He grew up in the hood, on the westside of Chicago, Illinois in the era when gang banging, and drugs first started hitting the streets real hard. Coming up as a youngster he may not have had much more than his friends and family, but they had love for each other and that kept him strong. Twista says he remembers being poor and it was that and his love for music that drove him to keep pushing to escape the grit and grime of the ghetto.

Twista is a true student of hip hop. His influences were many of the pioneers of the game. He credits LL, Rakim, Kool G Rap, The Fat Boys, Slick Rick, The Beastie Boys, Schooly D, MC Shan, Mantronix and others of the same era as those who laid the foundation and inspiration for what he does. Though he gives the aforementioned artists props, don’t get it twisted. He has a style that is like no other.

Twista signed his first recording deal with Loud Records. At the time Loud was just making the transformation from a promotion company to a record label and he was the first artist that they signed. Things didn’t go to well at Loud Records so Twista returned to the underground, doing his independent thing.

Chasing the dream of being a famous rap star carried a price. Twista found himself breaking up with his baby’s momma. It was hard for him being in a relationship and trying to live up to the standards that his woman thought that they should be living, which was another determining factor in his mission. “Sometimes as a young man you have to break away from that mind state and get things in order as a man first,” says Twista.

Working a regular job and residing in the living room of his brother’s apartment Twista found a new freedom. Without the worries of a troubled relationship hanging over his head he was able to move around a bit more. He started working on his music with some of his friends that he hadn’t seen when he had been trying to support his family. Twista decided that it was the “give up year.” He said “I basically told my buddies that I’m just gon’ chill it out, if I don’t get a record deal or something gets ta crackin’ at the top of this year, I’m going to just get a job and make music secondhand or a hobby. If something happens from that cool, but if not I need to stop the vibe and do what I gotta do.”

No truer words had he ever spoken. It was that very same year that he reunited with his old buddies from the rap group Do or Die. While listening to some tracks, Do or Die said “This one here sounds like something special to me.” Twista went home that night and told his buddy “When I write this verse it’s going to change the way the whole industry raps, watch”. That song turned out to be “Po Pimp” a hot single featuring Twista. When this song first got air play on the radio, Twista was rolling in the ride with one of his homies, on the way to work.

In 1998 Twista released “Adrenaline Rush” and reclaimed his street credibility, but with the release of “Kamikaze” the game was changed forever. Twista had finally arrived at the destination he had fought so hard to reach. The recognition he had desired and deserved was his at last.

“People don’t really realize how long I’ve been around. So, a lot of the goals I wanted to achieve as a rapper, I’ve achieved. I don’t want to say I’m just a businessman, but it’s a whole new thing that I’m getting into. I’m taking what I’ve got now and building an empire...for my family and the close people around me. My goal is simple, I want to see everybody around me and close to me financially stable and doing things that will make their kids financially stable. That’s what I want to do, that’s what makes me happy.”

If you like this article, subscribe to our magazine on Issuu.

This article was originally published in Flossin Magazine #1. The original author of this article is Fawn Aberson. This article is edited by Edna Waters. This article is optimized for web by Steven Christian (Artist | Author | Podcaster).

The Black Beat

Twista: The Most Underrated

Flossin Media

Black Beat Podcast