Turbo-tongued Twista is back with an all-star cast of producers, hitting us with The Day After following the success of his 2004 release, Kamikaze. His last release was hailed with much fanfare thanks to the production talents of Kanye West. The album spawned two great West hits, “Slow Jamz” with Jamie Foxx and the high-speed “Overnight Celebrity.” The Day After is a worthy follow-up to the last release; it’s full of radio-ready singles and R&B hooks.

But for hip-hop heads looking for a gritty, furious record from the Chi-town native, look elsewhere. Twista’s digging for pop gold.

Twista enlists the help of pop music’s most exalted royalty – the Emancipated Mimi herself, Mariah Carey, produced “So Lonely.” Most likely she’s returning the favor for him appearing on her album, but it’s fortunate because Mariah and Twista are a perfect tag team. His breakneck speed rhymes go perfectly with Mariah’s own fast-paced chirping, cooing and whispering. Mariah and Twista at times seem to be in a contest to see who can say the most words the fastest without running out of breath.

Other friends along for the ride are Pharrell, on the Neptunes-produced “Lavish,” which is a sort of “reach for your dreams” kind of track, only it’s about striving to achieve material things: “You want the lavish crib, the fancy cars/You want the face on that Rolex shining like the stars/Don’t worry man, you can get it man.” “The Greatest Love of All” it is not, but it’s an infectious song, nonetheless.

But the album is lacking Kanye, the big-name producer whose inspired productions are the perfect backdrop for Twista’s hyper flow.

The Day After is rife with worthy singles and catchy hooks, and while Twista’s fast-paced rap is definitely a remarkable talent, he’s not really stretching himself much beyond Kamikaze. If you liked it last time, you’ll like it this time, too.

– By Ricky Ribeiro