Album Review: Twista, Dark Horse

Twista

Dark Horse (to be released August 12, 2014)

Is it still cool to consider Twista underrated or are we past that?

I mean, he has two decades of experience under his belt, walls lined with gold and platinum plaques and a hyperactive rap flow that landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records back in 1992, way before rappers were selling their souls on Twitter for that type of mainstream attention.

But by the look of Dark Horse, Twista’s ninth studio album, it sounds like he still has something to prove. And thankfully, the quadruple-time flow that has become Twista’s trademark still holds up.

Twista’s best work has transpired over two types of tracks – dark, brooding soundscapes straight out of a horror movie, and stirring soul samples. Twista makes the most of those opportunities here.

Twista goes from 0 to 100 on “Devil’s Angel,” a track with a beat that thumps like sasquatch. “Beast” is more of the same, with Twista altering his flow from stuttering pauses before launching into breathless, rapid-fire metaphors. It’s like Usain Bolt dashing through a war zone.

The soulful “Burnin'” slows down the aggression a bit, becoming the closest thing here to his work on his breakout 2004 hit Kamikaze. But for a real showcase of Twista’s linguistics, look no further than “Crisis.” Twista teams up with Tech N9ne to run amok over a track that, appropriately, sounds like something from an old Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis game. Tech goes absolutely ballistic with an endless stream of alliteration while Twista throws out oddball references to things like Yoshimitsu from Tekken. Transcribing their wordplay here just doesn’t do it justice. Twista calls it a “verbal lobotomy,” and I won’t argue that. It’s mind-blowing.

The Twista/Tech N9ne pairing is a perfect match but most of the other guests slow down Twista’s momentum. DJ Victoriouz’s, lazy, faux-Future hook on “Want My Love” is atrocious and kills the song right out of the gate. “Getting Paper” and “It’s Yours” – a couple of Twista’s trademark lusty lady jams – feature decent verses but, again, very dull hooks. Even the impressive title track is muddled by Tyme’s screechy auto-tuned chorus.

Man, everyone wants to sound like Future these days. But he sucks. So stop it.

No one can question Twista’s lyrical prowess. Proving that he’s more than just a gimmick, Twista often slows his flow way down before ratcheting up the pace. To him, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s the mark of a wily veteran, showing that he can do it all.

Dark Horse is proof that Twista’s still one of the “coldest to ever touch a cordless,” as he says on the title track. It’s just a shame that most of his guests can’t maintain his pace.

Best tracks: “Crisis,” “Devil’s Angel,” “Burnin'”

3.5 stars out of 5