Carl Mitchell, 27 November 1973, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Coming from Chicago's west side, long-serving gangsta rapper
Twista has been laying down rhymes since the age of 12. Over the years he has collaborated with some of rap's biggest names,
including
Sean "Puffy" Combs,
Jay-Z,
Timbaland,
Shaquille O'Neal, and
Da Brat. Twista was one of the first
artists to sign to Loud Records, and in 1991 released his debut album,
Runnin' Off At Da Mouth,
titled after his freewheeling rhyming style. A guest spot on the hit single "Po Pimp" with fellow Chicago rappers
Do
Or Die brought Twista his biggest success yet, resulting in a new recording contract with
Atlantic
Records in 1996. Two hit albums followed,
Adrenaline Rush and
Mobstability
(recorded with the Speedknot Mobstaz), before Twista launched his own record label, Legit Ballin. Increasingly tied up with
record company business and legal disputes, Twista began work on his third solo album while overseeing the label compilations,
Legit Ballin and
New Testament 2K: Street Scriptures. Released in
January 2004, the chart-topping
Kamikaze was premiered by the US chart-topping hit single
"Slow Jamz" (featuring
Kanye West and Jamie Foxx).
