Michael Johnson, known by his stage name as Twisted Insane, is an American rapper and songwriter from

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. He has released eleven studio albums. He founded the

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

Brainsick Muzik, signing other rappers.

Early life

Johnson is from

. By the age of 12 he had begun writing rhymes, and has said that after his first live performance he was overwhelmed with emotion from the euphoric experience, and "immediately became addicted to performing live". He left home and began traveling around the United States, selling albums. When his first album, ''Shoot for the Face'', came out in 2006, he was homeless at the time. His first mixtape came out in 2004 ''Brainmatter''.

Rap career

Twisted Insane raps in the Chopper style, a fast-paced style that originated in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. He may have been influenced by fellow artists Bone Thugs-n-Harmony,

Twista Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (formerly Tung Twista), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastes ...

and

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

. He grew a cult following. His first studio album, ''Shoot for the Face'', was released in 2006 and included 21 songs, featuring Catmando, Guaran-T, West Craven,

T-Nutty Todd Jones Jr., also known as T-Nutty, aka The Flowmastermouth or The Last of the Flo Heakinz, is an American rapper from Sacramento, California . He has appeared on albums such as Tech N9ne's '' Misery Loves Kompany'' and ''K.O.D. ''K.O.D.'' ...

, Lil Face and Bleezo. His second album, ''The Monster in the Dark'', was released in 2007, containing 18 songs, featuring

Mitchy Slick Charles Mitchell (born December 29, 1973), known professionally as Mitchy Slick, is an American rapper from Southeast San Diego, California. He is a member of the rap supergroup Strong Arm Steady, along with rappers Phil Da Agony and Krondon ...

Spice 1 Robert Lee Greene, Jr. (born July 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Spice 1 (an acronym for "Sex, Pistols, Indo, Cash and Entertainment"), is an American rapper from Hayward, California. He began releasing albums in 1992. Career Jive R ...

, Uncle B, Young Bop, Marvaless, Zigg Zagg and

C-Bo Shawn Thomas, also known by his stage name C-Bo, is an American rapper. C-Bo, notoriously known for his relationship with law enforcement, was one of the first rappers to be jailed due to his lyrical content, a scathing critique of political off ...

. After featuring on Tech N9ne's single "

Worldwide Choppers "Worldwide Choppers" is a song by American rapper Tech N9ne. It serves as the third single from his eleventh studio album ''All 6's and 7's''. The song is noted for its breakneck flows packing rhythmic, rapid-fire rap. "Worldwide Choppers", pro ...

" in May 2011, alongside well-known rappers such as

and

, he was introduced to a much wider fanbase across the world. The song remains Twisted Insane's biggest hit so far in the United States, peaking at #15 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

U.S. Heatseekers Songs chart, #30 on the R&B/Hip-Hop

Digital Song Sales The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally start ...

chart and #4 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

. Following on from this, in October 2011 he released his third album, ''The Root of All Evil'', which was 18 tracks long and featured Chris Ray, Ric Nutt, Zigg Zagg, Marvaless, Key Loom, Bishop, C-Bo, Ise B, Ms. Karamel and T-Nutty. June 2013 saw Twisted Insane release his fourth album, ''The Insane Asylum'', including 20 songs, featuring Charles Xavier, Firing Squad, C Mob, Mitchy Slick, Key Loom, Redro Killson, Bishop, Bleezo,

Kung Fu Vampire Kung Fu Vampire is a Latin American rapper from San Jose, California. Since 2001, he has been recognized as a " goth rapper", and for being accompanied by a band in his live hip hop performances. He released his debut album, ''Blood Bath Beyond ...

, Poverty's Posterboy, West Craven, Hurricane, Mr. Dos Muchos, Troll,

D Loc Dustin Gary Miller (born May 2, 1977), best known by his stage name D-Loc, is an MC in the rap rock group Kottonmouth Kings and rap group Kingspade. The group was signed to Suburban Noize. Miller has been a part of the Kottonmouth Kings since t ...

, Crucified and Z. In July that year he was featured on the lead single of Tech N9ne's album '' Something Else'', "So Dope (They Wanna)" alongside

Wrekonize Benjamin Miller (born 5 May 1983), better known by his stage name Wrekonize, is an American underground rapper and current member of Miami band ¡Mayday!. He is currently signed to the record label Mayday Music, after previously being signed to ...

and Snow Tha Product. He was also featured in the music video for this track. In 2014 Twisted Insane released ''The Last Demon'', his fifth album, with 22 tracks, including collaborations with artists

Rittz Jonathan Matthew McCollum (born August 16, 1980), better known by his stage name Rittz, is an American rapper. His debut album '' The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant'' was released on April 30, 2013, rising to number 8 on ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hi ...

JellyRoll Jason DeFord (born December 4, 1984), known professionally as Jelly Roll (sometimes written as JellyRoll), is an American rapper and country singer known for his collaborations with Lil Wyte, Struggle Jennings, Yelawolf, Tech N9ne, and Upchurc ...

, Charlie Ray, Khadijah Lopez, Iso, Kamikazi and Aqualeo. ''Voodoo'', his sixth album, was released in 2015, and had 20 tracks, including guest appearances from Redro Killson,

Jarren Benton Jarren Giovanni Benton (born October 26, 1981), is an American rapper from Decatur, Georgia. In early 2012, he signed to rapper Hopsin's independent record label Funk Volume and released a mixtape titled, ''Freebasing with Kevin Bacon'' in Jun ...

, Khadijah Lopez, Dayo G, Qlayz, Tanqueray Locc, Bleezo and Charlie Ray. In 2016, he released a collaboration album with Charlie Ray, ''The Gatekeeper and the Keymaster'', with 15 songs also featuring T Nutty. In the same year he released a solo album entitled ''Shoot for the Face 2'', a sequel to his first album with 18 tracks, featuring Dalima, Kamikazi, Charlie Ray, Dikulz,

Brotha Lynch Hung Kevin Danell Mann (born January 10, 1970), better known by his stage name Brotha Lynch Hung, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Sacramento, California who has been described as "the creator of horrorcore rap." He is also ...

, Blayne and rapper

Lyrikal Jesse James Enoch (born 14 September 1983), better known by his stage name Lyrikal, is a Nigerian rapper, record producer, and songwriter. He started his professional music career in 2003 with Port Harcourt city based record label Tuck Tyght, ...

. ''In My Darkest Hour'', released in 2017, included 19 tracks, and C-Mob, Z, Dayo G and Charlie Ray are credited as performers. His latest albums, ''Sickopatomous'' and ''Sick James'', were released in September 2019 on

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...

, featuring C. Ray, Dayo G., Lady Insane, Brodie James, Jada Lynn, Tanqueray Loc, Dikulz, Bleezo, and Z, while Sick James featured

, Dayo G.,

Ryan Anthony Ryan Anthony (May 17, 1969 – June 23, 2020) was an American trumpet player known for his performances as a member of Canadian Brass and his role as principal trumpet of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He died on June 23, 2020, after an eight-ye ...

, Swisher Sleep, Big June, C. Ray,

, Ice B, Cutty Dre, and Buk of Psychodrama.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Compilation albums

Collaborative albums

Select guest appearances

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Insane, Twisted Living people Rappers from San Diego African-American male rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people Year of birth missing (living people)