T
en years ago when Twista released his most celebrated classic, Adrenaline Rush, a gallon of gas in the United States would cost you $1.09 - for premium. Bill Clinton still had three years left in office, and you could choose only two musical mediums: CD or cassette. A lot has changed since then. But one thing hasn’t: Twista’s loyalty. He is loyal to the game, loyal to his fans, and loyal to not selling himself out just to sell out in stores. Twista is one artist who never really let the outside world in. He’s not vocal on his personal problems, you’ve never heard a rumor about anyone he is dating, and most of his diehard fans don’t even know his real name. But somehow he has managed to maintain one of the most faithful followings in Hip Hop. Twista’s fan base has proven throughout the years that they love him despite not knowing Twista from Carl Mitchell. And the same Adrenaline Rush fiends that lined up to support him in the beginning are still right there eagerly anticipating the next hit. Though Twista has added some new allies along the way, the world’s fastest rapper is comfortable knowing that regardless of the state of the industry, he still has that loyal 500,000 strong who will run to the record store on his behalf faster than he can spit 16. Adrenaline Rush 2007 is a ten year anniversary disc with all new music featuring the likes of Kanye West, Bone Thugs N Harmony, R Kelly, and T-Pain. While many critics were disappointed with the R&B-heavy production of The Day After, on AR2K7 Twista promises to deliver that vintage sound, raw and perfectly unpolished. Twista, what’s been going on, man? I’ve just been chillin’ since I finished up the last couple of pieces of the album. I’m getting geared up to get back out there and do my thing. Tell me about the album. Man, it’s hot. It’s hot! I’m happy with everything, all the way down to the last skit. It’s crazy, it’s off the chain, and it’s gonna be a nice treat for the fans as far as the ten year anniversary, so I’m ready. I think everybody gon’ like it. October is Patiently Waiting month at OZONE, and you had the distinction of being somewhat of a “Patiently Waiting” artist for a long time. From your experiences, is it harder to be an underground artist or a mainstream artist? It evens itself out. When the success was moderate and I was so-called “struggling,” the love was better back then. I was maintaining and I had the love of my city, and even though I had fewer fans, it was so much more genuine. And now, it’s like you still get love, and you supposedly sitting on top of the world because you a bigger star now, but then comes that hate that you never really experienced, because you’ve never experienced success to that extent before. So for me to be the type of person I am and experience so much hate, that kinda caught me open in the beginning, but I’ve learned how to handle it, and I’ve learned I can’t please everybody. So at this point, I’m happy. That’s a good place to be. A lot of individuals in the industry don’t seem to enjoy what they do, and it seems like you really have a love for it. You gotta have the love for it, and for me, the best way to enjoy this shit is to be humble. Egos are good on a promotional level, and it’s good to feel strong and positive about who you are from a business standpoint, because
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that’s how you sell yourself. But at the same time if you go too far with it, and you really just start believing that you’re that shit, you enjoy it less. I wanna be able to hop in a limo and still be like, “Man, this is a dope limo. This shit is fresh, look at the woodgrain. Look at the rims! I like this!” As opposed to being like, “What is this shit y’all sending me? Send me something better.” So that ego makes you enjoy the game less. I wanna still love it like I’m just getting blessed with it. The South embraced you long before much of the rest of the country. Why do you think that was? I think it’s a connection between Chicago and the South. Most of the people I grew up with in my neighborhood, either their parents or grandparents were from the South. And it’s the same thing with me, my grandparents are from Mississippi. It’s a similar type of upbringing, a similar type of accent, and in general there are a lot of similarities between Chicago and the South. I think people can hear a lot of that Southern swagger in my music. So when I go down to the South, it feels like there is a genuine love; it feels like home. I love the South; I love people in the South. The South is one of my favorite places to be. And we have a very similar taste in music. Everything that’s hot right now sounds like a Twista beat. All that “Wipe Me Down” and “Ay Bay Bay” and all those Soulja Boy songs, those all sound like classic Twista beats, and I love it. I’d kill all those beats. What’s the biggest difference in the game between 1997 when you dropped the first Adrenaline Rush and now with Adrenaline Rush 2007? The game got a lot of people in it now! Back when Adrenaline Rush came out there were a lot less artists being released, now it’s so many artists releasing so many projects there is less attention being devoted to any particular artist. The game is funny because of that. The other main difference I see is technology. When Adrenaline Rush came out that was still during a time when record sales were still relevant, Soundscans were a big deal. People actually went out to buy CDs. There weren’t any I-Pods or things like that. You couldn’t just get on your computer and download a song. People can get your music so many different ways, so it’s like the value of a song is less now because people can get your music immediately. You have grind that much harder to be as successful as you could be ten years ago.
The Day After didn’t sell as well as Kamikaze. Do you think that was a result of all the bootlegging and downloading? Not necessarily the bootleggers. I don’t think it’s just about the bootleggers because there is always good that you get with the bad. The bootlegging epidemic also helps promote artists, as well. So if you get a hit or if there is a rumor that something is hot, the bootleggers gon’ bootleg it and help promote it for you, and that’s less money you’ve got to spend on distribution. So if you’re smart, you give certain music to the bootleggers to let them work for you for free. I think the decline in sales from Kamikaze to The Day After has more to do with the way music was bought between the two albums. That’s when I feel that everything with the internet just hit real hard and people started to download music and get music in different ways other than just the purchase of a CD. Also, I had a big hit with “Slow Jamz,” and that really helped me on Kamikaze” That type of hit never came from The Day After, so it’s good to have longevity as an artist. That was just an axe in my hand. I ain’t gon’ do nothing but snatch it up and keep coming at ya. I’ll be here. It’s good to be an artist that’s known in the game and is well respected and got as many fans as I got. I’ve got a core audience. I can keep putting music out for them regardless of whether I go platinum or not. Me and 500,000 or 600,000 folks can go kick it from now on, so it’s love. That’s a good strategy. Do you think you have any songs on Adrenaline Rush 2007 that have the potential to be as commercially successful as “Slow Jamz” or “Overnight Celebrity?” Definitely, definitely. I got the “Give It Up” joint that’s doing something now, but I got songs on there like “Was Time” produced by Kanye West, and he gave me another joint on there. Another song that’s getting a lot of recognition