''Back to the Basics'' is the second
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. (EP) by
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
hip hop recording artist
Twista, released on December 10, 2013 under his
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, GMG Entertainment. The project is the
Chicago emcee's second EP of his career – the first one is ''
2 for 10'' (2005) – and follows his eighth
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
,
''The Perfect Storm'' (2010). It serves as prelude to his upcoming ninth studio album, ''The Dark Horse'' (2014). The seven-track EP features
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
from
The Legendary Traxster
Samuel Lindley (born July 14, 1973 in Chicago, Illinois), better known by his stage name The Legendary Traxster, is an American songwriter, rapper and record producer. A native of Chicago, he is best known as a producer for Twista, Do or Die and ...
, DJ Tight Mike and Lo-Key, and two
guest appearances, from Dra Day and DJ Victoriouz. The EP was preceded by two
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
s – "Intro/Freestyle," and "Beast."
Background
In an interview with The Real Hip-Hop in December 2013, Twista explained that the title his EP "pertains" to him "more than the industry".
"Sometimes I'll lose sense of self trying to try so many things. I'm so creative that I'll try different things that's out the box and when I feel like I'm going too far out the box I bring it back in. Right at that time when I was bringing it back in I said I wanted to title my new EP ''Back to the Basics''
ecausethat's what
'm going toget to as far as the Twista sound and doing what I do that I know people like."
[
The Chicago emcee selected a few songs that he felt was "a good warm-up for people to get reacquainted with Twista" before releasing his upcoming full-length album, titled ''The Dark Horse'', in 2014.][
]
Critical reception
Upon its release, ''Back to the Basics'' received generally mixed reviews from music critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
s. M.T. Richards of '' XXL'' gave the album an L, saying "There’s a certainly a shortage of radio fodder on ''Back to the Basics'': the hooks are modest, the beats conservative. Technique is Twista’s weapon of choice and foremost priority. We listen to the Rust Belt legend for stuttery but graceful thickets of rhyme, verses that wind like a labyrinth and smoke like black powder."
Track listing
;Notes
* Track 4 "Beast" & Track 7 "Want My love" were also released on Twista's 9th album '' The Dark Horse'' in 2014.
Charts
References
2013 EPs
Twista EPs
Albums produced by The Legendary Traxster
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