Looking to the past for direction, Twista is a forward thinking Black man.
The Chicago native's forthcoming album is a nod to his debut, when the world was first introduced 10 years ago to Twista's rapid-fire flow, particularly the Legendary Traxter-produced "Overdose."
"I feel like I found a niche as far as how to do music successfully, commercially and still keep my street vibe and my lyrical credibility," he said. "I feel like that's what I conquered when I did songs like 'Slow Jamz' and 'Overnight Celebrity.'
"But at the same time, too, I realized I still live in Chicago," Twista continued.
So for the hard-charging Adrenaline Rush - due August 7 on Atlantic Records - Twista recruited Cee-Lo, Jazze Pha, R. Kelly, Lil Wayne and the Speedknot Mobstaz to join the fray.
Even though Twista is still finishing up his upcoming project, the rapper has been serving as a columnist for Chicago's Red Eye newspaper, writing about issues (the Virginia Tech tragedy, President Bush) that he normally wouldn't address in his raps.
"Sometimes when I do my music, I try to be so dope with the lyrics that I don't touch on a lot of topics like I do with my column," he said. "So if you want to really see what Twista is thinking about stuff, you can check out the column side.
But when I get to my next album, I'mma fuse both of them together — my music with the way I write in my column — so you can really hear Twista's perspective on a musical level. I'm trying to take it there."
And we'll be on that ride with you, brother. No doubt!
MTV