M2 World Music

Laquantas and Lazeri K. Winfield do just about everything together, whether it's making music, playing video games or doing an interview. Trying to tell them apart over the phone was hard, and it wouldn't have been much easier in person. The Chicago-born brothers are identical twins.

In 1995, Laquantas and Lazeri moved to Champaign and attended Centennial High School. That was also the year that their first album, "Sticky Situation," came out.

As the inseparable duo Twinfolkz, the brothers have opened up for some of hip-hop's biggest acts. They've shared the stage with the legendary KRS-One, Mystikal, Clipse and J-Kwon.

Twinfolkz's latest album, "Mistaken Identity" – which has surely happened to the pair countless times – is near completion and scheduled to be released locally later this year. Twinfolkz recently signed a deal with Gamersaloon.com, one of the world's largest gaming websites that allows members to wager on the outcome of video games.

I was able to convince Joe Major (Lazeri) and Bigz (Laquantas) to take a quick break from recording for a phone interview.

N-G: Did you immediately get into music when you moved to Champaign in 1995?

Joe Major: We got in the music scene. We did local talent shows, radio stations like 90.1 (WEFT). Every Friday night, Saturday night we would freestyle.
Bigz: We moved up from the underground circuit to do more commercial music.

N-G: How did you guys hook up with Gamersaloon.com?

JM: We did a commercial, a promo out of the blue. We called the CEO up and let them know we had something for them. Shortly after that, he was interested in it and wanted to use it as an official promo song. We're representing them now. We're interested in the website because we're gameheads, too. We like to play XBox 360 and PS3.
B: They have over a quarter million members right now.

N-G: So what games do you like to play?

B: "Call of Duty." Number one. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare."
JM: We aren't into "Madden" that much.

N-G: Do you have anything special coming up with the website?

B: We have so much stuff going on right now. In May, we have a game tournament in Michigan. We're going to be playing against Warren G.
JM: The Celebrity Gaming Challenge.
B: Warren G likes to play sports games. "(NBA) 2K10" and "Madden." We got to practice on that right now.

N-G: What's your strategy when you go up against Warren G?

B: We're more into music, but when it comes to playing games, we can get down.
JM: We lived on PS3. Right when "Call of Duty" came out, we killed everybody.

N-G: I saw that Twinfolkz has a song on Youtube called "Fighting Illini" where you name-drop the entire roster. What do you think about the University of Illinois' men's basketball team?

JM: Wow... (laughs)...
B: Nah, man. When we wrote that, it was whatever happens now happens.
JM: We've been Illini fans for a long time. We still support the U of I.

N-G: What's your feeling about the hip-hop scene here in Champaign-Urbana?

JM: This is our belief. We try to reach out to a lot of people.
B: Whenever we hear of different events going on in the area, we like to attend them just to support local artists. That's what we've been doing for years. We probably have a little more advice to give someone because we have been doing this for so long in the area. There are a lot of talented artists out here that need to find an outlet.

N-G: When will we get to hear something from the album?

JM: We shot a video three weeks ago. We're going to be having a release for the single "I Know." It's going to be on Yahoo! Music Choice, Youtube, you name it.

N-G: Are there any special guests on the album?

JM: We're working with (former Illinois men's basketball player) Sergio McClain. He played some basketball for so many years. Now he's trying to get a music thing going.

N-G: You are some busy guys. Is there anything else you are working on?

JM: We're working on our own cartoon right now called "Young Starz." It's about talented kids trying to make it in the music business. We have the outline, the script. The first episode we have is going to be called ...
B: "Fundraiser."
JM: The main channel we're shopping it to is Comedy Central. We're in the process of the drawings right now. We mapped out the attitude and the style of the kids so we know exactly how we want them drawn out.
B: We were in Chicago last Saturday. We had a couple of comedians, like Gerald Kelly from BET's Comic View. He's going to do the voiceovers in New York for us.

N-G: What's it like having a twin and being a musical act?

B: We are the Twinfolkz. If I die, we won't be Twinfolkz no more. If I'm sick at a show, we can't go on. It's Twinfolkz.
JM: I'm his left-hand man. I was going to say right-hand, but I'm left-handed. When I'm having a conversation with someone, he's always finishing my words. When he's having a conversation with someone, I'm always finishing his words.
B: We're always ther - News Gazette

Laquantas and Lazeri K. Winfield do just about everything together, whether it's making music, playing video games or doing an interview. Trying to tell them apart over the phone was hard, and it wouldn't have been much easier in person. The Chicago-born brothers are identical twins.

In 1995, Laquantas and Lazeri moved to Champaign and attended Centennial High School. That was also the year that their first album, "Sticky Situation," came out.

As the inseparable duo Twinfolkz, the brothers have opened up for some of hip-hop's biggest acts. They've shared the stage with the legendary KRS-One, Mystikal, Clipse and J-Kwon.

Twinfolkz's latest album, "Mistaken Identity" – which has surely happened to the pair countless times – is near completion and scheduled to be released locally later this year. Twinfolkz recently signed a deal with Gamersaloon.com, one of the world's largest gaming websites that allows members to wager on the outcome of video games.

I was able to convince Joe Major (Lazeri) and Bigz (Laquantas) to take a quick break from recording for a phone interview.

N-G: Did you immediately get into music when you moved to Champaign in 1995?

Joe Major: We got in the music scene. We did local talent shows, radio stations like 90.1 (WEFT). Every Friday night, Saturday night we would freestyle.
Bigz: We moved up from the underground circuit to do more commercial music.

N-G: How did you guys hook up with Gamersaloon.com?

JM: We did a commercial, a promo out of the blue. We called the CEO up and let them know we had something for them. Shortly after that, he was interested in it and wanted to use it as an official promo song. We're representing them now. We're interested in the website because we're gameheads, too. We like to play XBox 360 and PS3.
B: They have over a quarter million members right now.

N-G: So what games do you like to play?

B: "Call of Duty." Number one. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare."
JM: We aren't into "Madden" that much.

N-G: Do you have anything special coming up with the website?

B: We have so much stuff going on right now. In May, we have a game tournament in Michigan. We're going to be playing against Warren G.
JM: The Celebrity Gaming Challenge.
B: Warren G likes to play sports games. "(NBA) 2K10" and "Madden." We got to practice on that right now.

N-G: What's your strategy when you go up against Warren G?

B: We're more into music, but when it comes to playing games, we can get down.
JM: We lived on PS3. Right when "Call of Duty" came out, we killed everybody.

N-G: I saw that Twinfolkz has a song on Youtube called "Fighting Illini" where you name-drop the entire roster. What do you think about the University of Illinois' men's basketball team?

JM: Wow... (laughs)...
B: Nah, man. When we wrote that, it was whatever happens now happens.
JM: We've been Illini fans for a long time. We still support the U of I.

N-G: What's your feeling about the hip-hop scene here in Champaign-Urbana?

JM: This is our belief. We try to reach out to a lot of people.
B: Whenever we hear of different events going on in the area, we like to attend them just to support local artists. That's what we've been doing for years. We probably have a little more advice to give someone because we have been doing this for so long in the area. There are a lot of talented artists out here that need to find an outlet.

N-G: When will we get to hear something from the album?

JM: We shot a video three weeks ago. We're going to be having a release for the single "I Know." It's going to be on Yahoo! Music Choice, Youtube, you name it.

N-G: Are there any special guests on the album?

JM: We're working with (former Illinois men's basketball player) Sergio McClain. He played some basketball for so many years. Now he's trying to get a music thing going.

N-G: You are some busy guys. Is there anything else you are working on?

JM: We're working on our own cartoon right now called "Young Starz." It's about talented kids trying to make it in the music business. We have the outline, the script. The first episode we have is going to be called ...
B: "Fundraiser."
JM: The main channel we're shopping it to is Comedy Central. We're in the process of the drawings right now. We mapped out the attitude and the style of the kids so we know exactly how we want them drawn out.
B: We were in Chicago last Saturday. We had a couple of comedians, like Gerald Kelly from BET's Comic View. He's going to do the voiceovers in New York for us.

N-G: What's it like having a twin and being a musical act?

B: We are the Twinfolkz. If I die, we won't be Twinfolkz no more. If I'm sick at a show, we can't go on. It's Twinfolkz.
JM: I'm his left-hand man. I was going to say right-hand, but I'm left-handed. When I'm having a conversation with someone, he's always finishing my words. When he's having a conversation with someone, I'm always finishing his words.
B: We're always ther - News Gazette