This
edition of You Know I Got Soul features one of the fastest rappers to ever grace
a microphone. Hailing from Chi-Town, Twista’s fast way of rapping was his
ticket to landing his recording contract with Loud Records in 1991, but even
then, acquiring notoriety was difficult to come by.
Through
diligent work, the fast rapping artist finally represented Chicago on the
biggest record of his career, “Slow Jamz” with the help of Jamie Foxx and
mid-west brethren Kanye West. Since then, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Elephant Man, R.
Kelly and more made sure that they worked with the talented Twista. Back with
his seventh album Category F5, slated for a mid-year release, Twista is ready
to rip through the music scene like an F5 tornado to climb the charts once
again. Fans should expect features from his Get Money Gang label as well as he
taps Kanye West, Bobby Valentino and Lil’ Wayne for a guest appearance.
With
a mouth flowing as fast as a category F5 tornado, is there anything out there
to slow him down? Without a mention of Luther Vandross, Twista describes to
AllHipHop.com Alternatives his top five songs that automatically mellow his
energy down to a category F1.1.
“Stir It Up” – Bob Marley
It’s
Bob Marley singing to a woman, but it’s basically a slow down, real [feel] of
the reggae music – the way Bob Marley does his music – and then the
hook itself is the way it sounds. It’s a real mellow song. Most of the songs on
the Legend
CD in particular are like that. So, I just like that it mellows me out.
2.
“Getting Grown” – Cee-Lo GreenGetting Grown – Cee Lo
[This
is from] Cee-Lo Greene’s Closet Freak CD. It’s about a boy becoming a young man. Just
doing a lot of wild things when you’re younger and just how he sees his self
getting grown. It makes me feel elevated. It makes me feel like I’m more
experienced than what I’m doing and how I’m taking care of my business as a
whole. Just being better and looking at through a more adult eye and just the
way the music sounds. That’s one of the first things I play when I get up in
the morning or when I’m getting dressed for a show. That’s what I always play.
3.
“Adore” – Prince
Adore – PrinceYeah!
[snaps fingers to the thought of the song] That’s that thang right there, boy!
That’s that thing that I put on when I just want to get into that groove
because I’m a big Prince fan. I liked “Purple Rain” when that movie came out.
That was a heavy movie when I was coming up. That’s just that song when I want
to hear that vibe or Prince singing that type of tone. Some people might go to
a D’Angelo record, which is cool also, but I go to a Prince record and I bust
that song out, or I bust it out in a room too with a female when I’m ready to
break that mood. Like “BAM!” bust it out when Prince go “Oooooh!” Man, it’s on
and poppin’!
4.
“A Long Time Coming” – Sam Cooke
A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam CookeThat’s
my jam right there. For one, it used to be my intro, still is sometimes, for
when I start out my shows. For one, it just sounds real good. When you hear
that song come on it just sounds real good for you and just what he’s talking
about. It’s been a long time coming. Every time I listen to it, I think about
all of the things that I went through and the trials and tribulations that we
went through to get to this point in the music game, us as people when it comes
to Black people, it’s just been a long time coming. [It] says so much,
especially [for] a Black person or a person who been through a lot of stuff.
That always charges me up. It’s like an intro for a boxing match.
5.
“Between The Sheets” – Isley Brothers
[This
song] mellows me out. It makes me want to get into that stepping vibe. It makes
me want to get my freak on, too. It make me feel nasty, it makes me feel like I
want to slow dance, it makes me feel all that.
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