S. Samuel
With Twista's Perfect Storm debuting in stores this week, SOHH hit up the lyrical monster to find out what inspired him to feature the often-criticized newcomer Waka Flocka Flame on his LP.
Although Waka has been slammed in the past for his lack of lyricism, the tongue-twisting emcee said he was drawn to his street appeal.
“The connection with a Twista and Waka, people think lyrics,” Twista told SOHH. “So they’re thinking, ‘How did he…?,’ but the connection with me and Waka is the street vibe. Waka Flocka’s vibe and the stuff he talks about reminds me of my hood, the city of Chicago. So my vibe with him is more so on a street level and I kind of vibe with him on a street level. I also understand we’re in different times. I know if an artist picks up a pen and tries to write something, he’s definitely trying to make something. So when I hear music, I feel like I can sometimes hear the artistry in music faster than other people. Some people have to wait for a song to blow up to realize an artist has potential, but when I hear him, I hear a hood n*gga having fun. [laughs] That’s my whole vibe with it. That’s my connection with him, I felt like I connected with him on that street level rather than his rhymes or whether he could rap. I pride myself in being able to make a song with anybody, so we got it in and did what we did.” (SOHH)
Earlier this year, Flocka said he did not place a large emphasis on rap lyrics.
Waka Flocka phoned into Whoo Kid‘s show on Shade 45 yesterday (February 13) to talk about his music projects, visiting Gucci and being lyrically deficient. In fact, he says the most lyrical rappers are the ones that aren’t making the most money. And for those who are wondering who penned Diddy’s verse, Waka says it was Diddy himself. (Rap Radar)
Recently, 50 Cent gave props to artists like Waka Flocka Flame and Gucci Mane for their street-themed raps.
“When I offer aggression, I offer it from an author, a real place,” Fif said in an interview. “It’s who I am; it’s who I had to be. Not even by choice, but to survive where I came from. So a lot of actual artists don’t have it. They don’t have that thing. Waka Flocka, ‘Hard in the Paint,’ Gucci [Mane], those guys have that…It’s just a lot of the other artists, I don’t believe them. I believe hip-hop is in a struggle of being artistic or [having] authenticity–which one matters? Because a lot of them that write music that has a street-life theme to it haven’t actually been exposed to very much of that. It’s starting to feel like it doesn’t matter. I’m watching it, and I’m like, Okay, it sounded great, but ya lyin’.” (XXL Mag)
In addition to Flocka, Twista recently told SOHH about the other collaborations featured on his new album.
“Just to put it naked, the biggest reason you should buy my record is [because of] the features I got on the album. So if you’re into the music you’ve got today, I got Waka Flocka Flame on the album. I got my man Yo Gotti on here going down. I got my man Lloyd on the album. I got Raekwon the Chef on the album if you’re a Wu-Tang fan. I got the Chris Breezy feature on there, so that’s one reason I want people to go out and get it. The line-up [is] off the chain and help me make a classic album.” (5 Reasons Why You Should Buy My Record)
Listen to Twista & Waka Flocka Flame’s “Hands Up, Lay Down” below:
