Twisted Black

Tommy Delando Burns, better known as Twisted Black (as well as 145), is a rapper best known for his songs “I’m A Fool Wit It” and “True Hustla.”

While heavily associated with Fort Worth, Texas, he was actually born in Detroit, Michigan on October 18, 1976, relocating to the south when he was about 12 years old. He initially performed as part of One Gud Cide, a duo he formed with his friend Evil Seed from 1991 to 2002. Their career was full of setbacks and delays, largely because of Twisted Black, but they garnered some underground success off of their two indie albums before their disbandment.

With Evil Seed no longer by his side, Twisted Black continued on as a solo artist, putting out his debut album Late Bloomer on October 28, 2003. Heavily overlooked due to being an indie release, its storytelling records, anthems, and even a heartfelt message to his late father showcased Black’s ability to effectively paint pictures of the street life with his rhymes.

His second album The Life of Tommy Burns fell to the same fate following its release in 2005, but his third album was a different story. Released on March 6, 2007 and being his first major album as a result of him signing with the infamous TVT Records, Street Fame gave Twisted Black his biggest opportunity up to that point to express himself, though it would only be short-lived.

On February 22, 2007, Twisted Black was sentenced to 30 years in prison for believing to be involved in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine—this coming after his arrest by DEA officers in July of the previous year. Through a remand, he was re-sentenced from 30 years to 27 years, which was further reduced to approximately 21-22 years, making his release date around 2028-2029. Following this time served, he will lastly have to do five years of supervised release before being completely free to engage in any future endeavors.