Atlantic Records Gets It Twisted

Chicago rapper proves that where there's a will, there's a (Creator's) Way.


Written by Mark Fitzgerald Armstrong from Rap Pages Magazines

Creator's Way Associated Labels, an AFrican-owned independet record company based in South chicago, has finalized a reported multimillion-dollar joint venture distribution deal with Atlantic Records to promote rapid-fire lyricist Twista. The deal is considered one of the biggest in African American music history and will give CWAL ultimate control over how Twista's album is produced and marketed, with profits from the album to be split 50-50 between CWAL and Atlantic.

CWAL had been courted by a roster of major labels including MCA, London, Arista, Elektra and Epic for a Twista album deal, with the comppetition eventually narrowing down to Atlantic and Jive. "Jive was actually the first to come to the table with a solid offer," says Wendy Day, whose New York-based Rap Coalition played a pivotal role in the negotiations. "I didn't appreciate their first offer, however, because they were offering a small amount of money but never mentioned the back end --that is, the percentage of money received by the partners after the record sells."

Twista first gained national recognition as a Loud recording artist in the early 1990s under the name Tung Twista, and prior to that was known as Cavalier when pioneering sprechstimme rap, a tongue-defying lyrical style between singing and speech indigenous to Chicago's West Side and popularized by major-label compatriots Do Or Die and Crucial Conflict. Sprechstimme dates back to the late 1970s, with origins in jailhouse toasting, street gang baladeering and lyrical street battles between urban youth in the Midwest, and had emerged as a distinch sound by the late 1980s.

Twista is currently enjoying a resurgence of popularity with his guest rhymes on Do Or Die's CWAL-produced "Po' Pimp" single on Houston's Rap-A-Lot label, which peaked at No.1 during its 37 weeks on the Billboard rap singles chart and is on its way to going platinum after being cetified gold by the Recording Industry Association fo America. His solo CWAL single, "Emotions," released in October, is in regular rotation on urban stations throughout the Midwest and South after selling approximately 20,000 units in Chicagoland.

The distribution agreement between CWAL and Atlantic also marks the first time a major Chicagoland rap artist has landed an album deal without moving to a label outside the region. AS Day points out, "Creator's Way is not a a vanity imprint deal or a procuction deal. CWAL is a full-fledged record label ready to compete with Def Jam, Death Row, Jive, or whomever."

CWAL was founded in 1994 by lyicist Kevin "Rappalot" Brinson, producer/lyricist Sam "trax" Lindley and street-knight-turned entrepreneur Leroy "Lucky" Burton to afford recording opportunities to Midwestern Hip-Hop artists otherwise ignored by major labels based in New York and Los Angeles. Trax is rapidly emerging as one of Chicagoland's most sought-after producers based on tracks he produced for jive artists Mystikal and E-40, while Rappalot grew up just blocks from Twista near the West Side's K-Town and was friendly with his crew, speed Nots. Besides full-service production and recording studios, CWAL also houses Rap Coalition's Chicago branch office, which officially opened in January.

If the joint venture's end results pass final muster with CWAL, the Chicago label's board of directors will extend the deal to its full roster of artists, including the hardcore groups Snypaz and Psycho Drama, solo lyricists D.A. Smart and Criminal, and R&B vocalist China.