Guinness World Records once declared Chicago emcee Twista the world’s fastest rapper, and the title of his eighth studio album, Category F5, is intended to portray his speed and ferocity. But mainstream hip-hop is not a track meet, and so, as Twista learned on his best-selling 2004 work Kamikaze—which spawned the Kanye West- and Jamie Foxx-aided hit “Slow Jamz”—dropping the pace is a more effective way to move units.
The Details
On Category F5 he waters down his natural gifts even more than usual with syrupy production and bloated ballads, while surrounding himself with marquee singers and emcees. It feels less like a Twista album and more like a typical big-budget rap/R&B mess; there’s the standard hornball Akon collaboration (“On Top”), the obligatory ode to marijuana (“Fire,” with Lil Boosie), even the always-preposterous net-worth boast (“Billionaire” ... Ten figures? Seriously? When Forbes just announced that Jay-Z and 50 Cent are barely cracking eight?). Some tracks are fun, like “American Gangsta,” which features a trippy, futuristic synth beat from producer Toxic, and the Euro-pop-flavored club banger “Jump Off.” But these are crowded by “sexy” tunes like first single “Wetter,” which contains Erika Shevon’s quasi-incestuous hook, “I need a daddy, won’t you be my daddy?”
On this track and many others, Twista seems to be holding himself back, as if he’d like to let loose with his awesome flow. Unfortunately, his commercial instincts regularly override his lyrical ones, leaving Category F5 largely charmless.
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