It's been a long time coming, but now that the Dirty South has broken through, the Midwest may be the next area of the hip-hop nation to pop off. Last summer Nelly had heads feelin' his smooth Midwest swing from coast to coast. Now St. Louis' favorite hip-hop son is back -- and this time he's brought his people with him.

The St. Lunatics -- Nelly, Ali, Slowdown, Ky-Jaun, Murphy Lee, and City Spud -- have been perfecting their laid-back flow since 1993. They scored a hit back in '96 with "Gimme What Ya Want," a single that solidified their status in St. Louis, but barely broke nationally. They've had a few ups and downs since then -- most notable was the incarceration of Nelly's little brother, City Spud -- but after the surprise success of Nelly's Country Grammar album last summer, the time is right for the St. Lunatics to finally launch themselves nationally with their debut release, Free City. The St. Lunatics first single and video, "Midwest Swing," are both getting lots of love from radio and video programmers on both coasts, and Free City is poised to blow up Nelly-style.

But the St. Lunatics want to put people on notice about Nelly's involvement in the group. Nelly's not the frontman, and the St. Lunatics aren't his backing group. Everyone is equal, and he's just part of the group -- he just happened to be the first one to go platinum. The first, but most definitely not the last.