https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twista
Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name
Twista (formerly
Tung Twista), is an American
hip hop recording artist from
Chicago,
Illinois. He is perhaps best known for his
chopperstyle of
rapping and for once holding the title of fastest rapper in the world according to
Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds.
[2]
In 1997, after appearing on
Do or Die's hit single "
Po Pimp", produced by
The Legendary Traxster, Twista signed with Big Beat and Atlantic Records, where he released his third album
Adrenaline Rush and formed the group
Speedknot Mobstaz, in 1998. His 2004 album
Kamikaze reached the top of the US
Billboard 200 album chart, after the success of the
Billboard Hot 100 #1 single "
Slow Jamz".
Contents
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Early life[edit]
Carl Mitchell grew up in the
K-Town area of the
North Lawndale neighborhood on the
West Side of
Chicago,
Illinois and began rapping when he was 12.
[3]
Career[edit]
1986-1991: Runnin' Off at da Mouth[edit]
In 1992, Mitchell released his first album called
Runnin' Off at da Mouth under the name Tung Twista.
1993–94: Name change, Atlantic Records & Resurrection[edit]
His second album, titled
Resurrection, was set to be released in 1994, but due to problems with his record label at the time
Atlantic Records and marketing issues involving fellow Chicago rapper
Common's
album of the same name, the album was only released in the city of
Chicago and thus got little national attention.
1996–97: Adrenaline Rush[edit]
In 1996 he teamed with Chicago producer
The Legendary Traxster and Cwal's
Do or Die on the track "
Po Pimp" produced by The Legendary Traxster, which became a hit single. This led to a Cwal's label deal with Atlantic Records, which released
Adrenaline Rush in 1997.
[4] Twista had by then dropped the "Tung" from his stage name.
[3] Adrenaline Rush became Twista's first charting album, as it peaked at #77 on the
Billboard Hot 200. The album also spawned a
Billboard Hot 100 hit in "Get It Wet" produced by The Legendary Traxster, which peaked at #96.
1998–2000: Speedknot Mobstaz and Legit Ballin[edit]
In 1998 Twista teamed with other Chicago area rappers to form the
Speedknot Mobstaz. They released their first album,
Mobstability produced entirely by The Legendary Traxster, in 1998. Twista then formed his own Legit Ballin' label, which released two compilation albums:
Legit Ballin' in 1999 and
Legit Ballin' Vol. 2: Street Scriptures in 2001.
[3] The label later released
Respect The Game, Vol. 3 in 2002 and
Volume 4: Tha Truth in 2006. In 2000, Twista collaborated with
Ruff Ryders and
Drag-On on the
Ruff Ryders: Ryde or Die Vol. 2 album, on the track "Twisted Heat."
2002–04: Kamikaze[edit]
Beginning in 2002, Twista began recording his album
Kamikaze with rappers like
Kanye West and
Ludacris.
Kamikaze came out in 2004 and debuted at the top spot of the American
Billboard 200 album chart.
[5] Its first single "
Slow Jamz" (also featured on
Kanye West's debut album
The College Dropout), featured West and
Jamie Foxx and became a
number-one hit in the US.
[4] Other singles included "Overnight Celebrity" and "So Sexy" (featuring
R. Kelly); the album sold around two million copies.
[3] The remix of the song "Jook Gal" by
Elephant Man featured Twista and the
YoungBloodZ. The
Kamikaze album and its singles gave Twista a new level of success and rose his profile significantly within the rap community.
2005–09: The Day After, GMG Entertainment, Adrenaline Rush 2007 & Category F5[edit]
Twista in 2008.
Twista's album
The Day After was released in 2005. It featured the hit singles "Girl Tonite" featuring
Trey Songz, "Hit the Floor" featuring
Pitbull, and "
So Lonely" featuring
Mariah Carey.His next album,
Adrenaline Rush 2007came out in 2007. Its singles were "Give it Up" featuring
Pharrell and "Creep Fast" featuring
T-Pain. This album sold poorly compared to Twista's earlier albums.[
citation needed] Twista appeared on the single "
Hell No (Leave Home)" from
Monica's album fall 2006
The Makings of Me. In 2008, Twista launched a new record label called "
Get Money Gang Entertainment" and the album
Category F5 with the hit, "Wetter".
[6] In 2009, Twista appeared on the single "Legendary" with fellow Chicago rappers AK47 of
Do or Die and
Saurus and Bones.
[7][8]
2010–11: The Perfect Storm[edit]
Twista released his eighth solo album entitled,
The Perfect Storm on Nov 9, 2010. The first single from the album, "
Make a Movie" produced by The Legendary Traxster, featuring
Chris Brown, was released on August 24, 2010.
[9] Two buzz singles were released, "I Do" produced by Traxster and "Heat" produced by fellow Chicago producers
NO I.D. and The Legendary Traxster. The album features artists such as
Waka Flocka Flame,
Raekwon, Tia London,
Diddy,
Ray J, and others. Production on the album is mainly by The Legendary Traxster along with
Streetrunner, Twinz, Tight Mike and
NO I.D.. In an October 31, 2010 interview on
Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, Twista discussed his new documentary, directed by Vlad Yudin and the making of The Perfect Storm, including his belief that artists need to do more than just record songs and that they need to become more involved with the community around them.
[10] A
documentary film, titled
Mr. Immortality: The Life and Times of Twista, was directed by Vlad Yudin and released through EMI Label Services on January 11, 2011, which is based on Twista's life and music in Chicago.
[11] Many other stars starred in the documentary; such as:
Ne-Yo,
Big Boi from
Outkast,
Jeremih,
Scott Storch,
Red Cafe, and others.
[12]
2014–present: The Dark Horse[edit]
In January 2013, Twista was featured in a remix of
Lil Reese's song "Traffic". As of 2013, Twista was working on his ninth studio album entitled
The Dark Horse. He also was rumored to be in the works of signing a record deal with
Kanye West's music label
GOOD Music, although in an interview with
HipHopDX Twista denied the rumor.[
citation needed] The first single was "Throwin My Money", featuring
R. Kelly and produced by Chris Millionaire. Twista appeared on the song "Jewels N Drugs" by
Lady Gaga on the album
ARTPOP. "It's Yours" featuring Tia London, the first single from
The Dark Horse, was released on May 6, 2014.
[13][14] It will be serviced to
urban contemporary radio in the United States on May 27, 2014 by
Capitol Records.
[15] Twista is featured on the song "Gossip" from
When Music Worlds Collide released in May of 2015.
[16]
Personal life[edit]
During the holiday season in 2010, Twista and his GMG team worked together with Chicago Food Bank's Produce mobile program to feed hungry people in the community.
[17]