One of the greatest, speediest rappers of all time finds himself in a bit of steep trouble with the law. In a report from FOX 32 Chicago, Twista pleaded guilty to refusing to pay his taxes from 2019 to 2023. Over time, the debt accumulated to $440,000, all while the Chicago MC continued to rake in income from performances and music royalties. To make matters worse, reports share that he was informed of his debt but ignored it in order to secure more future royalties.
These unpaid taxes reportedly date all the way back to 2011, all while Twista continued to indulge in a rich, lavish lifestyle. Now, he’s pleading guilty to five misdemeanor counts of deliberately refusing to pay taxes. Each count faces a maximum of one year in prison. Depending on how authorities determine their sentence, the “Overnight Celebrity” rapper could potentially face five years in prison. Currently, a decision will be made on October 22nd, 2026.
“Too many honest Americans work hard, pay their taxes, and do the right thing to tolerate someone who believes the rules don’t apply to them,” IRS criminal agent Adam Jobes said at the time.
Twista May Face Five Years in Prison Over Unpaid Taxes
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the 52-year-old was making some extraordinary acquisitions while owing tax money. From 2019 to 2023, he “routinely made other large, nonessential purchases,” such as four expensive vehicles. Prosecutors said he bought a Corvette, a Tesla, a Jeep, and a BMW, roughly totaling a combined $310,000.
Twista is best known for his extremely fast rapping. In the years since, several rappers have followed in his footsteps, including JID and Ski Mask the Slump God. In an interview with Genius back in 2019, rapping at such a rate wasn’t so much about technical skill. All he wanted to do was differentiate himself from the pack.
“It wasn’t a conscious thing to rap fast, it was a conscious thing to be different,” Twista explained. “It’s one thing to be able to rap fast, it’s another thing to be able to rap fast and do it clearly. It adds on to it when you got a dope cadence and rhythm and a little flow to it. Then it adds onto it even more when you talk about something. When your subject matter is dope and you got some punchlines and meaning to what you saying. So it’s definitely not just about fast flow. It’s a combination of all of them.”
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