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Twista Biography
He's the man Ludacris, P.
Diddy, Timbaland, and Three 6 Mafia call when they need someone to take
their records over the top. He's the MC whose style has been imitated by
scores of rappers.
He's the underground legend
ready to return to the game he helped revolutionize. That's right, Twista
is back, and after years of making hits for other artists, the Chicago
pioneer is about to release his most important album--the highly
anticipated Kamikaze.
With 1997's Adrenaline Rush Twista showed how the rapid-fire flow was
supposed to go. Now, with Kamikaze, he shows what it is like when he
elevates his own style.
Kamikaze represents two
things," Twista explains. "On a surface level, I was like, 'What
could I come with after Adrenaline Rush? What's the ultimate adrenaline
rush? It's going kamikaze. On another level, I feel like I'm going into
the game kamikaze. We know its f--ked up, but we've got to get a certain
goal and we're trying to achieve it."
Longtime Twista fans, who have been following the motormouth MC since he
was named the world's fastest rapper by the Guinness Book Of World Records
more than a decade ago, will be thrilled that several Kamikaze cuts build
directly off his classic material.
"Kill Us All," for example, is a sequel of sorts to the classic
album's title track. "I was trying to do that like Adrenaline
Rush," Twista says. "I know I'm going to do 'Overdose' part two
and I'm going to pick that up right where I left off, with the same little
lyrics where I got cut off at. I'm going to pick that up where I left off
because it had that beat and that vibe and I just started zoning to it one
day while I was sitting in the studio. I started pacing the hall and
started thinking of some deep, crazy sh-t."
Twista also re-ups on the new version of "Feel So Good." The new
version, which was produced by long-time collaborator Toxic and which
features Jazze Pha on the chorus, features Twista rapping smoother, slower
and working the ladies.
In another twist, Twista gives women the personality of drinks on the
aptly titled "Drinks." Over a funky, Toxic-produced beat, Twista
mixes and matches the personalities of `Crown Royal`, `Alize`, and others
into a compelling lyrical exercise.
"I wanted to do something different," Twista explains. "I
like the ladies and the beat felt like that West Coast club sh-t. I
started thinking about the club and the chicks. Toxic was sitting around
like, 'What's your favorite drink?' We got the hook together and then on
top of the beat I started rapping to it."
Although he's known for his machine-gun raps, Twista uses Kamikaze to
display his full rapping range. Over a gangstered-out track from Kanye
West (Jay-Z, Scarface, and others), Twista slows down his delivery pattern
and displays how effective he can be with any style on "One Last
Time." "I want people to hear that I can bring it any type of
way that I want to bring it," he explains. "I don't really have
to pop it fast, but I know that that's what people want to hear. But at
the same time, I want to make tracks where people can like my other stuff.
It's about my creativity."
Much of Twista's creativity comes from the West Side Chicago streets on
which he was raised. Home to pimps, players, macks, prostitutes, and other
underworld figures, this section of Chicago has served as the backdrop for
many of Twista's rhymes. On "Pimp On," Twista teams with 8Ball
and Too $hort, as well as famous Chicago pimp the Arch Bishop Don Magic
Juan, for a breakdown of the way of his native streets, and a nod to the
song that first brought him to prominence.
"It represents what I started from," Twista says of "Pimp
On." "The first thing that really put me out there, that people
really heard me on, was the Do Or Die song 'Po Pimp.' It's not as much
about sticking to the whole thing of pimping, it's just the vibe where
we're from in the city. I wanted to carry on that vibe and represent where
I'm from. And then, I wanted to put down some true players."
One of the most influential and mimicked players in the game, Twista feels
that he doesn't always get the respect he deserves from other artists in
the game. On the dramatic "Show's Over" (which also features
Freeway and Legit Ballin' member Beanie Franks) as well as the venomous
"I Got This," Twista lets loose on his detractors. On the
latter, he gives an abbreviated rundown of his illustrious career and
addresses many of the rumors that have surrounded him since he released
Adrenaline Rush.
"I was kicking it around with the rumors," he says. "I was
letting people know that I'm back and I've got a style that people bite a
lot. All ya'll got your rumors, so let me tell you the real."
On the real, Twista is one of the most important figures in rap history.
Before others rode rapid-fire rhyming to the top of the charts, Twista
employed the style on his overlooked debut album, 1991's Runnin' Off At Da
Mouth (released as Tung Twista).
After a few years on the DL, Twista reemerged with Do Or Die on the
classic "Po Pimp," setting the stage for his triumphant return.
The result was the classic Adrenaline Rush album, a collection that
regularly appears on Billboard's rap catalog album chart today.
In 1998, he released Mobstablility with the Speedknot Mobstaz before
launching his Legit Ballin' imprint, which has released three critically
acclaimed and ghetto gold compilations.
All the while, Twista has been honing his craft and looking for the right
time to return. "I represent for the MCs that have skills, not just
make music for the hell of it," he says. "I take the time to
concentrate. Otherwise, I could have 10 albums out there, easy. I could
sit down all day and write something. But I write when I get in a zone
more than writing because I've got to do this. I represent the artists
that keep it true to what really is, to be able to make rappers want to
write."
Twista accomplishes his goal on Kamikaze, an album that solidifies his
place as one of the premier rappers ever to clutch a microphone and marks
his return to the top of the game.
"I want to show the streets that I'm back and that I'm true to the
game," Twista proclaims. Musically, I want to show that I'm still out
here doing my thing. After all the people that were out when I was out
years ago fell off, I'm still out here competing with the shorties. I also
want to gain platinum success. It's something that I haven't done."
Twista Links
Twista
Official Website |
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