As noted by Noz the other day on Twitter, one thing hip-hop has been rather short on in recent years is “characters”. Of course, a lot of ‘em are playin’ roles anyway, but there’s not many who have their own distinctive entertaining personas, images, and rhyme styles. Love her or hate her, Nicki Minaj is one recent artist that falls into that category- as crazy as her voices and facial expressions may be, she commands attention as something different from the crop. Others in the past like Ludacris, Eminem, Redman, ODB, and Biz Markie had similar quirks- even to a point where the more “regular” their music was, the less appealing it was. They were expected to do the unconventional, so the normal shit just never quite hit the same way.
Another artist who also fits this description would be Busta Rhymes. For years, Busta was the one that always came with something different. For that reason, he always had his own lane, no matter what else was poppin’ that particular year. When the whole game went one way, his music went another, without being so over-the-edge that it didn’t still hit. But somewhere within the last five years, while he still has his different moments, he’s become a lot more typical. By comparison, the gun-bustin’, coke-sellin’ Busta hasn’t been clickin’ as well as the Busta that became a household name in the ’90s.
The first time I heard of Busta was in the spring of ’91, watching the early-90s syndicated video show Pump It Up! A new group called Leaders of the New School were on the show, introducing their first video, “Case of the P.T.A.” A little later in the year, my brother bought their first album A Future Without A Past, which I dubbed it and listened to it quite a bit myself. They also popped up on A Tribe Called Quest‘s Low End Theory, guesting on the album’s final track, “Scenario”. And with that, so came the beginning of the end of L.O.N.S., and the beginning of Busta Rhymes.
See… in the beginning, L.O.N.S. was an all-around talented group, from their songs to their videos to the stage performances. All three members- Busta, Charlie Brown, and Dinco D- had their own styles, which complimented each other. They were a complete package in terms of what makes a great group. But when that “Scenario” video hit the screen in early-’92, and then they performed it on Arsenio, that nigga with the dreads and the crazy hat stole the whole show. Busta became a star in his own right, and it showed when he (and not the group) started popping up on other peoples’ records.
By the time their second album T.I.M.E. dropped in ’93, there was tension within the group (mostly between Busta and Charlie), and L.O.N.S. was soon a wrap as ’93 went into ’94. For the next two years, Busta stayed visible, making appearances on different artists’ records (most notably the remix for Craig Mack‘s “Flava In Ya Ear”). This built toward his solo debut The Coming in ’96, which proved that Busta was a viable solo artist. Once the now-classic video for “Woo-Hah” dropped and was all over the place, he was officially a fixture in the game.
Speaking of videos, a huge part of Busta’s success is due not only to the music, but that he stood out just as much visually. His videos were always on some next-level shit that pushed the envelope. From the “Woo-Hah” vid (which also popularized the use of the “fish-eye” lens), to the Coming To America-inspired clip for “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See”, to that Terminator 2 liquid shit with Janet Jackson for “What’s It Gonna Be“… Bus stayed a step ahead. He was (and still is) also one of the best live performers in hip-hop, which I saw for myself once in ’99, again in 2002, and just last month when he came out during Quest’s set at the Rock the Bells festival.
I gave equal burn to ’97′s When Disaster Strikes and ’98′s Extinction Level Event, which both further cemented Busta as a star. His strength was always in being left-of-center- rhymin’ over unorthodox beats that the average rapper couldn’t touch, wearin’ wild shit that only he could get away with, and always willing to color outside the lines. That’s part of why it came off kinda strange to me that Bus got to rhymin’ about sellin’ drugs in front of the deli and shit like that a few years back. I could see if he’d ever appeared to have any interest in such topics before, but even when that was in style the first time around, he wasn’t on that. It was kind of a weird stylistic change for him, and I don’t know that it’s been to his benefit.
Either way, Busta’s still one of the most charismatic MCs of all time. He’s also one of a few still dropping relevant tracks 20 years into his career. Even when his albums aren’t so great, he’s still consistently able to at least drop a banger or two every time. He’s been featured on more remixes than damn near anyone, and has rhymed with everyone from Artifacts to the Pussycat Dolls. Seeing his career unfold from ’91 ’til now, Bus has stayed popular, but is also somewhat underrated. While he may never make any of those coveted top 10 MC lists, it’s undeniable at this point that when it’s all over for Busta Rhymes, it’ll be hard to dispute his status as a legend in hip-hop.
Leaders of The New School “Case of the P.T.A.” (1991)
A Tribe Called Quest feat. L.O.N.S. “Scenario” (1992)
“Everything Remains Raw” (1996)
“Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” (1997)
“Turn It Up/Fire It Up” (1998)
-D!
I think Busta has already cemented his status as a legend. One glance at his catalogue, and you’ll have to acknowledge that dude has hits. I haven’t been a fan of his more recent stuff, but he’s got CLASSICS that people will always lose their shit over. Doubt it? Play Scenario or Put All Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See!
Man… ‘Put Your Hands’ never loses. I didn’t even ‘get’ that joint the first time I heard it but it grew on me fast, then I couldn’t get over it. For like a good 2 years, you couldn’t play a party and not drop it. It was one of the best party records, and he was rhymin’ crazy on it too.
-D!
Dope…I always say this to people, Busta is in the Top 10.
- flow
- longevity
- uniqueness
- seems the every other rapper respects him
- kills whatever tracks he guests on (commercial and underground)
- club bangers
If I wasn’t at work, I’d go into more detail, but there aren’t many others that have had his career.
Yep… he’s one of the few who can get on a track with seemingly anybody and do his thing. He can rhyme on a J Dilla beat one minute, or something like the DJ Khaled remix the next, and kill it regardless… I just wish dude would drop an official hard-hitting album again.
-D!
busta has fallin off so much expect to see him on the next celebrity fit club.
LMAO @ the Fit Club reference… I think ey’body’s seen that recent picture of homie lookin’ like he was 6 months pregnant.
-D!
Busta Rhymes used to hang out at every studio in the 90′s and drop remixes like crazy. Sound engineers were probably like “SMH Busta’s back, just let him hop on this song and he won’t bother us no more”
Anyone have a list of his greatest remix verses?
He def. wanted to make his name back then, and he did that for sure. Even if it was just a hook, he was on it. Remember around 2003, tho’? That nigga was on everything in existence… it was like it wasn’t a remix without him on it.
I would say some of his best remix verses were on the Artifacts ‘come on wit da get down’, the Craig Mack ‘Flava’ joint, Bone Crusher ‘Never Scared’, ATCQ ‘Scenario’ remix, I’m sure I’m forgettin’ some, but uh… yeah!
-D!
love busta.
he has so much energy. he will exhaust you with his enthusiasm, you know? i got his first three albums. his videos along with puffy were the definition of the decadence of the hip hop era. back when labels were throwing millions on a hype williams video. “put your hands were my eyes can see?” i remember on bet, they wouldnt even show the whole damn video, it was so long.
i love how he shouts out his jamaican roots as well. he and fabo made that lumidee song hot.
i would say that for a good 10 years straight, he was king of the collabo/cameo. wasnt he on the space jam soundtrack too? LOL
i read in the guinness book of world records, that video he did with janet has the most expensive visual effects or something. and that song wasnt even as hot as his other bangers.
Ahhhh… I forgot about the Lumidee remix… that was that year I was talkin’ about a couple comments back, matter of fact. Kilt it!
Yep, he was on the Space Jam joint- with LL, Coolio, and I forget who else… the Monstars! lol
And yeah, those videos… serious. Def. repped that era when everybody was making and spending money on big videos and crazy stageshows. Some people hated that, but it was a real boom period that was both over-the-top and fun at the same time. Kinda miss it…
-D!
When I step up in the place ay yo I step correct. WOO-HAH!
Bussa Buss woke every one up with that jawn, including me who was not checking for hip hop at that point in time.
I remember hating that Puffy joint Pass the Courvoisier, and the “What it Is” joint with Kelis. I guess because they were overplayed at the time. Now I can appreciate them.
And while I like both Touch It and the Touch It remix, it can be agreed that his music did take a….turn.
DON’T THIS HIT MAKE MY PEOPLE WANNA JUMP JUMP!
Yep- Busta was killin’ it with the party records- still does when he wants to… I did get tired of how much they got played (esp. Pass the Courvoisier) but like you said, they def. remind me of that time period when hip-hop was still boomin’ and the Neptunes were producing eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy’thing.
I wish dude would stick to his strong suit… some of them street jointts were OK, but nobody wants to really hear that out of Busta. That’d be like Scarface doin’ a party joint- “really?”
-D!
i agree that busta is one of the most charismatic mc’s of all time… hip hop confession: when he was first going solo, i was like “who wants to hear a whole album of busta rhymes?”…lol. seemed like it would be exhausting. i was wrong.
extinction level event was a great album. i wish someone would let him know about the rumors that the earth is ending in 2012–could inspire some more great music.
Funny you’d say that- his upcoming album is gonna be named ‘E.L.E. 2′, I kid you not. “There’s only 1 year left!!”
Interesting confession there- and I agree, it def. coulda gone either way. Big diff between doin’ one crazy verse per song and doin’ numerous full songs that people wanna listen to. Shoutout to Canibus.
-D!
i remember that gimme some more video scared the shit outta me as a child lol dont judge
Ay, it’s all good… I know a girl who was 18 and scared by that shit when the baby turns into a monster… she oughta be ashamed of her got-damn self… lol
-D!