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.
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Posted by Danj! 
