Alright, so, Imma wear it on my sleeve.
How Busta Rhymes has been doing this rap thing for 24 years blows my mind.
Seriously where does the time go?
In 1993, they released T.I.M.E.
(The Inner Minds Eye).
Back in 1992, Busta Rhymes was on a guest appearance spree.
The man was everywhere, droppin' bars left and right.
He blessed us with interlude appearances on Mary J. Blige’s “What’s the 411?”
and TLC’s “CrazySexyCool” (that album went diamond btw).
He was equally active in the movie game too.
In ‘93, he had a cameo in the flick “Who’s the Man?”
alongside his crew from Leaders of the New School.
He also appeared in Forest Whitaker’s HBO film “Strapped” with Fredro and Bokeem Woodbine.
And he shared the screen with Ice Cube and Omar Epps in John Singleton’s “Higher Learning.”
Busta was taking over both the music and movie scenes.
By the end of ‘94, Busta Rhymes was king of the collab game.
for a remix of Craig Mack’s banger “Flava In Ya Ear.”
That was back in ‘95.
(Talk about legendary collaborations.)
But you know how it goes, not all of them saw the light of day.
It didn’t discourage him though.
Busta was busy hustling non stop in the studio, working on his debut album.
And it paid off.
In ‘96, he dropped “The Coming,” and it was fire!
Right before that, he hit us with the bangin’ single “Woo Hah!!
Got You All in Check” and had us all hooked.
The man didn’t stop there, though.
But damn, it was worth the wait.
In 1998, Busta Rhymes recorded “Extinction Level Event (Final World Front).”
featuring Janet Jackson, reaching the top 11 in the US and UK charts.
This “new” style became what Busta Bus started becoming known for.
But hold up, let’s rewind a bit to the year 2000.
Busta didn’t stop there, though.
Get thisit had some mind-blowing collaborations with Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, Kelis, and more.
In 2002, Busta Rhymes dropped his sixth studio album, “It Ain’t Safe No More.”
And let’s not forget “Make It Clap” featuring Spliff Starr, straight-up infectious vibes.
Oh, and they even did a remix with Sean Paul, takin’ it to the next level.
But then, Busta switched gears and left J Records in 2004.
He signed with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, makin’ big moves!
That switch-up unfortunately led to the cancellation of a new Flipmode album.
Let’s fast-forward to Busta’s seventh studio album, “The Big Bang.”
This album was a game-changer.
The UK loved it too, reachin’ number 19 on their charts.
Dr. Dre and Swizz Beatz brought the beats, and Raekwon and Nas joined in for some sick features.
This dude was on fire!
He even opened up for Mariah Carey’s tour, livin' the dream.
That’s the kind of collab we live for.
But hold up, things got a bit rocky in 2008.
Sometimes you gotta move on to keep doin' your thing, right?
In 2007, Busta dropped a sick track with Linkin Park called “We Made It.”
It debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, selling 56,000 copies.
It’s a shame it didn’t get certified, but it’s still sold 122,000 copies till date.
Oh, and “World Go Round” with Estelle was huge in France and the UK.
In 2010, Busta Rhymes started his own label called The Conglomerate Entertainment.
He signed some big artists like N.O.R.E.
and his buddy Spliff Star.
Fast forward to 2011, Busta Rhymes was on fire.
He dropped a banger called “Look at Me Now” with Chris Brown and Lil Wayne.
The song blew up and even reached No.
6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
He also got nominated for six BET Hip Hop Awards.
Guy crushed it.)
Busta Rhymes was everywhere in 2011.
That’s right, Busta and the Biebs together.
In 2012, Busta kept the party going.
He dropped his ninth studio album,Year of the Dragon, for free on Google Play.
The album had some awesome guest features, like Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and Trey Songz.
He even paid tribute to his manager, Chris Lighty, in one of the music videos.
And shockingly, Busta Rhymes signed with Cash Money Records.
Yeah, that happened in 2011.
He teamed up with Chris Brown again too for the single “Why Stop Now.”
But things changed in 2014.
Busta decided to leave Cash Money Records due to creative differences.
He released a song called “Thank You” featuring Q-Tip, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne.
And just when you thought he was done, Busta Rhymes kept surprising us.
He featured on a track called “Devil” by Cash Cash, alongside Neon Hitch and B.o.B.
They brought the heat in August 2015.
It was great getting to see Busta get the respect he deserves last night.
Hopefully it fuels him to finish the album because the guy hasn’t lost a step.
He referenced how he pioneered the feature, (by default) and he wasnt wrong.
(Listen to the acceptance speech, its awesome).
The man is a beast.
- Busta was also in one of my most underrated movies with Sean Connery,Finding Forrester
