Jaime and Paul trek back to some of their most emphatic and experimental releases that all contributed to band’s continued strive for creative excellence.
The third segment of the continued excavation into the catalog of horrorcore pioneers Twiztid begins with the duo’s sixth studio effort in Independents Day.
Featuring a variety of guest contributors, the album bars from the likes of Tech N9ne, Jared Gomes of Hed PE, Proof and Bizarre of D12, and legendary West Coast staples, DJ Quik and The Dogg Pound.
Citing their continued love for West Coast gangsta rap, Paul recalled how he saw an ad that Daz took out in The Source Magazine offering production. Paul decided to make the call. Lo and behold, Daz answered the call and shortly there after, Twiztid was linking with Daz and Kurupt in what would become one of their most beloved collaborations.
In 2009, Jamie and Paul would turn the page on yet another chapter in their career with what is arguably one of their most significant records in their catalog. W.I.C.K.E.D. was the culmination of all the missteps and successes the band had tallied up to that point. Both Madrox and Monoxide explained that they wanted to make an emphatic statement with this particular record and by asserting, Wish I Could Kill Every Day, they were taking aim at mainstream media, the big business of music, and frankly, anyone that tried to undermine what Twiztid had spent years cultivating.
The album reached the very top of the Independent Album charts and notched the third highest positioning album in the history of Psychopathic Records, following only ICP albums proper.
Another interesting facet to W.I.C.K.E.D. is how prevalent Blaze Ya Dead Homie is, contributing on tracks throughout the record. Jamie and Paul talked about how they understood the strength of their reach and how it was and continues to be important to them to share the spotlight. Their connection with Blaze runs deep and as Twiztid continued to gain their own footing, they would always make sure that their cohorts and collaborative collective always had a place at the table.
W.I.C.K.E.D. was important for so many reasons given it’s look, feel, and it’s minimal features. Album seven was all Twiztid with haymakers from Blaze and it became a smash. Even with the dark tone of the record and the aggressive sentiment in anti-everything, the album was a direct hit that the duo accomplished on their own terms.
Again citing the Halloween 3 phenomenon, the discussion arrived at Twiztid’s Heatbroken & Homicidal LP that dropped in 2010. With the kind of catalog the guys had established, there is always going to be a desire to expand and experiment. Heartbroken & Homicidal was very much that record that the guys opted to try something new, take chances, and venture outside of their comfort zone in an effort to increase there skill set.
The delayed effect the record had with fans however meant that the achievement packaged with the loose concept record wasn’t appreciated until a few years after the release. Jaime confided that records like Man’s Myth/Mutant and Heartbroken & Homicidal functioned as the guys working out their creative kinks on wax and those records allowed for peaks to inevitably result.
What would follow is a return to form with the duo’s ninth record, Abominationz. Referring to the album as an era that saw Twiztid get back o brass tacks and place an emphasis on the lyricism and verbal wordplay that first turned heads, the album is a solid example of Jamie and Paul’s hip hop IQ. While the guys were always willing and able to dabble in the fringe, records like Abominationz reasserted the kind prowess as hip hop contributors that commanded attention not just from within the Juggalo culture but from those outside that community just the same.
Watch the third segment of The Disc Dive with Ryan Downey and Twiztid below.
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