This Chicago native, with an original moniker of Tung Twista has broke records with his swift lyrical capabilities, finding himself in the Guinness Book of Records. Having captured fans not only with his speed, but with his storytelling and his direct approach Carl Terrell Mitchell is just one of those MCs birthed in the Golden Era of Hip-Hop that has as of yet to slow down both literally and figuratively. Chicago has to be one of the most competitive cities when it comes to those capable of wowing an audience with their metaphors and similes. They say if you make it in New York, you can make it anywhere, well the same goes for Chicago. Seen as a melting pot when it comes to their inspiration and their tastes in music, those Midwest MCs when they get to stand in that spotlight, make sure they truly do shine.Twista after dropping the Tung from his name, took his career into his own hands and pushed his ground breaking album Adrenaline Rush himself back in 2007, the result was a gold disc to adorn his walls.Now fast forward a decade, which in Hip-Hop is pretty much like a golden wedding anniversary as opposed to just the generic aluminum one which ten years signifies, Twista is taking it back. "With Adrenaline Rush 2007, I wanted to aggressively express that Twista still do what he do and the best way to do that is to take something that you once did and re make it," he told us here at FemaleFirst. This trip down memory lane will obviously please his extensive fan base who were left a little perplexed after his 2005 release The Day After. This album followed up his critically acclaimed Kamikaze which went double platinum and somehow showed a side to Twista that some failed to understand.The Day After was literally a diary about his success following the release of Kamikaze and the Slow Jamz joint produced by Kanye West and featuring Jamie Foxx. It was this track which encouraged Twista to become as recognized on a worldwide level as he was on a national level. "That album, The Day After, was all experiences, from the perspective of hey I am successful and what I saw every day on the road. I was going out to different clubs and seeing different women and when you listened to that album you could say Twista is making this album while on the road, as I was writing about everything I was seeing," he explained.
But after a brief reprieve into the generic braggadocio vein of todays Hip-Hop he is coming back as hard as ever and his fans had better be ready for what he is presenting them with. "It is definitely hard" he said when talking about the content. But Adrenaline Rush 2007 does see him linking up with Chicago super producer Kanye West once again, who failed to sign in on the last album.
"It was hard for us to clash heads but I managed to get with him, and we were able to reintroduce that chemistry" Twista explained at securing some time with one of Hip-Hops most sought after producers.
Staying current in a genre that hosts an over abundance of rappers is something that Twista acknowledges and candidly appears to enjoy, "you just have to be able to re-create yourself all the time... You have to keep your ear to the street and stay youthful about it."
So with that being said, when Twista delivers his seventh solo album, he will once again be re-affirming his ability to give fans his all through his rhymes and show that he is moving with times just as fast as the words that fall from his mouth.
Melanie J Cornish