Midwest Mafia
The Midwest Mafia was a 3-man rap group originating in Mattoon, Illinois, comprising of "Jay-D" (born J.D. in 1986), "J Money" (born J.T. in 1986), and "20" (born E.S. in 1987). The three met by chance in early August 2003 and recorded 3 full length songs , marking the beginning for what would become a full length self-titled CD finished in The Spring of 2004.
The group went on to complete Nothin 2 Lose, a second album in the spring of 2005. The album featured appearances of rap artists from all over the United States, including Top Notch Nation of Compton, California, Unanimous from the San Francisco Bay, Yung Profyt from Ohio, D Soljah from New York, New York, among many others. Standout tracks on this album included the "Anthem" and "Shut Em Down", which received airplay at several dance clubs in the area.
In the summer of 2005, the group created M Dub Records in central Illinois for local aspiring artists to show their talent. The label signed eight artists: Jay-D, 20, J Money, 5ty, Dee, T-Mac, Coop, and J-Doug. The latter 5 of the artists formed a group named "Street Quality" and released a full length album titled Free LT in August 2005, roughly two years after the Midwest Mafia had been formed. The only live performance ever occurring was on August 16, 2005 at the Burgess-Osbourne Auditorium in Mattoon, Illinois.
A third project titled Resurrection was started in the summer of 2005, originally to be completed in 2006, but was never finished by the group. One of the group members, "20", began his solo career in the fall, and helped form Raw Skills Entertainment with other locally known artists in the Champaign-Urbana area. He created a collection of songs on a CD titled Revenge, but this never reached the public eye. After this project was scrapped, he began a project title Everything 2 Gain which is pending completion. Currently, the Midwest Mafia is dormant, but still have close friendships with each other. They reside in Champaign, Illinois.
- See disambiguation: MWM of Council Bluffs, IA