It’s disheartening to hear local rap legend Twista refer to any sort of retirement, no matter how far into the future. After all, the tongue-twisting MC (government name: Carl Mitchell) is still in his 30s. He has a brand-new album, “Adrenaline Rush 2007,” due to drop in August. He’s also a master of reinvention, teaming with former foes Bone Thugs-N-Harmony for this effort and working with hip-hop’s man of the moment, New Orleans-born Lil’ Wayne.
But rap retirement was one topic raised during a recent wide-ranging discussion with one of the world’s most whip-tongued MCs. Twista, a Gnarls Barkley fan, also made mention of pulling an Andre 3000 and trying to reinvent his sound.
Laid back on the leather couch of his spacious recording studio in the south suburbs, Twista talked one-on-one with RedEye while his iPod bumped in the background and BET loomed large on a theater-size viewing screen.
Among other things, Twista spilled about his upcoming album, life and work in the south ‘burbs, and revealed the pros and cons of MC-ing.
You’ve been on the map since about 1991. How much easier is it for a Chicago MC to make it today?
It’s a little easier because Chi-Town has a name. That aspect of where you’re from, it’s a little easier. But the game itself, there are a lot of artists trying to come out, so it’s a little rougher than it was when I was trying to come out because there’s so many artists. Because of the name that me and other artists made for Chicago, it’s a little easier for them to come out.
Why is your new album named “Adrenaline Rush 2007”?
Because it was 10 years after my release of the first one (“Adrenaline Rush”) and seven is my favorite number. After “The Day After,” I felt like a lot of the songs [chosen for] that album by the label were more of the songs targeted toward radio or being like singles. The true fans were like, ‘Man, I want to hear more of that original Twista,’ so I had to go back in and give them a title I knew was going to attract them.
Did you collaborate a lot on this album?
Not a whole lot. I didn’t do it like the last one. With this album, I got R. Kelly on there, I got my man Jazzy Phe from Atlanta on there, I got Cee Lo Green — Gnarls Barkley — on there. I got Kanye West on the album on production. One of my surprises is I got Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on the album.
Do you believe, as Nas has said, that hip-hop is dead? People seem to be saying a lot of negative things about rap music in particular lately.
What is the dude’s name that said the racial comments, Emus or Imus? The thing that made me mad about that is, it was no issue about the words “bitches” and “ho’s” in hip-hop until a white guy made a racial slur toward a black basketball team. How did racism turn into negative words about women? … I feel like hip-hop took the backlash of something that it had nothing to do with. I feel that once you start talking about banning [those] words … in hip-hop, then us rappers should say let’s ban [them] in movies.
Some rappers have said they would stop using the “n-word” in their rhymes. Would you ever stop saying certain words?
Really, it’s a parenting issue to me. If the parents do good jobs at being parents, then music being out there won’t encourage kids to do anything negative. … I definitely feel like me as a hip-hopper, if it was really necessary for us … and it really came out, OK, Ludacris is talking about it, Jeezy is talking about it, or rappers really banded together and said ‘stop doing it’ or ‘let’s not use these words,’ that would be something easy for me to do.
A number of rappers have become actors or they have clothing lines. Are you entrepreneurial outside of rap?
I like to be focused on the music a lot, but I definitely believe in taking the money and the avenue of rap music to get into other things. But it’s different strokes for different folks. Some people feel like they can act, so they’ll use the rapping as a launchpad to be an actor. … With me, it’s more of a private thing. I may take the money and start a barbershop over here.
We’ve talked about your past and about the future of rap. Let’s talk about your future. Do you ever see yourself retiring?
I wouldn’t fully retire. I’d probably just change the way I do music. … I’m a creative enough artist where I have thoughts like Cee Lo, I can’t sing though. I have thoughts like Andre 3000 from OutKast … things that are off into a different type of music.
Do you like it out in the super south ‘burbs?
I can’t live in K-Town (part of a West Side neighborhood) because I’d probably be the target for some robberies. I can’t be too close to people in the south suburbs because neighbors are friendly, but they tend to be extra friendly. I need a different type of house with some land around it, so I could run around naked and you might not see me.
What’s the best thing about being a rapper?
Not having to work on somebody else’s clock and being able to take care of my family.
What’s the worst?
People don’t realize the stereotypes of a person that strips or dances to make money, the traumas they might face mentally — a rapper faces the same type of trauma. People think we’re ignorant or just savages out there on the street. Most of the rappers I know today that [are] famous are grown men with businesses and kids and wives and families and stuff.
The discs
Eager to hear Twista’s “Adrenaline Rush 2007” when it’s released this August? This Twista timeline of major releases should give you something to download until his new stuff hits the streets.
1991: “Runnin’ Off at Da Mouth”
Notable Tracks: “Mr. Tung Twista”
1997: “Adrenaline Rush”
NT: “Emotions” and “Get it Wet”
1998: “Mobstability” (Twista and the Speedknot Mobstaz)
NT: “Mobstability”
1999: “Legit Ballin'”
NT: “In Your World” and “Legit Ballin'”
2004: “Kamikaze”
NT: “Overnight Celebrity” and “Slow Jamz” (with Kanye West and Jamie Foxx)
2005: “The Day After”
NT: “Girl Tonite” (featuring Trey Songz)
The man
Born Carl Mitchell, the West Side MC became “Twista” in the early ’90s, after the commercial success of a flow he created called “Mr. Tung Twista.”
To distinguish himself from other skilled street poets who flipped metaphors and catch phrases, Twista told RedEye he began doubling and tripling his words, which led to him tongue-twisting whole sentences, phrases and verses. In 1992, he earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest rapper.
Twista had big hopes for his career and a recording contract as the first official artist on Loud Records, then just a promotional company rather than a record label, he said. But fame was fleeting, and after the album “Runnin’ Off at Da Mouth” didn’t move as many units as expected, Twista ended up back in his West Side ‘hood, K-Town, where he grew up.
“That’s when it got hard for me,” Twista said. “It’s one thing to struggle, but another thing to come out as a major artist and then go back to the hood and have to struggle on the same level that you would have been struggling had you not come out.”
But the motor-mouth MC returned to the radar screen in the mid ’90s after teaming up with another Chicago group, Do or Die, and recording the gritty classic “Po Pimps.” Twista again attracted mainstream attention and signed with Atlantic Records, where he has released five albums, including “Adrenaline Rush” (1997) and “Kamikaze” (2005).
Unlike other rappers who might be “more out there,” according to Twista, he lives, records and hangs out in Chicago and focuses on making music. He also said he wants to develop and mentor new local talent, specifically upcoming artist Scooter, whom Twista has dubbed “the next generation” of rap.
Twista’s other focus is shooting videos for his upcoming album, “Adrenaline Rush 2007,” one of which, “Give It Up,” will be directed by hip-hop legend Hype Williams. Twista also will be touring in the late summer, he said, but could pop up earlier, at Lollapalooza.
Last year, Twista appeared at the August event to share the stage with colleague Kanye West.
“I’m not sure if I’ll be there, due to when my album is coming out,” Twista said. “It’s not a no. Of course I want to, man. I would definitely like to rock 50,000 to 60,000 people.”
The playlist
When you enter Twista’s cavernous, dimly lit studio in the south suburbs, the first thing you might notice is a vividly colorful portrait of the ice-grilled MC himself. Other eye-catching items: an air hockey table, theater-sized screen, “The Godfather” and “Goodfellas” movie posters, and incense smoke rising from a bar nestled in a corner.
But what catches your ear is Twista’s iPod setup. His white speakers blare tunes from soulful, soft-sounding R&B to the most popular gritty gangsta poetry.
Here are some of the albums and artists Twista tunes in to when he’s not busy making his own music.
– Gnarls Barkley, “St. Elsewhere”
– Birdman & Lil’ Wayne, “Like Father, Like Son”
– Young Jeezy, “Inspiration”
– Robin Thicke, “The Evolution of Robin Thicke”
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kkyles@tribune.com
