Twista, West Side rap duo to bolster Chicago music scene

Multi-platinum rapper Twista is putting his proteges and fellow West Siders, The Speedknot Mobstaz, back on the scene. Last month, The Speedknot Mobstaz released their sophomore album, Mobstability II: Nation Business, under Twista’s brand new Get Money G

The album’s first single, Money to Blow, is already in rotation on BET, MTV and local radio. Liffy Stokes, half of the rap duo, said the album brings a gritty “street” sound back to hip hop. “We’re dancing too much (in hip hop) which is not bad, but you also got to bring forth that reality of what’s going on in life.

The economy, the recession, it’s hurting everybody, even the street level people,” Liffy Stokes said. “We’re going for that hardcore, street edge type sound. It’s real bass- heavy and ready for the streets.” Twista’s relationship with Liffy Stokes and Mayz goes back to 1991 when they met rap battling at a West Side gas station.

“I liked their style, they were liking my style, and we eventually just grew to be homies. I felt like Mayz, Liffy Stokes was comin’ with it and I wanted to be involved. Like, ‘Man, let’s work together, let’s do our thing,’” Twista said. Liffy Stokes and Mayz dubbed themselves The Speedknot Mobstaz, and followed Twista to a Chicago based subsidiary of Atlantic Records.

In 1998 they released Mobstability, which sold 700,000 units. “Most of the songs were done before we were ever in the studio%uFFFD just while we were ridin’ around in the hood,” recalled Mayz. But contractual disagreements kept the group in limbo for several years. “We were signed to Atlantic records through another record label, a Chicago-based label, and we got into an altercation with them. Twista was trying to get off the label too, so the first priority was Twista.

Twista got off his deal around 2000. We didn’t get out of our deal till 2002,” Liffy Stokes said. The Speedknot Mobstaz dropped mixtapes and performed locally and abroad while Twista signed a new contract directly with Atlantic Records.

He invited The Speedknot Mobstaz to appear on his albums The Day After (2005) and Adrenaline Rush (2007)%uFFFDgood exposure for the rappers, who Twista was prepping to become his label’s headline artists. The Speedknot Mobstaz are the first to release an album under GMG Records, and Twista executive produced Mobstability II.

Liffy Stokes believes GMG Records will help revive Chicago’s music scene, which lags behind New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles. The music video for Money to Blow was shot in west suburban Oak Park, and several local producers and artists, including Toxic, Tight Mike, Skooda and B-Hype, are featured on the album.

“We’re trying to build up the Chicago music scene, get some labels here. Like we got our label, GMG, taking it to the next level and being the first major label to be here in Chicago,” said Liffy Stokes.

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Copyright 2008 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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