ANONYMOUS TWIST
Anonymous Twist entered hip hop as a DJ in 1989. Now in 2000, he finds
himself with a microphone in one hand, a fader in his other hand, rapping and scratching to his own beats. As a trick DJ,
now called a turntablist, the elements of manipulating sound on a record tapped into a previously unknown channel of
creativity 'Twist had never experienced. One year later, at the age of 15 he placed 2nd in the Metro Mix-Off, a local DJ
competition. There was something about turntable orchestration he found exhilarating; taking a record and making the
orchestration of its sounds into his own. But somehow, he felt limited with what he was able to do. He tried making beats
with one of the first Radio Shack sampler-keyboards. Although this was mere child's play, it sparked an even greater interest
in producing music. A year passed by til he bought his first sound card and a 4-track to begin making beats. All the while,
Djing and producing, 'Twist wrote what he liked to call poems on the side (that just happened to rhyme to a 4/4 cadence).
He had been writing peoms since grade school where he discovered poetry in english class. The 3 elements naturally blended
together that summer 'Twist bought the 4-track and computer sound card. It was such a rush to hear beast with him rapping
and scratching over them that in the first month he created 18 songs. While many have frowned upon 'Twist taking on so many
tasks and advised him to settle on one. The creative potential he felt for all 3 overwhelmed the critics' doubts. And so he
continued clutching the microphone, massaging the record, and truncating rhythms.
Anonymous Twist combines many elements of turntablism into his production. Although his production style has been compared
to Premier's, he asserts that his inspiratino come from Muggs and RZA. Moody, visceral emotions permeate from his beasts to
ensure that anyone who listens to his music will experience it. Lyrically, 'Twist writes by the motto of "complex concepts
with simple words". Without digging to deep into any dictionary, 'Twist tries to play words enough to make it novel and
catchy, but wity enough to sometimes imply profound insight into human nature.
In 1993, Anonymous Twist, then known as Apollo, was featured on an independent comilation called "Unsigned, Sealed and
Delivered: Mass Destruction". The song, "What Da Phuk?", drew critical acclaim for its cptivating production and social
commentary on pollution receiving and honourable mention in a Billboard magazine review. In 1995, 'Twist was a guest MC
on Toronto rapper Smoke's debut 12" single. After this appearance, 'Twist took a brief hiatus from the hip hop scene to
concentrate on school as he was accepted into the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. During his last year
in the pharmacy program, 'Twist began laying down tracks again and "Rap Insomniac" was featured on a Canadian hip hop
compilation called "Natural Disasters" in 1999.
The independently released "Eugenics" is the culmination of many years of dedication and perserverance. It showcases and
comforts ears with skills on the microphone, turntable and behind the mixing board. Currently, tracks such as "The Real
Ill" and "Running Up On Ya" are on regular rotation at UNVR (Underground Network Virtual Radio), an internet broadcast of
the best unsigned hip hop artists. As well, Running Up On Ya rocketed to #4 in 4 days on MP3.COM's East Coast Hip Hop
charts and remained in the Top 10 for several weeks thereafter.
The future is very clear in the eyes of Anonymous Twist. In a world where hype can replace good music, 'Twist hopes to
reform the way music in accepted, giving support to genuine and heartfelt music regardless of its image.
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