The MIDI Mafia is a music production duo consisting of American Bruce Waynne (born Waynne Nugent) from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York and

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

Dirty Swift (born Kevin Risto) from

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. 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 television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

's number-one single "

21 Questions "21 Questions" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent featuring fellow American rapper Nate Dogg. Released in March 2003 through Interscope Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, Eminem's Shady Records, and 50 Cent's own G-Unit Records as th ...

". The MIDI Mafia has also produced for artists such as

Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music journalism, music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a B ...

(" Swim Good"), Fantasia (" When I See U"), Sha Stimuli (the single "Clap At Ya"),

Capone-N-Noreaga Capone-N-Noreaga (also known as C-N-N) is 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"),

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

, Bravehearts, Gemma Fox, Jean Grae, Talib Kweli, Young Buck,

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...

Miri Ben-Ari Miri Ben-Ari (; born ) is an Israeli Americans, Israeli–American violinist, record producer, and humanitarian. As of 2025, she is the first and only violinist to win a Grammy in the Hip Hop category, known as "the Hip hop music, hip-hop vio ...

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, East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, which he formed with childhood friends ...

and

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

History

Beginnings

Bruce Waynne met Dirty Swift at Makin' Records Studio in

, 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 ...

at the time.

Initial success

In 2002, Dino Devalie, who was preparing to sign

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, Eminem's Shady Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. After si ...

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

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, 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 ...

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 prepared 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 produced Pop/ R&B song " When I See U", (originally written for

Tori Kelly Victoria Loren Kelly (born December 14, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained recognition on YouTube before making it through to Hollywood week on the ninth season of ''American Idol'' in 2010 and eventually releasing her debu ...

when she was signed to

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

) the second single from Fantasia Barrino's self-titled album '' Fantasia'' 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 advertis ...

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

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

on her track " Hold It Don't Drop It", contributing as both writers and producers.

Relocation to Los Angeles

In 2008, The MIDI Mafia moved from New York to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. After their relocation, MIDI Mafia collaborated with ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' contestant David Archuleta, 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 ...

and James Fauntleroy II, MIDI Mafia met and began to work with

, whom at the time went by the name Lonny Breaux. Then, Breaux was working as a

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

, 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, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

, "Bigger" and "Mamma’s Boy" for

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

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, which originated in both London and Chicago in the mid-to-late 1980s. A British collaboration between the electronic group Beatm ...

song they wrote and produced, was used as a backing track for a flash mob at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. The flash mob was conceived by YouTuber ShayCarl, who was assisted by fellow YouTubers LisaNova, MysteryGuitarMan, KassemG, Denise Vlogs, Traphik, and HiimRawn. The flashmob video reached two million views within 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 (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

show, ''

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...

''. "Mr. Vegas" was used for former Dance Moms star Kalani Hilliker's hip hop trio on Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition. "Mr. Vegas" features an Acme siren. 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''.

''Get Connected''

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

released his debut album '' Contrast'' featuring the Midi Mafia produced "Pictures". The MIDI Mafia also remixed Josh Osho's "Giants" featuring Childish Gambino which was included on Osho's album ''L.I.F.E''.

Production discography

References

External links

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