Twista is touching down

Twista knows about patience. The pioneering Chicago rapper had to wait 13 years to become an overnight sensation.

Thanks to his current hit, the old-school R&B; homage “Slow Jamz” -- produced by and featuring vocals from fellow Chicagoan Kanye West, as well as comedian-actor Jamie Foxx -- Twista’s third studio album, “Kamikaze,” premiered as the No. 1 album in the country on Feb. 4 and has sold more than 820,000 copies to date.

For many music fans, Twista’s rise to stardom may seem like the typical one-hit-wonder scenario that has first-time rap acts entering at the top of the music charts only to disappear within months. But Twista is in another category, a rare one. Think underground legend becomes legitimate superstar.

His rapid-fire rhyme flow has been appropriated by rappers from Jay-Z to Ludacris, but what separates Twista from the rest of the pack is his ability to infuse at breakneck speed the skills and qualities (clever lyrics, engaging delivery, effortless flow, keen sense of humor) the average rapper has enough problems mastering with a normal delivery. When, say, OutKast or Eminem does it for a verse, it is remarkable. Twista does it for entire albums.

“His ability to clearly enunciate all his words when he’s doing the fast thing, that’s really the phenomenal part of his ability,” says producer The Legendary Traxster, who has worked with Twista for 11 years and produced his landmark second album, 1997’s “Adrenaline Rush.” “The amazing thing is that he has lyrical ability beyond that. A lot of people that rap fast don’t say anything, whereas in his case, you can hear the substance of his lyrics.”

When Twista comes in on “Slow Jamz” after a playful but unremarkable verse from Wet and the feel-good chorus from Foxx, it’s as if a lyrical tornado has arrived, one that is as striking and engaging as it is powerful.

“I’ve been rapping like that for years, so I’m past the fast thing,” he says on the phone from Chicago as he takes a break from promoting “Kamikaze.” “It’s the finesse about the flow, the whole Twista twang and the Chi-town twang, and the subject matter, the word play. I think when you listen to all of that together you get the Twista sound and you can differentiate between Twista and the average fast rapper.

“They think it’s just fast lyrics, but I’m not even thinking about that because that part comes naturally now. I’m thinking about all the other elements that make a dope rhyme.”

But for years, Twista remained underground as a solo artist -- the result of a legal battle with Traxster, who had signed the rapper to his label in the mid-1990s. After 1998’s “Mobstability,” a group effort with collaborators the Speedknot Mobstaz, Twista sidestepped Traxster’s label by starting his own record company and releasing and appearing on a number of successful compilations.

Meanwhile, respect for him in the rap world grew, thanks to his impeccable rhymes and style on “Adrenaline Rush” and “Mobstability.” Everyone from P. Diddy to Ludacris to Jay-Z and Lil’ Kim featured Twista on their albums. Twista was even courted by P. Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment and Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records.

With the love of the rap community established but with no record of his own, Twista remained focused. “I just couldn’t give it up,” he says. “Sometimes I tell people it wasn’t a choice. It was something that I couldn’t get rid of. That’s what I do: music. I could never escape it so it was never a choice to stop because I love it so much. No matter what problems I went through, I was always going to try to go into the studio and make a jam. It wasn’t something that I could shake. I’m music. That’s what I do.”

By the time Twista, Traxster and Atlantic Records (which had ties to Traxster’s label and which released “Kamikaze”) worked out their contractual conflicts, several years had passed without a Twista album. Fortunately, Twista admirer West was enjoying success as a producer for Jay-Z, Scarface and Talib Kweli, among others, and in 2003 recorded “Slow Jamz” with Twista for his own album, “The College Dropout.”

Twista asked West if he could use the song as the lead single for “Kamikaze.” West obliged. The release of “Slow Jamz” gave Twista his first radio and video play nationwide, although his “Adrenaline Rush” had sold 830,000 copies, virtually all by word of mouth.

“It’s such a hit as far as radio goes and it’s spilled on to video,” Traxster says. “As a result, more people are aware of his talents. He’s always been talented, so people that weren’t aware of his talent are now exposed to him.”

After waiting years for his time in the spotlight, Twista plans to seize his opportunity. He shot the video for his second single, “Overnight Celebrity,” in Chicago the first week in March and is working on the second Speedknot Mobstaz album, which he hopes to release in the second half of 2004. Twista wants to have his next album in stores by early 2005.

Long respected, Twista is getting used to something else. “I feel accepted,” he says. “Remember when Eminem said [on ‘Marshall Mathers’], ‘Everybody’s so happy and proud, I’m finally allowed to step foot in my girlfriend’s house.’ That’s how I feel about the game a little. It’s like, ‘Hey,’ I’m finally stepping in the game a little bit.’ It’s a good feeling.”

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The best guest

Notable appearances by Twista on other rappers’ albums:

1997: He appeared on Puff Daddy & the Family’s “No Way Out,” which has sold more than 5.2 million copies. Twista was featured on the song “Is This the End?”

1999: He appeared on Puff Daddy’s “Forever,” which has sold 1.4 million copies. Twista was featured on the song “Is This the End (Part Two).”

2001: He appeared on Ludacris’ “Word of Mouf,” which has sold 3.4 million copies. Twista was featured on the song “Freaky Thangs.”

2002: He appeared on Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 2: the Gift & the Curse,” which has sold 1.8 million copies. Twista was featured on the song “Poppin’ Tags.”

2003: He appeared on Lil’ Kim’s “La Bella Mafia,” which has sold

1 million copies. Twista was featured on the song “Thug Luv.”

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Twista

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