As a pioneering Chicago rapper, Twista has been in the national spotlight since the 1990s. Since that time, three of his bodyguards have died. Two were the victims of violence. The other died in a car accident.
The Windy City’s reputation for violence and standing as “Chi-Raq” does not make Twista happy.
“The spotlight on Chicago is unfortunate,” he says during an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. “A lot of it is people grasping onto the latest story or the latest happenings. A few things spiraled out of control. Now, you have this stereotype like it’s violent, like it’s brand-new. You have the Internet, social media and all these cameras to document many more crimes than they used to.
“It’s a problem in a lot of ghettos in America, not just Chicago,” he continues. “The thing that’s happening is everything is coming to light. There’s a lot of things the police were getting away with all these years that’s coming back to haunt them. You reap what you sow. You can’t get away with doing things as easily as you used to.”
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But while many rappers have taken a purely anti-law enforcement stance, Twista has a different perspective.
“I also think it’s making a lot of guys’ jobs hard,” he says. “No one is paying attention to this cool cop who has to wear this [body] camera. It’s a violation of privacy to have to wear a camera. We’re people. We don’t know when we might joke or say something that can be taken out of context. That would almost make me want to have another job, to make me have to have a camera sitting there every day. The bad cops have made it unfortunate for the good policemen because of the rules and regulations.”
As he moves forward in his career, Twista says he may get back into one of his early artistic outlets.
“I am a portrait artist,” he says. “I may get back into it. Every once in a while, I still draw in my spare time. I’m getting ready to dive back into it like I should have. I also do figure drawing and anatomy. I think I would like to have a gallery.”
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