Legendz

Things were all good just a week ago. Whether it was laying down tracks for Jennifer Lopez or exploding on the scene with 50 Cent’s “21 Questions,” production duo extroadinaires Midi Mafia could do no wrong. Their phones were ringing off the hook from coast to coast for their hard-hitting beats and songwriting abilities. Then came 2006. A year so tumultuous it threatened to crumble the groups base. A bitter business dispute and family issues distracted Bruce Wayne, while Dirty Swift almost died in a Motocross accident that almost left him in a wheelchair. But, the skies are no longer grey with work on upcoming projects from Fantasia and Jennifer Lopez. With a new outlook on life, Midi Mafia is back to regain their rightful spot in the upper echelon of Hip-Hop producers.

Nobodysmiling.com : What’s going on?

Bruce Wayne : Just working man and continuing to make moves.

Dirty Swift : It’s been good…kind of had a hard year in 2006 when I had an accident that almost ended my life. Bruce also went through some family/business issues. But, we back at it and working with J.Lo again and Fantasia and have our own label, Family Ties, we promoting.

Nobodysmiling.com : Tell me about your separate upbringings in Ottawa, Canada and East New York?

Bruce Wayne I’m out of a West Indian home. My neighborhood was a mix of everything from Ricans, Jamaicans, etc. I’m the last of 9 kids. Have twin kids. Hip-Hop was an integral part of my upbringing from Guru and Premier to hearing tapes being pumped out of project windows. We didn’t pay attention to Hip-Hop, it was just ingrained in us.

Dirty Swift : Canada was cool. A surburban upbringing. Not a lot of Hip-Hop growing up, I just got that through the media, etc. I listened to so many things growing up. My teenage years introduced me to DJ’ing. I entered Scratch competitions and even traveled to London. Won the Scracth competition award in Canada and it’s been upwards ever since.

Nobodysmiling.com : How did that award make you feel?

Dirty Swift : Ever since I first started getting into Hip-Hop, I was always fascinated by djing. I grew up watching cats like Jazzy Jeff, Cash Money and it was amazing to me how you can turn scratching into music.

Nobodysmiling.com : Tell me about the Canadian Hip Hop scene?

Dirty Swift :: It’s just like anywhere else. It’s the main form of music out there, but Hip-Hop was born in the states and it’s difficult to be taken serious as there are not a lot of hoods up there. It’s not like the States where you have a ghetto in a lot of places. But, there’s a lot of untapped talent out there. I felt in moving to NY that the was the only chance I had to blow up.

Nobodysmiling.com :: Originally from Ottawa correct?

Dirty Swift : Yes

Nobodysmiling.com : I guess your kind of tight from them losing to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the finals this year?

Dirty Swift : (laughing) I haven’t really followed the league a lot the past couple of years so I can’t say I’m devastated about it.

Nobodysmiling.com : Now Wayne, I know when you were younger you had a brief prison stay. Tell us about that and what it taught you about life?

Bruce Wayne At 15, I caught a charge and faced a 1 to 3 instead of doing probation. Right when I was about to get off probation, my p-o violated me and I went back in. I didn’t understand it because I followed all the rules and stayed out of trouble. At this time, I had a record popping off on Hot 97 and was stuck in jail not being able to promote it. This experience showed me to move faster and not sit on anything, but react.

Nobodysmiling.com : What rap song was getting play?

Bruce Wayne This joint called “Like Butter.” It was my solo joint and getting play on Angie’s show, but I wasn’t able to promote it which messed up everything.

Nobodysmiling.com : So you moved onto producing…Do you miss the rapping side of the game?

Bruce Wayne : I don’t think that part of me ever left. I still assist a lot of artists with writing material for their songs so it’s still an important part of the Midi Mafia package.

Nobodysmiling.com : What makes this production duo work? Many rap groups and producer combos break up. What makes you guys different?

Dirty Swift : We started this partnership later in our life. Both of us do the same thing but differently. Bruce will start things and I’ll finish it and vice versa. When we met, it just kind of clicked. You can’t deny the success. The 1st record we did was “21 Questions.”

Bruce Wayne We take the old school approach to records. No disrespect to new producers who program tracks, but we do it the old-school way. It doesn’t matter what genre of music. We sit down and consult with the artists and with others like 50, he didn’t need us on the writing end. On the flip side, with Fantasia and J.Lo we wrote, produced, and mixed everything. It all depends.

Nobodysmiling.com : Do you think there’s too many producers in the game?

Bruce Wayne The term producer is used very loosely. If selling a beat can give you the title of a producer, fine. We don’t look at it like that. We want to be involved in every aspect of the production process. It’s great that the game is growing, but there is more quantity than quality nowadays.

Nobodysmiling.com : What do you think of all the magazines now dedicated to producing?

Dirty Swift : It’s great. Without producers, you don’t have a music industry. It’s great to see that a lot of us are getting the shine now. I wish a lot of the older producers from the 90’s and 80’s had this opportunity.

Nobodysmiling.com : Who are your favorite producers today?

Bruce Wayne We like everybody man. People like Swizz bring a lot of energy and diversity. He is a perfect example of how keeping it simple works. Kanye does his thing with the samples. JR and Storch do great things as well.

Nobodysmiling.com : What equipment do you guys use?

Bruce Wayne The foundation is the MPC. We use the MPC 4000 and very into the SoftSense and ProTools.

Nobodysmiling.com : Tell me about the past year in general. I know it’s been tumultuous.

Bruce Wayne: It was just an individual who thought he was entitled to a certain amount of money that he really didn’t deserve.

Nobodysmiling.com : Are you still embroiled in a legal battle with this individual?

Bruce Wayne Yes. I plan on fighting it all the way to the end to keep what’s mines out of his hands.

Nobodysmiling.com : Tell us about your life threatening accident?

Dirty Swift : I used to ride motorcycles when I was younger. Motocross and the jumps. This was the one thing I did that wasn’t music related and did on my own. I was riding and came off a corner wrong and landed awkwardly. The crazy part was that this wasn’t the worst of my crashes, but my back felt horrible. I got to the hospital and the doctors said my back was broken.

Nobodysmiling.com : How do you feel now?

Dirty Swift : I’m at 80 percent right now, but that last 20 percent will be a struggle.

Nobodysmiling.com : What are the lingering effects?

Dirty Swift : I got a couple of screws and metal in my back and they repaired my spine with titanium. The metal will always be there. They cut me up very which is extremely painful. Scars, back pain, the whole nine. It could’ve been a lot of worse man.

Nobodysmiling.com : Any major changes you’ve made in your life?

Dirty Swift : You don’t realize how things affect you till much after and I don’t take anything for granted anymore. I wake up with a new lease on life and outlook.I almost broke my spine and could’ve ended up in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Luckily, I survived and still can walk even though I have aftereffects. I didn’t have health insurance and this accident showed me how important it was.

Nobodysmiling.com : What kind of problems did a lack of health insurance present to you?

Bruce Wayne Those medical companies were on my back trying to get me to pay my bill when I was so stressed out over the whole accident. I realized that so many people can bill you. I got so many bills from so many doctors, some who did nothing but feel my toes for 300.00. Insurance is extremely important.

Nobodysmiling.com : Will you ever ride those bikes again or are you retired?

Dirty Swift : I don’t really have a choice at the moment, but I’m a crazy white boy and you’ll probably see me do it in the future when I feel ready.

Nobodysmiling.com : Wayne, you had some family issues in the past year. Tell us about that and how difficult it is to have a family in this business?

Bruce Wayne It’s not easy man. You have to be with someone who embraces what you do and understands that you won’t always see each other. My ex-wife was great and she took care of me and everything. But, I wasn’t always around due to trying to make these things happen and people drift when this occurs and that’s what happened. Distance was created. It’s hard to have a normal relationship in the music business. But, we are amicable and good friends. That may sound like a shocker to most, but my ex is like my best friend and we get along well.

Nobodysmiling.com : Tell me about the Family Ties label?

Bruce Wayne Family Ties started out at Elektra with an artist named Deemi. After the merger, we moved to Atlantic. This occurred in 2004. Now, we are just working with Deemi and bringing her out in late summer. A lot of people have been waiting for it and her single, “Soundtrack of my Life,” is doing well. We’ve also done a new deal with SRC/Universal and have a new artist named Sheray who is an incredible singer. We are really excited right now.

Nobodysmiling.com : What advice do you have for up and coming producers?

Bruce Wayne Your beats are your calling card and try to stay in the lab and make a lot of beats. Master your craft and network.

Nobodysmiling.com : How big was myspace for you guys in your tough times when you were kind of disconnected?

Bruce Wayne It was crazy because it allowed us to keep in contact with our fans during tough times. We were able to update our fans on what Midi is up to.

Dirty Swift : It was real encouraging to see all the well wishes we received during the tough times.

Nobodysmiling.com : Any words for your fans?

Dirty Swift : Thanks for the continued support and keep downloading our music so we can get that ringtone money (laughing). Just keep embracing our unofficial remixes so we know what the public thinks of us. Go to Loud.com all you young artists and pick some Midi Mafia beats to rap over. You never know it may turn into a hit.

Champaign Jackson

They Dope Man.
Propz , Good Read.