Twista is a pioneering American rapper from Chicago, renowned worldwide for the lightning-fast "chopper" rapping style that once earned him a Guinness World Record as the fastest rapper alive. Born Carl Terrell Mitchell on November 27, 1973, he came up on Chicago's West Side and first recorded as "Tung Twista," releasing his debut album Runnin' Off at da Mouth in 1992 while still a teenager.

After building a following through the late 1990s — including his work with the group Do or Die on the hit "Po Pimp" (1996) and his own album Adrenaline Rush (1997) — Twista reached his commercial peak in 2004 with the album Kamikaze. The record debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, powered by the Kanye West- and Jamie Foxx-assisted single "Slow Jamz," which topped the Billboard Hot 100.