIPHOP) — Plus, who teamed with Eclipse and SolStorm to form the Connecticut hip-hop trio Nervous System, is fairly new to Twitter, but the addiction didn't take long to kick in. Follow Plus for updates on his music as well as his thoughts on all things hip-hop, local and national. Plus is the kinda guy who shoots straight from the hip, so the 140-character format of Twitter suits him very well when he's commenting on the latest songs and releases. With his solo debut almost ready to go, this will be the place to get all the news on the project and probably some sneak peaks at the music, as well.

The spreading of information is how a scene develops. Maybe Twitter can help us develop ours. It can all begin when you click the follow button on these artists' pages. Get in the know and get into the scene.

Read Adam's blog at adamsworldblog.com