Artist	Song
DFC & MC Breed	Ain't No Future In Yo' Frontin'
from M.C. Breed & DFC (2002)
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony	Tha Crossroads
from E. 1999 Eternal (2008)
Kid Rock	Pimp of the Nation
from Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast (1990)
D12	Fight Music
from Devil's Night (2001)
Eminem, Proof & Trick Trick	No More to Say
from The People Vs. (2005)
Rich the Factor	Shut Down Shop
from This Is How We Eat (2006)
Tech N9ne	Caribou Lou
from Everready (2006)
Insane Clown Posse	What Is a Juggalo?
from The Great Milenko (1997)
Bizarre	Rockstar
from Hannicap Circus (2008)
Obie Trice featuring Akon	Snitch
from Snitch - Single (2006)
Royce da 5'9"	King of Detroit
from Build and Destroy (2003)
Triple Darkness	G.A.N.G.S.T.A.
from Last Dayz (2007)
The Dayton Family	Welcome to Flint
from Welcome to the Dopehouse (2002)
Bizarre & Kuniva	Murder
from Eminem Presents the Re-Up (Bonus Track Version) (2006)
Tech N9ne	Like Yeah
from Killer (2008)

Comment:

Flanked by New York on one side and L.A. on the other, the Midwest's gangsta rap scene pumped loud and proud to get recognition. For mile-high-top-sportin’ Detroit MC Kid Rock, getting noticed was no problem whatsoever. Like a bass-thumpin’ business plan that would chart his eventual rise to rap-rock royalty, "Pimp of the Nation" displayed Rock's raunchy mic work — "Well I'm a cool cat with the rap/That's harder than a pimp slap" — to a crackly, 808-vibrating track produced by Boogie Down Productions' D-Nice. A ways up north, MC Breed immortalized Flint, Michigan with "Ain't No Future in Yo’ Frontin," a deliriously trigger-happy anthem that documented his money-makin’ Midwestern lifestyle. Three gangsta rap essentials made the beat: a slithering “funky worm,” Zapp's bouncing bass, and handclaps so shrill they made bystanders duck. Meanwhile, down in Cleveland, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony paid tribute to their deceased mentor, Eazy-E, as well as other fallen homies on the GRAMMY®-winning "Tha Crossroads." "God is who we praise/Even though the devil's all up in my face," agonized the Thugs, as ethereal chimes twinkled on the track. But the story doesn't end there. From Eminem to Insane Clown Posse, the best of the microphone-squeezin’ Midwest is a only a mouse-click away . . .

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