Reviving commercial hip-hop

Mobstability

Twista and The Speed Knot Mobstaz

In an age when music is bound by the interests of big business, many artists have been discouraged from coming up with innovative styles simply because they won't sell. The result has been a dramatic decline in the quality and diversity of commercial hip-hop.

Creating and defining a fresh genre is also a difficult endeavor on the part of fans. The hip-hop market has become increasingly regionalized over the past few years, making it harder for rap artists to break into new audiences. Twista and the Speed Knot Mobstaz's Mobstability acknowledges these realities and conquers them by simply creating quality music.

As a solo artist, Twista released "Adrenaline Rush" in 1997, selling 400,000 albums and announcing that Midwest rap truly had a place in hip-hop culture. On Mobstablity, Twista teams up with his rapid-fire lyrical crew to offer us a record that even the most devoted East or West fan will feel. The title track and lead single of Mobstablilty builds off the infectious production of NWA's Alwayz Into Somethin', bringing it to the South side of Chicago and beyond.

"Crook County" offers an uptempo and blaring challenge to Midwest rivals Bone, Thugs-N-Harmony. In keeeping with the purist school of lyricism, Twista has built his reputation on what used to be the most important skill of an MC-the ability to battle. In Mobstability, good production keeps up with lyrical skills, a combination that has been missing from the wealth of commercial hip-hop.

Twista and the Speed Knot Mobstaz have made an album that is not just good Chicago rap, but a work that has the ability to reach all audiences. Keeping an open heart and mind is an essential element to approaching any art form. Keep this in mind with this album, and you may be surprised with what you find.

- Jon Lowe