New Hartford artist introduces the new rap game

NEW HARTFORD — Usually when you think of rap music, you don’t think of positive, clean and inspiring lyrics, but that is exactly what local upcoming rap artist Twig (aka Jeff Terwilliger of New Hartford) is doing as he releases his debut album, “Clean Up Time.â€

“This is me really coming out of a bad time in my life and trying to affect people in a positive way,†Twig said. “It’s me cleaning up my life, cleaning up the rap game, making sure I have no curses or swears in any of my music and really telling a positive, genuine good story with all of my songs.â€

Twig, represented by Shizzle Music, which is owned and operated by Winsted resident Shane Martin, spent six months working on his debut album.

Things got serious for Twig and his music career when he teamed up with Martin. Martin went to Fullsail University in Florida, one of the top five entertainment schools in the country. There he earned an associate degree in recording arts and a bachelor’s degree in music business before moving back to Connecticut and starting his Shizzle Music Representation Company.

“I’ve always had my eye on Twig,†Martin said. “We’ve known each other since the ninth grade.â€

 Twig chimed in. “We are like the Scotty Pippin and Michael Jordan of music.â€

“Clean Up Time†was produced entirely by Shizzle Music, including all the marketing and photography used for the album, Martin said.

“Twig is the brand we’ve created for his talent,†he explained. “He has raw talent, the next big thing, and our team is dedicated to bringing him to the top.â€

This past Friday, Shizzle Music produced and organized a concert at East End Park in Winsted. The concert drew between 200 and 300 people of all ages.

 â€œWe had everyone from kids in strollers to senior citizens come out. It was a huge success,†Martin said. “The opening act did an awesome job, and then Twig came out and really gave a powerhouse performance. It couldn’t have gone better.â€

Twig said that drawing a diverse audience is important to him.

“I’m building a fan base of all different types of people, from young kids who I hope to inspire through my music to my grandparents,†Twig said. “I hope it appeals to everyone. My music is completely clean, completely positive and inspiring.â€

Twig also encouraged people to bring canned or nonperishable food items to his concert to donate to the Open Door Soup Kitchen.  

“Last time I came up with this idea, three years ago when I did a show at Brodie Park in New Hartford, I ended up showing up at the Open Door Kitchen with two truckloads full of canned and nonperishable food items. The look on those people’s faces of joy is something I will never forget,†he said. “That serves as my inspiration. I just want to help people.â€

The Winsted concert collected two week’s worth of food for the Open Door Soup Kitchen.

“We’re really proud of that and that we were able to make such a big difference and donation for them,†said Martin.

Both Twig and Martin agree that being involved with the community, and especially the youth in the community, is important in order to steer teens in the right direction in life.

“I want to get into the schools and talk to the kids and really be there for them as a mentor and give them motivation and direction,†said Twig.

Twig also talks about how important it is to him to see his fans following him to his shows.

“It really does mean something to me to have loyal fans and see familiar faces in a crowd. That’s what keeps me going,†he said.

For more information on Twig’s music and upcoming performances and shows, visit twigforever.com.

Latest News

South Kent School’s unofficial March reunion

Elmarko Jackson was named a 2023 McDonald’s All American in his senior year at South Kent School. He helped lead the Cardinals to a New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) AAA title victory and was recruited to play at the University of Kansas. This March he will play point guard for the Jayhawks when they enter the tournament as a No. 4 seed against (13) Samford University.

Riley Klein

SOUTH KENT — March Madness will feature seven former South Kent Cardinals who now play on Division 1 NCAA teams.

The top-tier high school basketball program will be well represented with graduates from each of the past three years heading to “The Big Dance.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss grads dancing with Yale

Nick Townsend helped Yale win the Ivy League.

Screenshot from ESPN+ Broadcast

LAKEVILLE — Yale University advanced to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after a buzzer-beater win over Brown University in the Ivy League championship game Sunday, March 17.

On Yale’s roster this year are two graduates of The Hotchkiss School: Nick Townsend, class of ‘22, and Jack Molloy, class of ‘21. Townsend wears No. 42 and Molloy wears No. 33.

Keep ReadingShow less
Handbells of St. Andrew’s to ring out Easter morning

Anne Everett and Bonnie Rosborough wait their turn to sound notes as bell ringers practicing to take part in the Easter morning service at St. Andrew’s Church.

Kathryn Boughton

KENT—There will be a joyful noise in St. Andrew’s Church Easter morning when a set of handbells donated to the church some 40 years ago are used for the first time by a choir currently rehearsing with music director Susan Guse.

Guse said that the church got the valuable three-octave set when Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center closed in the late 1980s and the bells were donated to the church. “The center used the bells for music therapy for younger patients. Our priest then was chaplain there and when the center closed, he brought the bells here,” she explained.

Keep ReadingShow less
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Penguin Random House

‘Picasso’s War” by Foreign Affairs senior editor Hugh Eakin, who has written about the art world for publications like The New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and The New York Times, is not about Pablo Picasso’s time in Nazi-occupied Paris and being harassed by the Gestapo, nor about his 1937 oil painting “Guernica,” in response to the aerial bombing of civilians in the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War.

Instead, the Penguin Random House book’s subtitle makes a clearer statement of intent: “How Modern Art Came To America.” This war was not between military forces but a cultural war combating America’s distaste for the emerging modernism that had flourished in Europe in the early decades of the 20th century.

Keep ReadingShow less