You Must Hear 7

midwest

Last updated: Tue Oct 28 2025 07:00:28 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Description

The "midwest" tag captures music rooted in America's heartland, characterized by gritty authenticity and blue-collar sensibility that spans hip-hop, rock, and indie scenes. Artists from this region often blend raw, introspective storytelling with stripped-down production that reflects industrial landscapes and working-class experiences. The sound emphasizes honest, unpretentious creativity over coastal polish, creating a distinctive artistic identity shaped by geographic and cultural isolation.

100 chronological releases

Place	Cover	Date	Artist	Album	Tags	Other places
68		1990-12-11	Devo	Are We Not Men	alternative industrial midwest new wave ohio pop post-punk rock usa	ohio # 29
61		1993	Top Authority	Somethin' to Blaze To	hardcore rap midwest
28		1994	Bag Of Hammers	Bag of Hammers:eXtreme - Weed-n-Coffee	detroit detroit rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 29
98		1994-06-21	Bone Thugs-N-Harmony	Creepin on Ah Come Up	gangsta rap	g-funk # 43 gangsta rap # 83
1		1994-10-17	K-Stone	313	detroit detroit rap michigan midwest midwest rap	midwest rap # 11
56		1994-11-22	Esham	Closed Casket	detroit gangsta rap horrorcore	detroit # 13
50		1995-01-17	Mastamind	Lickkuiddrano	detroit detroit rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	detroit rap # 32 midwest rap # 45
35		1995-02-24	Project Born	Born Dead	michigan midwest midwest rap	midwest rap # 35
91		1996-09-24	The Dayton Family	F.B.I.	gangsta rap hardcore rap midwest	hardcore rap # 58
43		1997	Kgp	Necrology	horrorcore michigan midwest midwest rap	midwest rap # 40
41		1997	Triple Darkness	Cold Blooded	chicago midwest underground rap
90		1997	Piebald	When Life Hands You Lemons	midwest
8		1997-01-30	Son	A Storm Of Soap And Other Things	midwest
13		1999-09-01	Paradime	Paragraphs	detroit detroit rap michigan midwest midwest rap underground rap	midwest rap # 17
38		2000	Halfbreed	Serial Killaz	detroit detroit rap horrorcore michigan midwest midwest rap	detroit rap # 11 midwest rap # 38
52		2000	Project Born	Born Dead 2	hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground rap	midwest rap # 47
62		2000	Athletic Mic League	The Thrill Is Gone	midwest underground rap
65		2000	Esham	Boomin Words From Hell	detroit gangsta rap hardcore rap midwest
79		2000-03-27	Illogic	Unforeseen Shadows	midwest underground rap
36		2000-03-28	Esham	'Bootleg' (From The Lost Vault)-Vol.1	detroit hardcore rap midwest
16		2001	Paradime	Vices	detroit detroit rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 19
51		2001	Qwazaar	Walk Thru Walls	chicago midwest underground rap
96		2001-02-06	Typical Cats	Typical Cats	chicago hip-hop midwest underground rap	underground rap # 12 chicago # 90
55		2002	One Be Lo	Project: F.E.T.U.S.	detroit jazz hop michigan midwest underground rap	michigan # 5
12		2002	Rich the Factor	Big Thyme	gangsta rap midwest underground rap
73		2002	Athletic Mic League	Sweats & Kicks	midwest underground rap
66		2002-12-09	The Black Keys	The Moan
26		2003	Dice	Theneighborhoodshittalka	detroit detroit rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 28
23		2003	Various Artists	The Motor City Rhythm & Blues Pioneers	blues detroit michigan midwest
80		2003-09-22	Atmosphere	Seven's Travels	hip-hop	minneapolis # 85 minnesota # 95
92		2003-10-25	Diverse	One A.M.	chicago midwest underground hip-hop underground rap	underground rap # 54 chicago # 78
42		2004	Bedlam	Bedlamitez Rize	horrorcore michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 39
72		2004	Keston and Westdal	Super Structure Baby	america american american indie downtempo midwest minneapolis san francisco us indie usa	america # 38 san francisco # 49 american indie # 55 us indie # 69 minneapolis # 89
30		2004-08-03	Paradime	11 Steps Down	detroit detroit rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 31
11		2004-08-24	MC Breed	The New Prescription	hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 16
85		2004-10-26	Typical Cats	Civil Service	chicago jazz hop midwest underground rap	jazz hop # 13 chicago # 61
53		2004-11	Menacide	The Drugz LP	hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	michigan # 2 midwest rap # 49
33		2005	Skrapz	The 12 Step Program	detroit detroit rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop	detroit rap # 3 midwest rap # 34
70		2005	One Be Lo	S.T.I.L.L.B.O.R.N.	detroit jazz hop midwest underground rap
71		2005	YUKI	Pony Play	alternative dream pop electronica indie pop indie rock midwest new wave noise pop shoegaze
48		2005-10-04	Marz	Against All Odds	chicago hip-hop midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 43
89		2005-10-04	Atmosphere	You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having	hip-hop
74		2006-04-11	Tom Brosseau	Tom Brosseau	acoustic folk midwest
47		2006-06-16	Elephant Beach	Escape	chicago midwest
24		2006-07-11	The Lovekill	These Moments Are Momentum	alternative cleveland midwest ohio rock	cleveland # 39
100		2006-08-15	The Black Keys	Your Touch - The EP	blues rock midwest rock
78		2007	Project Born	Once Upon A Time In The Projects	hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground rap	michigan # 45 midwest rap # 65
3		2007-02-19	Qwel & Jackson Jones	20th Street Rich	chicago midwest underground rap
82		2007-03-13	Keston and Westdal	Truth is Stranger	america american american indie britain british california downtempo england english midwest minneapolis san francisco us indie usa	english # 3 england # 35 american indie # 74 america # 76 san francisco # 76 us indie # 87 britain # 88 minneapolis # 96
77		2007-07-10	Robust	El Foto Grande	chicago jazz hop midwest underground rap	chicago # 24
14		2007-08-01	Amdeide	Facade Promo	electro electronic electronica electropop futurepop industrial midwest minneapolis minnesota new wave techno	minnesota # 41 minneapolis # 56
95		2007-08	The Black Keys	The Live EP	blues blues rock male vocalists midwest rock
87		2007-10-10	Mind Soup	Love Songs For Gifted Children	america american american indie midwest ohio us indie usa	ohio # 69 american indie # 82 america # 85 us indie # 92
81		2007-12-11	One Be Lo	The R.E.B.I.R.T.H.	detroit jazz hop michigan midwest underground rap	jazz hop # 1 michigan # 54
2		2008	Bake Up Boyz	Fresh Out Da Kitchen	hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 12
27		2008	Eisenhower Field Day	Tyrants and Spies	alt pop alternative indie pop indie rock power pop midwest	alt pop # 59
76		2008	Keston and Westdal	One Day to Save All Life	america american american indie britain british downtempo england english midwest minneapolis san francisco us indie usa	england # 7 america # 50 american indie # 60 san francisco # 60 us indie # 74 britain # 81 minneapolis # 92
99		2008-03-24	The Black Keys	Strange Times	midwest
75		2008-09-30	Trick Trick	The Villain	detroit detroit rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap	michigan # 30 midwest rap # 61 detroit rap # 63
58		2008-11-11	The Layaways	The Space Between	college rock midwest	college rock # 25
57		2009	Shane Capone	Certified WhiteBoy	detroit detroit rap hardcore hardcore rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground rap	michigan # 7 detroit rap # 37 midwest rap # 50
64		2009-01-29	Kgp	Hatred Vol 2	horrorcore michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground rap	michigan # 17 midwest rap # 55
20		2009-04-17	HipGnosis	Scientific Illuminism (Is For Sissies)	electronica glitch idm
69		2009-12-18	Mind Soup	Besides	america american american indie midwest ohio us indie usa	america # 28 ohio # 30 american indie # 51 us indie # 65
39		2010	Bad Heart Bull	Devil Catch Up With Me	chicago female vocalists folk indie pop lo-fi midwest singer-songwriter
84		2010	The Black Keys	Same Old Thing	midwest
97		2010-10-19	The Black Keys	iTunes Session	midwest
34		2010-11-10	KatazTrophee	Opening The Box: The B-Sides	alternative dance alternative hip hop american dance edm electronic electronica ethereal house indie electronic indietronica midwest piano sampling soundscape
93		2011-01-04	The Black Keys	Ohio	midwest
18		2012	Shane Capone	Heated Speech w/ bonus DVD	detroit detroit rap hardcore hardcore rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 22
54		2012-08	The Black Keys	Brothers (bonus disc: Akron Sessions)	midwest
59		2013	American Wolf	Tales Of Kamanakera	acoustic ambient midwest midwest emo pop rock
40		2014-09-23	Hey, Joni	DEMO
86		2015-06-29	YUKI	Yuki EP	alternative dream pop electronica indie pop indie rock midwest new wave noise pop shoegaze
7		2015-09-18	Gaps	Beat Her Heart Out	midwest rap southern rap
63		2016	Good Luck at the Hog Slaughter	Ghost Stories	emo math rock midwest post-punk slowcore
94		2016-06-29	Stars Hollow	I'm Really Not That Upset About It	emo midwest midwest emo screamo skramz	skramz # 74
83		2017-03-03	Various Artists	The Land (Music from the Motion Picture)	alternative rap cleveland hip-hop midwest ohio rap	alternative rap # 25 ohio # 61 cleveland # 82
88		2018	Origami	Синдром Кассандры	midwest
67		2018-12-07	The Pier	Dead Reckoning	italian math rock midwest post-rock
4		2019-06-13	Bird Bone	Тени	midwest emo pop punk
29		2022-09-24	Bovinophobic Bile Puddle	BBP	hardcore midwest noisecore sludge
45		2023	Various Artists	LOYALTY & RESPECT MIXTAPE V.1	midwest rap
6			1st Dagree	Ride Wit Us Or Get Ran Ova Vol 2.0 MixTape	detroit detroit rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 13
10			Teflon Trigga	Against All Odds	alternative hip-hop midwest midwest rap nerdcore underground hip-hop	midwest rap # 15
17			Beaver Shoot	Where is the P***y and Beer?	comedy detroit detroit rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 20
21			M.O.B. ...featuring Shane Capone	Terror...	detroit detroit rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap underground hip-hop underground rap	midwest rap # 26
22			M.O.B. ...featuring Shane Capone	Welcome to Detroit Muthafuckaz	detroit detroit rap hip-hop michigan midwest midwest rap rap	midwest rap # 27
46			Adam Zivojnovich	LIVE! FROM MY PARENTS' BASEMENT	alternative comedy crunk cybergrind hip-hop live show midwest nerdcore nintendocore post-hardcore rap rapcore underground hip-hop underground rap	live show # 39
5			Block Burna Boyz	The Brains Tha Muscle & Da Mouthpiece	crunk dirty south hip-hop midwest rap southern rap underground hip-hop
9			Mr. Frizo	House Keys (Single)	midwest pop
15			МЫСБИВАЕМСПУТНИКИ!	Город в котором нет меня	midwest post-rock
19			Lunatic Da New Face N Rap	Hood Infested	memphis rap midwest
25			МЫСБИВАЕМСПУТНИКИ!	деймос и фобос	midwest post-rock
31			Descending New Angels	Descending New Angels 1	alternative rock blues rock midwest southern rock usa
32			Lyriscologist	R.O.L.	crunk gangsta rap hardcore rap hip-hop horrorcore midwest rap rapcore rock underground hip-hop underground rap
37			RawBeatzz	Anotha Day...Anotha Dolla... Anotha Beat...mixcd Vol.1	midwest
44			Lyriscologist	New Bombs Explodin' Tracks	crunk gangsta rap hardcore rap hip-hop horrorcore midwest rap rapcore rock underground hip-hop underground rap
49			Pour Choices	Not Enough	acoustic bluegrass folk folk punk midwest
60			Nik Salah	Midwest's Best	acoustic emo midwest midwest emo

Related genres

• rap
• underground rap
• hip-hop
• michigan
• midwest rap
• underground hip-hop
• detroit
• rock
• alternative
• detroit rap