One of the most incredible phenomena known to mankind: a Category F5. The cyclone characterized by total devastation, damage beyond reparation, and ultimate desecration, it is both the best and yet the worst creation of its type. Likewise, Category F5 is the same name so fittingly bequeathed by the tongue-twisting, make- haste paced, whirlwind of words speaking, Twista, to his recently released album.
A force to be reckoned with, the chart busting, label breaking, battle beating, tornado of a man proves the correlation appropriate as he continues to storm out competition.
“I’m married to the music,” declares Twista, also known as Carl Terrell Mitchell. Don’t get it twisted. From going through a very public divorce from wife Rashida, to fighting off porn star Pinky’s baby daddy allegations; storms come in many forms. However, his heart is still in the right place and his commitment has not lingered. While his relationship status may remain ambiguous, Twista’s love, honor, and obedience to the game go without question.
To have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, for as long as he shall live he proclaims faithful vows to the music he first fell in love with in the 1980s. From rap group “Do or Die” to his first platinum record Kamikaze featuring songs such as “Slow Jamz,” “Overnight Celebrity,” and “Girl Tonight,” you may have thought you’ve seen him at his highest level but he’s come back for more.
Following Adrenaline Rush 2007, Category F5 appears to be a continuation of the seemingly frenzied themes behind his albums. The first single released from this album, “Wetter,” featuring Erika Shevon’s mesmerizing vocals and The Legendary Traxster’s tantalizing beats, is sure to set a sexy mood for listeners. Geared strictly for the ladies, he cites this single as one of the biggest risks he took with this album.
Not due to the adult content or explicit lyrics of the song, which Twista happily admits he is all too comfortable with. Rather, it had to do more with the struggling back and forth amongst which of the songs would best premiere to capture his audience. Always striving to meet the demands of his fans, he took great care in the manner in which to introduce this album.
Working with a wide range of artists from Busta Rhymes on “Billionaire” to Akon featured on the record “On Top,” the weatherman predicts that any song on this album could be a hit and sees nothing but sunshine for the Category F5 forecast. Confident in his choice, Twista says he was “charged up” when he first heard “Wetter” on the radio.
In the midst of it all, Twista finds himself dissatisfied with the massive influx of uninspiring rappers growing exponentially in the game right now. In efforts to settle this dispute, Twista has taken a courageous step forward. “It was time for a change,” says Twista regarding the launch of his new record label, Get Money Gang Entertainment with EMI/Capitol Records. “The industry had began to take a turn…It was best for me to move on,” says Twista after having left Atlantic Records. Happy to have moved on, he seeks to soothe this industry storm by bringing artists who he deems worthy to the forefront.
His style cannot be replicated. Once the world’s fastest rapper, Twista held the 1992 Guinness World Book Record for speaking 11.2 syllables per second. Recognized mostly for his fast paced rapping, Twista urges that his style goes far beyond speed, metaphor, rhyme, and repetition. “It’s more about syllables than about speed. It’s all about how you put the syllables together. As long as you’ve got that down pact, and you practice, you’ve got it.”
No matter how charged up he may get from hearing his latest on the radio, “there’s no comparison to the first time,” states Twista, reminiscing all the way back to the day he first heard “Po Pimp,” his platinum selling recording debut with Do or Die, on the radio. The memories of sitting on the block of his Chicago home in this life changing moment nearly two decades ago still seem to be too much amazement for even this fast-talker’s mouth to speak. The former McDonald’s employee realizes that, “It’s still a blessing,” his humble persona finally expresses. And now, after 6 albums and exactly 18 years, he has paid his dues and wishing Category F5 to reveal to the world one thing: “I still got it.”
Written by Fariso Jordan for Parlé Magazine
