Midwest Hip Hop - Michigan

Michigan

After hip hop originated in the late 70s and gained popularity through time, Detroit was home to a vibrant underground hip hop scene by the 1990s. According to Insane Clown Posse member Violent J, not only is Detroit's hip hop scene signified by rap battles and waiting to be discovered by a major label, but by independently building up successful business empires, as local rapper Esham did with Reel Life Productions, and Insane Clown Posse did with Psychopathic Records. Esham, Insane Clown Posse, and Eminem were the first Detroit rappers to gain major notice. Kid Rock later merged rock influences into his music, creating a form of rap rock, and in recent years focused predominately on more rock-oriented music.

Slum Village was an act which emerged from the hip hop scene in Detroit in the mid 1990s. Their first album, Fantastic, Vol. 1 came out in 1996. The producer was J Dilla, who also produced for notable hip-hop acts from around the country, including The Pharcyde, Common, and A Tribe Called Quest. He would later become one of the most sought after producers in hip-hop, with many of his beats being used posthumously after his death in 2006.

Blade Icewood was one of the best from Detroit's underground, but was gunned down and murdered in 2005, after his first shooting which left him paralyzed from his chest down. He had a beef for some time with the Eastside Chedda Boyz, a hardcore hip hop group from Detroit's east neighborhoods. There was a dispute over the name Chedda Boyz because Blade Icewood claimed that name originated on the west side of the city.

A popular place for rap battles there is the local Hip Hop Shop, located on W 7 Mile. Eminem began as an underground Detroit rapper and released two albums before being signed; Infinite and The Slim Shady EP. In 1999 he was signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and he released his major-label debut album The Slim Shady LP. His second album, The Marshall Mathers LP, became the fastest selling hip hop album in history, breaking Snoop Dogg's record.

He has gone on to have significant mainstream success with all his albums and is now one of the best selling rappers of all time, making him Detroit's most widely recognizable hip-hop star.

MC Breed, from Flint, Michigan is most notable for his songs "Ain't No Future in Yo Frontin'" and "Gotta Get Mine" featuring Tupac Shakur. However, he was on life support for two days in September 2008 after he collapsed during a game of pick-up basketball due to kidney failure. It is unclear if prior health complications were the cause of death later that year. Another rapper from Flint named Jon Connor is quickly climbing the rap ladder and has been featured in The Source and has collaborated with many big names in the rap industry. Rapper Proof, was also part of the Detroit-founded rap group D12. Despite his success with D12, he also released two solo albums which were Searching for Jerry Garcia and I Miss The Hip Hop Shop. On April 11, 2006, he was fatally shot to death in a gunfight at a Detroit nightclub.

Although there is a vibrant underground hip hop scene, it's difficult to make it big in the city. Despite Detroit being over 85% African American, many of the most famous white rappers, including Eminem, Insane Clown Posse and Kid Rock, are from the Detroit area. D12, standing for Dirty Dozen or Detroit Twelve, made it big after Eminem's solo debut. Besides Eminem, former member Proof, and former member Bugz the rest of the group consists of members Bizarre, Kon Artis, Kuniva, Swift, and Fuzz Scoota. Detroit rapper Obie Trice made his major-label debut in Shady Records as he released Cheers followed by Second round's on Me. Royce da 5'9", another Detroit rapper, debuted around the same time D12 did. Before that, Royce was part of the underground rap duo "Bad Meets Evil" with Eminem. Trick Trick is widely known and recognized as an important figure in Detroit's underground hip hop scene. The Dayton FamilyEarly history (1993–2005)In 1993, Ira Dorsey and Raheen Peterson met through their younger brothers. The two began writing together, under the names Bootleg and Shoestring, and created their first song, "Dope Dayton Ave." Rapper Matt Hinkle soon joined the duo under the name Backstabba. The group began working with local producer Steve Pitts and formed The Dayton Family, named after Dayton St., one of the most crime-ridden streets in their hometown of Flint, Michigan. In between studio sessions, they performed at local clubs and quickly gain notoriety within Flint.

The Dayton Family recorded a 12-inch single and soon signed with Atlanta independent record label Po Broke in 1995. That year, the group released their debut album What's on My Mind? and were featured on No Limits Down South Hustlers: Bouncin' and Swingin' compilation album, which got the trio recognition throughout Southern United States. After the album's release, Hinkle was imprisoned and replaced by Dorse's younger brother Eric, who performed under the name Ghetto E. Following a year of touring, the group left Po Broke due to legal problems with the label's producer.

In 1996, they released their second album F.B.I., standing for Fuck Being Indicted, under Relativity Records. The album was later certified gold. The Dayton Family was plagued with various legal problems, including Ira being incarcerated soon after the release of F.B.I., which hindered the amount of work the group released. In, both Ira and Peterson released solo albums. Two years later, the group signed with Detroit rapper Esham's Gothom label and released solo albums. The next year, they released Welcome to the Dopehouse under Koch Records.

Big Sean, from Detroit's west side, steadily rose to fame with the work on his mixtapes. In 2007, he was signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music label, and in 2008, Def Jam Recordings. Since then he has had mainstream success. He released Finally Famous in 2011. His mixtape released in September 2012, titled Detroit (mixtape), is being called the mixtape of the year. His next album is scheduled for release in December 2012.