The MIDI Mafia is a music production duo consisting of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Bruce Waynne (born Waynne Nugent) from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Dirty Swift (born Kevin Risto) from

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Together as Midi Mafia since 2003, they are most notable for their production of

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

's number-one single " 21 Questions". The MIDI Mafia has also produced for artists such as

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

(" Swim Good"),

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

When I See U "When I See U" is a song recorded by American singer Fantasia Barrino for her second studio album, ''Fantasia'' (2006). It written by Louis Biancaniello, Waynne Nugent, Erika Nuri, Kevin Risto, Janet Sewell, Sam Watters, and produced by Midi ...

"),

Sha Stimuli Sha Stimuli (born Sherod Khaalis on August 9, 1978) is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York City. He is known for his mixtape releases, beginning with ''Let Me Show You the Way'' in 2002, which earned him a spot in ''Source Magazine''s "U ...

(the single "Clap At Ya"),

Capone-N-Noreaga Capone-N-Noreaga (also known as C-N-N) are an American hip hop duo formed in 1995 from Queens, New York. The duo features East Coast rappers Capone and N.O.R.E. History In October 1995, Capone-N-Noreaga appeared in ''The Source'' magazine's ...

Yes Sir "Yes Sir" is a song by American hip hop duo Capone-N-Noreaga. It was released in 2003 as the first single from their album ''The New Religion'', which was eventually shelved by their label, Def Jam Recordings. The song was later included on their ...

"),

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

Bravehearts Bravehearts are an East Coast hip hop group from New York, New York. The group's roster originally included Jungle (born Jabari Jones, son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, and younger brother of hip hop star Nas), Wiz (born Mike Epps), and Horse (born ...

Gemma Fox Gemma Fox is an English UK garage, R&B and hip hop singer, song writer best known for her 2004 album ''Messy''. The lead single, "Girlfriend's Story", was released in April of that year and featured MC Lyte. The second single, "Gone", featured ...

Jean Grae Tsidi Ibrahim (born November 26, 1976), known professionally as Jean Grae (formerly What? What?), is an American rapper from Manhattan, New York City. Jean rose in the underground hip hop scene in New York City and has built an international f ...

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

Young Buck David Darnell Brown (born March 15, 1981), best known by his stage name Young Buck, is an American rapper. He heads his own record label, Cashville, and was a member of the former hip hop group G-Unit. Early life Brown was born in Nashville, Te ...

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

Miri Ben-Ari Miri Ben-Ari ( he, מירי בן-ארי; born December 4, 1978) is an American–Israeli musician, producer, and humanitarian, known as "the hip-hop violinist". Life and career Ben-Ari was born in Tel Aviv District, Israel. She grew up playing ...

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After the ...

and

Tamia Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development dea ...

History

Beginnings

Bruce Waynne met Dirty Swift at Makin' Records Studio in Brooklyn, NY, while working on a project for Bad Seed. At the time, Swift was the in house engineer/beat maker for the project, while Bruce pitched beats and helped compose and perform choruses for Bad Seed. The duo officially began working together after attending a meeting with manager Tony Perez, who suggested that Bruce and Swift would make a good musical team. They began to hold meetings with different A&R representatives and did spec work for various people, including Sylvia Rhone, who was the president of

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

at the time.

Initial success

In 2002 Dino Devalie, who was preparing to sign 50 Cent to his label, approached The MIDI Mafia about using some of their beats for 50 Cent's debut record, ''

Get Rich or Die Tryin' ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' is the debut studio album by American rapper 50 Cent. It was released on February 6, 2003, by Interscope Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, Eminem's Shady Records, and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. After signing wi ...

''. MIDI Mafia agreed, and though 50 Cent ended up signing to

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

instead, their beats were used for the song "21 Questions", which was featured on ''Get Rich or Die Tryin. After the success of "21 Questions", The MIDI Mafia signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV and a label and production deal with Elektra Records. They were also offered A&R positions at Elektra and were being groomed to run Black Music. In 2006, The MIDI Mafia launched FamilyTies, an imprint label that allows them to sign and develop their own roster of talent. Singer/songwriter Deemi was the first artist signed to their label. The MIDI Mafia introduced themselves in to the Pop/R&B world when they produced "

", (song originally written for Tori Kelly when she was signed to

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

) the second single from

Fantasia Barrino Fantasia Monique Barrino-Taylor (born June 30, 1984), known professionally by her mononym Fantasia, is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality television series ''American Idol'' in ...

's self-titled album ''

'' which held the number one spot for eight weeks on the U.S. Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. "Fantasia Barrino - Artist Chart History - Singles" ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. The song was written by Grammy award-winning songwriter Jane’t Sewell (which The MIDI Mafia discovered and developed), Bruce Waynne, and Erika Nuri. In 2007, the duo worked with

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

on her track "

Hold It Don't Drop It "Hold It Don't Drop It" is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez for her sixth studio album, '' Brave'' (2007). It was written by Kevin "Dirty Swift" Risto, Waynne "Bruce Wayyne" Nugent, Lopez, Allen Phillip Lees, Tawanna Dabney (a. ...

", contributing as both writers and producers.

Relocation to Los Angeles

In 2008, The MIDI Mafia moved from New York to Los Angeles. After their relocation, MIDI collaborated with ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' contestant

David Archuleta David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American pop singer. At ten years old, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition, leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years old, he becam ...

, contributing a track on his self-titled debut album, released in November 2008. In the process of working with

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

and

James Fauntleroy II James Edward Fauntleroy II (born May 16, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Inglewood, California. He is best known for writing credits on tracks by high-profile artists such as Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, Kendrick ...

, MIDI Mafia met and began to work with

, whom at the time went by the name Lonny Breaux. Then, Frank was working as a lyricist, and approached The MIDI Mafia with a desire to become better at composing melodies. While with The MIDI Mafia, Frank Ocean wrote the songs "Quickly" for

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

, "Bigger" and "Mamma’s Boy" for

. In 2010, The MIDI Mafia recorded Frank Ocean's mix tape,

Nostalgia Ultra ''Nostalgia, Ultra'' (stylized as ''nostalgia,ULTRA.'' and occasionally ''nostalgia/ultra'') is the debut mixtape by American singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. It was released on February 16, 2011. Ocean was inspired to make the mixtape after Hurri ...

, in which The MIDI Mafia produced the song Swim Good. The mixtape was recorded by The MIDI Mafia engineer, Reggie Rojo Jr. The MIDI Mafia also collaborated with

as writers on the track "Bad Religion", off Ocean's debut album, ''

Channel Orange ''Channel Orange'' (stylized as ''channel ORANGE'') is the debut studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. It was released on July 10, 2012, by Def Jam Recordings. After releasing his mixtape '' Nostalgia, Ultra'' the previous ...

Branding

In November 2009, "PHamous", a

hip house Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip hop, that originated in both London, United Kingdom and Chicago, United States in the mid to late 1980s. British group the Beatmaste ...

song they wrote and produced, was used as a backing track for a

flash mob A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organized via t ...

at the

Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino Planet Hollywood Las Vegas (formerly the Aladdin) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. The property was previously the site of an earlier resort known ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. The flash mob was conceived by YouTuber ShayCarl, who was assisted by fellow YouTubers

LisaNova Lisa Donovan (born June 11, 1980) is an American former YouTuber. She is a founder of Zappin Productions, a production company that specialized in viral videos, as well as the founder and CEO of ''The Pattern'', an astrology-based personality app ...

MysteryGuitarMan Jônatas "Joe" de Moura Penna (born May 29, 1987) is a Brazilian musician and filmmaker best known from both his YouTube channel MysteryGuitarMan and his feature films. He resides in Los Angeles, California. YouTube Penna maintains the YouTub ...

KassemG Kassem Gharaibeh ( ar, قاسم الغرايبة; born October 10, 1983) is an American Internet personality and host of ''Attack of the Show!'' His YouTube channel Kassem G hosts several hundred videos, most notably the ''California On'', ''Goin ...

, Denise Vlogs,

Traphik Tim Chantarangsu (born March 6, 1986), formerly known as Timothy DeLaGhetto (and previously Traphik), is an American internet and television personality. He is best known from the improv comedy show ''Wild 'N Out'' where he was a cast member bet ...

aka TimothyDeLaGhetto2 and HiimRawn. The flashmob video reached two million views within in 5 days of its release. Within the first 20 minutes of the song being posted for download on the Internet, 450,000 people downloaded the song, causing The MIDI Mafia’s website to crash. "PHamous" was used in promos for VH1 television programs and it was also used as the ending song for the weekly video of ''What da Faq Show'' which airs on YouTube and Facebook. On July 16, 2010, the video for "PHamous" debuted on YouTube on TheStation channel, a collaboration channel of most of the YouTubers of the original flash mob, including the lyric about being "friends with ShayCarl." The song was also featured on the '' We Killed the Radio Star Podcast'' as the introductory and concluding piece of music during the episode "Don't Drink the Water".

''Vegas Lights''

On June 1, 2010, The MIDI Mafia released their own album, ''Vegas Lights'', via FamilyTies. The songs "PHamous", "Last Call" "Mr. Vegas", and "2 Piece" were included on the album. "PHamous", "Last Call", and "2 Piece" were also featured on Season 3 of the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

show, ''

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

''. "Mr. Vegas" was used for former

Dance Moms ''Dance Moms'' is an American reality television series that debuted on Lifetime on July 13, 2011. Created by Collins Avenue Productions, the show follows the training and careers of children in dance and show business under the tutelage of Abb ...

star

Kalani Hilliker Kalani Brooke Hilliker (born September 23, 2000) is an American dancer and actress. She rose to fame in 2013 as a contestant on the Lifetime reality series '' Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition'' and subsequently appeared on ''Dance Moms'', becomi ...

's hip hop trio on

Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition ''Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition'' was an American dance reality competition series on Lifetime. The series encompasses twelve talented boy and girl dancers who are competing for $100,000 and a scholarship to the prestigious Joffrey Ballet Ac ...

. "Mr. Vegas" features an

Acme siren The Acme siren is a musical instrument used in concert bands for comic effect. Often used in cartoons, it produces the stylized sound of a police siren. It is one of the few aerophones in the percussion section of an orchestra. The instrument is ...

. The song "Lucky Tonight" was featured on ''Jersey Shore vs American Reunion'', an MTV video used to cross-promote the new season of ''Jersey Shore'' and the release of the movie, ''

American Reunion ''American Reunion'' (also known as ''American Pie 4: Reunion'' or ''American Pie: Reunion'' in certain countries) is a 2012 American ensemble sex comedy film written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. It is the fourth installme ...

''.

''Get Connected''

In the beginning of 2012, The MIDI Mafia released ''Get Connected'', an

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

album. MIDI Mafia used the project to re-launch their brand. A remix of their song "Blinded By The Lights" off of ''Get Connected'' was used in a promotional trailer for Pauly D’s show, ''The Pauly D Project''. On July 27, 2012,

Conor Maynard Conor Paul Maynard (born 21 November 1992) is an English singer. Born and raised in Brighton, he signed a recording contract with Warner Music Group in 2011. Maynard rose to fame in 2012 when he was nominated for, and subsequently won, MTV's ''M ...

released his debut album '' Contrast'' featuring the Midi Mafia produced "Pictures". The MIDI Mafia also remixed

Josh Osho Josh Osho is an English singer-songwriter from South London, who was previously signed to Island Records. Early life Osho was brought up in South London by his parents Nigerian born father and Irish Nigerian mother. He attended Graveney Schoo ...

's "Giants" featuring

Childish Gambino Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...

which was included on Osho's album ''L.I.F.E''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:The MIDI Mafia American hip hop record producers Canadian hip hop record producers Record production teams