Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (formerly Tung Twista), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastest English-speaking rapper in the world according to

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

in 1992, being able to pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds. In 1997, after appearing on Do or Die's hit single " Po Pimp", produced by

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 an ...

, Twista signed with Big Beat and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

, where he released his third album '' Adrenaline Rush'' and formed the group

Speedknot Mobstaz Speedknot Mobstaz are a hip hop group affiliated with Twista. They have released albums '' Mobstability'', and '' Mobstability II: Nation Business''. In 1994, they made their debut appearance on Twista's 2nd album, ''Resurrection Resurrec ...

, in 1998. His 2004 album ''

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending ...

'' topped the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200, after the success of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one single " Slow Jamz" (with

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

and

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film ''Ray'', for which he won the A ...

Early life

Carl Terrell Mitchell was born on November 27, 1973, and grew up in the K-Town area of the West Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

and began rapping at the age of 12.

Career

In 1992, Mitchell released his first album called ''

Runnin' Off at da Mouth ''Runnin' Off At Da Mouth'' is the debut album by emcee Twista, who was known at the time as Tung Twista. Released on June 9, 1992, it was Loud Records’ first release and its only release distributed by Zoo. This album was released after Twis ...

'' under the name Tung Twista. His second album, titled ''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

'', was set to be released in 1994, but due to problems with his record label at the time

and marketing issues involving fellow Chicago rapper

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

's album of the same name, the album was only released in the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and thus got little national attention. In 1996, he teamed with Chicago producer

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 an ...

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. Twista had by then dropped the "Tung" from his stage name. ''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. In 1998, Twista teamed with other Chicago area rappers to form the

. 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. 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." He also collaborated with Memphis Bleek on "Is That Your Chick" on "The Understanding" album. Beginning in 2002, Twista began recording his album ''

'' with rappers like

and Ludacris. ''Kamikaze'' came out in 2004 and debuted at the top spot of the American ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. Its first single " Slow Jamz" (also featured on

's debut album ''

The College Dropout ''The College Dropout'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In the years leading up to release, West had received p ...

''), featured West and

and became a number-one hit in the US. Other singles included "Overnight Celebrity" and "So Sexy" (featuring R. Kelly); the album sold around two million copies. The remix of the song "Jook Gal" by

Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

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. Twista College of Charleston 2008

Twista's album '' The Day After'' was released in 2005. It featured the hit singles "Girl Tonite" featuring

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, ''I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

, "Hit the Floor" featuring Pitbull, and " So Lonely" featuring

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

. His next album, '' Adrenaline Rush 2007'' came 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. 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". In 2009, Twista appeared on the single "Legendary" with fellow Chicago rappers AK47 of Do or Die and

Saurus and Bones Saurus K (born Keith Hoskins) and Bones (born Brett Hoskins), better known as Saurus And Bones, are American rap artists from Naperville, Illinois. Career Saurus And Bones started rapping in the summer of 2001 and have spent the last 17 years pe ...

. Twista released his eighth solo album entitled, ''The Perfect Storm'' on November 9, 2010. The first single from the album, " Make a Movie" produced by the Legendary Traxster, featuring

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to ''Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempor ...

, was released on August 24, 2010. 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 Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream succes ...

, 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., 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. A documentary film, ''Mr. Immortality: The Life and Times of Twista'', was released in November 2010. In January 2013, Twista was featured in a remix of

Lil Reese Tavares Lamont Taylor (born January 6, 1993), known professionally as Lil Reese, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. Hailing from Chicago's drill scene in the early 2010s, he is known for his collaborations with fellow rappers Chief ...

's song "Traffic". As of 2013, Twista was working on his ninth studio album entitled

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

. He also was rumored to be in the works of signing a record deal with

's music label GOOD Music, although in an interview with

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

Twista denied the rumor. 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 Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

on the album '' ARTPOP''. "It's Yours" featuring Tia London was released on May 6, 2014, as the second single of the aforementioned album. It was serviced to

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

radio in the United States on May 27, 2014, by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

released on August 12, 2014. Twista is featured on the song "Gossip" from

When Music Worlds Collide ''When Music Worlds Collide'' is the debut studio album from Jonathan Hay and Mike Smith that features notable names in the hip hop music genre. Hay and Smith, the producers behind the indie hip-hop compilation ''When Music Worlds Collide'' dec ...

released in May 2015. Twista appeared on ABC's '' To Tell the Truth'' in 2017. Twista Released Twista Summer 96 mixtape in 2019, this includes the song Home invasion which features Do or Die Produced by HearonTrackz El aka HearonTrackz. In 2019 Twista appeared on rap competition as a judge to the show "Rhythm and Flow" on Netflix

Personal life

Twista was married from 1991 to 1999 and had a daughter with his ex-wife. 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.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1992) * ''

'' (1994) * '' Adrenaline Rush'' (1997) * ''

'' (2004) * '' The Day After'' (2005) * '' Adrenaline Rush 2007'' (2007) * '' Category F5'' (2009) * '' The Perfect Storm'' (2010) * ''

'' (2014) * ''Crook County'' (2017) * ''Summer 96'' (2019)

Collaboration albums

* '' Mobstability'' (with

) (1998) * '' Mobstability II: Nation Business'' (with Speedknot Mobstaz) (2008) * ''Withdrawal EP'' (with Do or Die) (2015)

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control 1973 births Living people African-American male rappers African-American record producers American hip hop record producers Atlantic Records artists Big Beat Records (American record label) artists Five percenters Gangsta rappers Midwest hip hop musicians Rappers from Chicago Zoo Entertainment (record label) artists 21st-century American rappers Record producers from Illinois 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people