Twista Biography

The American rapper known as Twista was born Carl Terrell Mitchell in 1973. Mitchell grew up in Chicago’s West Side, and began rapping as a teenager. Twista first entered the music scene with the self-released debut album, Runnin’ Off at da Mouth, in 1992, initially recording as Tung Twista. The album was moderately successful, but after Twista’s appearance on the hit song “Po Pimp” in 1997 (with the artist Do or Die), he finally garnered attention from major labels.

After signing with Atlantic Records, Twista entered the studio to prepare for his major label debut. The result, Adrenaline Rush, arrived in 1997 and became the artist’s first charting album, rising into the top twenty on the R&B/hip-hop charts. But it was the album Kamikaze that became Twista’s big breakthrough, reaching the number one spot on both the R&B/hip-hop charts and also the mainstream charts in the United States upon its release in 2004. The album spawned the singles “Overnight Celebrity”; “So Sexy” (featuring R. Kelly); and “Sunshine” (featuring Anthony Hamilton.) Around this time Twista also released the single “Slow Jamz,” featuring both Jamie Foxx and Kanye West, which rose to the number one spot on the R&B/hip-hop, rap, and mainstream charts.

Since Kamikaze, Twista has released the additional albums: The Day After (2005), Adrenaline Rush (2007), Category F5 (2009), and The Perfect Storm (2010.) Notable singles from Twista include: “Hope” (featuring Faith Evans); “Girl Tonight” (featuring Trey Songz); “Wetter,” and “Make A Movie” (featuring Chris Brown.)

Twista currently holds the title of “fastest rapper in the world,” according to the Guinness Book of World Records. His latest album, Dark Horse, arrived in 2014 and rose into the top ten on both the R&B/hip-hop charts and also the rap charts in the United States.