Twista storms the top of the album charts with ’Category F5’

Twista’s second no.1 album

EMI Label Services delivers its fourth no.1 hip-hop/urban album

The pride of Chicago, platinum-plus and Grammy-nominated hip-hop veteran TWISTA, has stirred up another unstoppable summer storm out of the Windy City, as his sixth studio album, CATEGORY F5, released last week on Get Money Gang Entertainment/EMI Label Services, enters the Billboard Top Rap Albums chart at No. 1, Top R&B Albums chart at No. 3 and the Top Overall Album chart at No. 8.

Twista’s thoughts to the albums reception, “It really says something when you sell more independently than you do on a major label. I really have the fans, EMI and radio to thank for this great accomplishment in my career. Times are changing and I’m glad I chose to partner with EMI to help form a new business model that benefits all parties involved especially the artist.”

The album’s first single, Wetter, has proven to be a long-term hit since its digital release in late February. In its fifth month of release, the song is currently bulleted at No. 3 on the Urban mainstream radio airplay chart, and a No. 15 smash on the national Rhythmic-Crossover radio chart.

The success of CATEGORY F5 is also noteworthy for proving again the effectiveness of the full-service partnership between GMG Entertainment and EMI Label Services, which provides Get Money Gang Entertainment with promotion, press, on-line marketing, tour marketing and product management.

Dominic Pandiscia, Senior Vice President & General Manager EMI Label Services & Caroline Distribution, also commented on Twista’s success, “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Twista. Our close partnership on this release has contributed greatly to its success and we look forward to continuing to expand the exposure of Category F5 to all music fans”.

Twista’s chart-topping debut marks EMI Label Services’ fourth #1 debut in a row of an R&B/hip-hop album in the past year on an affiliated label, following Trina’s Still Da Baddest, Ice Cube’s Raw Footage and Bobby V.’s The Rebirth. GMG Entertainment is headed by Twista’s manager Rawle Stewart and Henley Halem, the liaison between GMG and EMI.

Twista is joined with his original “Adrenaline Rush” collaborator the Legendary Traxster and producer Toxic, on his current album, and also teams for the first time with such talented producers as Jim Jonsin, the Tastemakers, STREETRUNNER and GoodWill and MGI. His peers in rap’s top tier who are featured guests include Kanye West, Akon, Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, and the late Static Major.

Twista’s first underground release, Resurrection, appeared in 1994. His first national album, the platinum gold-level Adrenaline Rush, was released in 1997. The 2004 album Kamikaze, his third, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, driven by the No. 1 pop and No. 1 R&B/hip-hop single Slow Jamz featuring Kanye West and Jamie Foxx, and the No. 1 rap single Overnight Celebrity. Kamikaze has sold nearly 2 million units in the U.S. Twista’s fourth album, the RIAA gold-certified The Day After debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2005. He also scored the No 2 rap single Girl Tonite, featuring Trey Songz. To date, Twista has sold over 4 million albums.