Twista Album: “Kamikaze [Bonus Track]”

It's been a long time comin' for Twista to finally break out into the limelight, but with an album of this caliber, I think it was better this way. Lyrically, Twista is in a league of his own, and has often outshined people on their own songs, which makes it pretty hard for people to hold it down together with Twista on his own. But luckily, most of the tracks showcase Twista on his own or with people just doin' the hooks, such as the radio-made "So Sexy" w/ R. Kelly. Twista pretty much kills every track he is on, including the opening two tracks "Get Me" and "Kill Us All". Of course everybody knows how good "Slow Jams" was w/ Kanye West and Jamie Foxx, but I think it should have ONLY been on Twista's cd. The Kanye West-produced "Overnight Celebrity" is a standout track too. The best song on here though, "One Last Time", is a track where Twista is not even rappin' in his normal fast pace, but rappin' at an average speed, in which he songs better than most people who can ONLY rap at a regular speed. Another highlite, which closes out the album is the stutter-step neat of "Art & Life" w/ Memphis Bleek, Freeway, and Young Chris. This song would have been better though if Young Chris was replaced w/ Beanie Sigal, and maybe replacin' Bleek w/ Jay-Z. But hey, you can't ask too much since this album gave us so much anyway. Here's to Twista comin' back even stronger, hopefully with the same marketing and publicity as before.

After appearing on various Rocafella collaborations such as "Is That Your Chic" w/Memphis Bleek, Jay Z & Missy Elliott, "Champions" w/Kanye West, Beanie Sigel, and Cam'ron from the "Paid In Full" soundtrack and "Poppin' Tags" with Jay Z, Killer Mike and Big Boi from Outkast, Twista has finally released another CD. Although "Kamikaze" was released on Atlantic Records, it seems as if Twista really wants to be a Rocafella soldier. The first single from "Kamikaze" is the Kanye West produced "Slow Jamz" which features Twista, Kanye West and Jamie Foxx. If you haven't heard this song by now then you must not have access to a radio or basic cable television. This song has been heard constantly and for good reason. The concept makes sense and this is a good way for people who may not have known who Twista was to get introduced to him. "Get Me" gets the CD off to a good start and if you still disbelieve in his skills, Twista comes back strong on one of my favorite tracks on his CD in "Kill Us All". Toxic, who produces 7 songs on "Kamikaze", definitely has his best work on this song and Twista takes over a 4 minute lyrical ride on the track. On "Higher", Twista employs Ludacris on the track and the two artists have a memorable collaboration on the track. If you have any kind of system in your car or truck then you will enjoy this track. Although Twista starts off hard, he definitely tones things down for the ladies and for the clubs, almost even too much. The best of these songs being another Kanye West produced track in "Overnight Celebrity". Kanye samples the classic Lenny Williams slow jam, "'Cause I Love You", to perfection. This should definitely be the next single. This is my favorite song on this CD by far and is worth the price of the CD alone. The Pied Piper and his lovely group JS shows up on "So Sexy". Once again this track is for the ladies and R Kelly proves why he is one of the best producers in the game today.

The only negative aspect of all the party jams is that there are entirely too many on this CD. "Pimp On" w/Eightball and Too Short, "Still Feels So Good", "Drinks", "Badunkadunk" and "Like a 24" w/TI and Liffy Stokes, as well as the aforementioned "Slow Jamz", "Overnight Celebrity" and "So Sexy" means that over 60% of Twista's songs are all about partying and clubbin'.

However, Twista definitely makes up for this with inspirational songs like "Hope" w/Cee Lo and "Sunshine" w/Anthony Hamilton. The skills are defintely there for Twista. He just has to take advantage of the gift he has and make a well rounded CD. Even still, "Kamikaze" is worth having in your collection. If you are a fan of any of Twista's previous collaborations then you will enjoy this CD.

James' Top 5

1) Slow Jamz w/Kanye West & Jamie Foxx

We have waited for this album for years.This is even better than Twista's debut:Adrenaline Rush.Every song is good.This is well worth the money.He has guest features such as Ludacris,Kanye West,R. Kelly,and Freeway.

1.Get Me-good beat.talkin about his rap career. 5/5

2.Kill Us All-a continuation from a song from Adrenaline Rush.completly good beat. 5/5

3.Pimp On-features 8 Ball,Too $hort,and even the Bishop Magic Don Juan (he does the intro and outro). 4/5

4.Slow Jamz-the well-known single with Jamie Foxx & Kanye West. 5/5

5.Overnight Celebrity-produced by Kanye West.pretty good.kinda catchy. 4/5

6.Still Feels So Good-featurin and produced by Jazze Pha. 4/5

7.Drinks-good beat.featuring Highbeam.very catchy. 5/5

8.Badunkadunk-featurin Jazze Pha again.pretty good. 4/5

9.One Last Time-different from the rest of the cd.but good. 5/5

10.So Sexy-the worst song on the cd.but thats not sayin its bad.its still pretty good.with r. kelly. 3.5/5

11.Higher-one of the best songs on the cd.featuring Ludacris.twista has the best flow on this cd. 5/5

12.Snoopin-very good.twista has a casual flow on this track.but that dont matter.4/5

13.Like A 24-featuring T.I. & Liffy Stokes.really good.5/5

14.Hope-with Cee-Lo.a song that actually has a point to it besides killing people or clubbin.the chorus is really catchy. 5/5

15.Sunshine-not a song everyone would like.a slower song.but if u like it,you would think its great.featuring Anthony Hamilton. 5/5

16.Art & Life-great outro.featuring 3 guys from Roc-A-Fella:Memphis Bleek,Freeway,& Young Chris.great beat. 5/5

TOP 5=Slow Jamz,Hope,Higher,Art & Life,Drinks

Most casual rap listeners will find Twista's trademark rapid-fire delivery fresh in a day where alot of MCs sound the same. Unfortunately for true hip-hop heads or fans of his older work this album is a slight disappointment. The album opens with a fantastic classic sounding Twista cut "Kill em All" where he spits fire over a quality beat with thuggish but cleverly conceived lyrics. Other stand out tracks are the Kanye West assisted "Get that Doe" where an often recycled sample is chopped up nicely and rapped over solidly.

Unfortunately aside from that there is a lot of filler tracks on this album. The Ludacris assisted "Higher" falls short of its mark with an annoying beat and suprisingly sub-par verse from Luda himself who is usually solid on guest spots. Songs 10-15 are all mediocre at best, some plain bad. I fault poor production and too many romantic or pimp songs for the album coming off badly. Very hard to take serious a 5ft.5" aesthetically unpleasing Twista seriously as a girl magnet. Overall the album is run of the mill, it had the potential to be very good with Twista riding the Midwest popularity wave and his niche flow could have produced a classic. Unfortately he settled for appealing to the CD-purchasing masses and not his true fans.

Tha boy is hottt! Somebody tell em 2 stop drop & roll. Kamikaze is his best CD yet I'm predictin TRIPLE PLATINUM ladies & gentlemen so u might wanna cop it & see 4 yoself.