Dallas Teen on His Way to Becoming Next Rap Superstar

The energetic and lively 19-year-old rapper Lil Twist went from rapping with his cousins in a closet to rapping alongside some of the biggest names in the hip-hop industry on Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment record label.

Lil Twist is currently touring with rapper Tyga on his “Careless World” Tour and opened along with YG for Tyga at the Warfield in San Francisco last Thursday.

“San Francisco was amazing. I enjoyed the love in general,” Lil Twist told The Pioneer. “They was crunk and they was rocking with me. They looked like they was having a good time, so as a performer that makes me want to go even harder and give them the best show I possibly can.”

When Lil Twist arrived on stage he was well received from everyone in the packed venue. His charismatic personality, refreshing energy, impressive dance moves and overall “swag” had the ladies ready to get closer to him.

He seemed to be a natural on stage, never staying in one spot too long, as he was continually running, jumping and dancing, utilizing every inch of the stage.

Born Christopher Moore, Lil Twist who is originally from Dallas, Texas began rapping at a very young age.

“I started rapping when I was like seven years old and it has always been like a dream,” said Lil Twist. “All my cousins are older than me and they all wanted to be rappers, so we just started rapping in the closet and I kept doing it.”

When Lil Twist started performing locally throughout Texas, he received local attention for his first single, “Texas Twist.”
“It was the very first song I got known off of,” said Lil Twist. “I was 10 years old and it was number one on the radio for like six weeks straight.”

Outside of his local fans, artists such as R&B sensation Usher and hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri came out to see young rapper as well.

After making a connection with Cortez Bryant of Bryant Management, who manages hip-hop ambassador Lil Wayne, Lil Twist was given the opportunity of opening for Lil Wayne in 2006.

“I opened for Wayne when I was 13 years old in Tyler, Texas, which is an hour from my hometown in Dallas,” said Lil Twist. “I asked ‘Tez’ to let me perform; he let me go up there, I ripped it and they loved it.”

Following the show, Bryant kept in touch with Lil Twist, which eventually led to Lil Wayne flying Lil Twist out to his studio in Atlanta to see what he was all about. The young star blew them away with his creative flows and impressive freestyles.

Lil Twist continued to work alongside Lil Wayne and in 2008, he was given the chance to tour with Lil Wayne. He also managed to release two mixtapes, titled “The Yearbook” and “Class President.”

In 2010, Lil Twist was signed with Young Money Entertainment, making him the youngest person to sign on the label.

“It’s been amazing. Wayne took me in at a young age,” said Lil Twist. “When I was in middle school, he was flying me in and out of town, showing me different stuff. It’s just been fun, I’ve been loving it. Everything I know, I kind of got from Wayne.”

Aside from rapping and performing, Lil Twist has also become a social media mogul, with over 1 million fans currently following him on Twitter.

“I feel loved. I appreciate all my fans and I love all my fans,” said Lil Twist. “I’ve been on Twitter for a while now, even before it was as popular as it is now, so to reach a million was a great accomplishment. I’m focused on that 10 million now.”

In addition to his own account, Lil Twist was put in charge of running both his and Lil Wayne’s Twitter accounts in 2010, when Lil Wayne was serving an eight-month sentence at Rikers Island on an attempted gun possession charge.

“I actually created Wayne’s Twitter page for him and instantly he had a lot of followers,” said Lil Twist. “As for me running it for him while he was in jail, when I would speak to him or go see him, he would tell me what to post. I was just happy to be able to help him connect with his fans through a very unfortunate time.”

Lil Twist will be releasing his debut album “Don’t Get It Twisted” on April 17. The album has faced multiple delays over the past year, but this date seems to be set in stone.

When asked what fans can expect from the album, Lil Twist responded, “A different Twist, a grown and older Twist. I’ve definitely matured on this album. There will be a lot of different features; it’ll be great.”

Lil Twist has a variety of artists featured on his upcoming album, including Bow Wow, Busta Rhymes and Mishon. There is also a highly anticipated song with Justin Bieber, titled “Whereva U R.”

“Justin and I are like best friends, we’ve been friends way before he became the big star that he is today,” said Lil Twist. “One day we was chilling and I played the song for him. It originally had someone else on it, but he heard it, loved it and wanted to hop on it. It came out amazing and I can’t wait for you all to hear it.”

Lil Twist has also ventured out into the acting arena, with his appearance in the movie, “Lottery Ticket” in 2010, starring rapper and actor Bow Wow.

Lil Twist says that he plans to explore a career in acting, and although he couldn’t tell us what movie he was working on, he assured The Pioneer that he has just received scripts and has started going over them.