Busta Rhymes Held Back Tears, But Didn't Hold Back Telling Everybody He "Pioneered The Feature" Last Night At The BET Awards
Last night Busta Rhymes was honored with the Lifetime Achievment award for his contributions to rap music during his THIRTY FOUR YEAR career, at the 2023 BET awards.
Busta couldn’t hold back the tears from streaming down his face when he accepted the award from Swizz Beatz and Marlon Wayans.
“Alright, so, I’mma wear it on my sleeve. I do wanna cry,” he said, which was met with astounding applause that got the waterworks going. Busta wiped his face with a towel before proceeding with the rest of his speech, where he opened up about his parallel struggles of being a solo rapper and a father and explained how he “pioneered the feature.”
How Busta Rhymes has been doing this rap thing for 24 years blows my mind. Seriously where does the time go?
It feels like just yesterday Leaders Of The New School were blowing up in the wake of Tribe Called Quest and De La Sol, and we were seeing the name Busta Rhymes pop up everywhere.
(Fun fact - Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL wide receiver George “Buster” Rhymes.)
Leaders of the New School began recording in 1990 and released their debut album A Future Without a Past… in 1991 on Elektra Records. In early 1992, the group appeared on A Tribe Called Quest‘s posse cut “Scenario,” in which Busta Rhymes’s climactic verse propelled him into the cultural consciousness.
In 1993, they released T.I.M.E. (The Inner Mind’s Eye). Soon after, however, internal problems arose because of Busta Rhymes’s increasing popularity, and the group broke up dramatically on the set of Yo! MTV Raps.
Back in 1992, Busta Rhymes was on a guest appearance spree. He was jumpin' on tracks with Big Daddy Kane, Another Bad Creation, The Notorious B.I.G., Brand Nubian, A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, and more. 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).
Busta even appeared on the album jacket of A Tribe Called Quest's "Midnight Marauders," chillin' with other hip-hop legends.
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.
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By the end of '94, Busta Rhymes was king of the collab game. He hopped on A Tribe Called Quest's jam "Oh My God" and teamed up with Puff Daddy, LL Cool J, Rampage, and his homie The Notorious B.I.G. for a remix of Craig Mack's banger "Flava In Ya Ear."
He joined forces with The Notorious B.I.G., Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Coolio, and more dope rappers for a posse cut called "The Points" featured in the movie "Panther." And you can't forget the epic freestyle battle with Ol' Dirty Bastard where Busta dropped some fire verses from his future breakout hit "Woo-Hah!!"
That was back in '95. Busta was cooking up some unreleased magic with Diddy, The Notorious B.I.G., and a bunch of heavy hitters like The LOX, Fugees, Mary J. Blige, Foxy Brown, Jay-Z, and even the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. (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. He started cooking up his second album, "When Disaster Strikes," and that bad boy didn't hit the shelves until '97. But damn, it was worth the wait. We got hit after hit with "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"
and "Fire It Up" (sampling that iconic "Knight Rider" theme).
In 1998, Busta Rhymes recorded "Extinction Level Event (Final World Front)." The lead single, "Gimme Some More," which sampled Bernard Herrmann's theme from Psycho, reached number 6 on the UK singles chart in January 1999. Busta Rhymes experienced further success on both sides of the Atlantic in April with the single "What's It Gonna Be?!" featuring Janet Jackson, reaching the top 11 in the US and UK charts.
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The album garnered attention for showcasing Busta Rhymes' fastest rapping to date, particularly on a song called "Iz They Wildin Wit Us?," featuring a guest appearance by Mystikal. This "new" style became what Busta Bus started becoming known for.
In that very same year, the Flipmode Squad dropped their epic group album, and they just kept on collaborating like there's no tomorrow. But hold up, let's rewind a bit to the year 2000. Busta Rhymes went all out and recorded his final album for Elektra, and he named it "Anarchy." Then, he signed with J Records, a label cooked up by the legendary Clive Davis after he got the boot from Arista Records (ouch!). Busta didn't stop there, though. He unleashed a killer collection of his greatest hits called "Total Devastation: The Best of Busta Rhymes," and he didn't stop there either. He also blessed us with a fresh new album of original tracks, and he named it "Genesis." Get this—it had some mind-blowing collaborations with Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, Kelis, and more. The album was powered by the smash hit "What It Is" featuring Kelis and his solo banger "Break Ya Neck" that dropped in November 2001. And as if that wasn't enough, the summer banger "Pass the Courvoisier, Part II" came out, featuring Pharrell and P. Diddy. But here's the plot twist—not all was gold and glory, 'cause this album didn't sell as crazy as his previous stuff. Still, Busta's fellow Flipmode members showed up, though there were a few minor changes in the squad lineup.
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In 2002, Busta Rhymes dropped his sixth studio album, "It Ain't Safe No More." He teamed up with Mariah Carey and the Flipmode Squad for "I Know What You Want," and the record did insane numbers.
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. It shot straight to number one on the Billboard 200, selling over 209,000 copies in the first week alone. The UK loved it too, reachin' number 19 on their charts. But here's the crazy part - some of the tracks got leaked online beforehand, so Busta had to switch things up and add some fresh jams. Dr. Dre and Swizz Beatz brought the beats, and Raekwon and Nas joined in for some sick features. The singles were on point too - we had "Touch It," "I Love My B*" with Kelis and will.i.am, "New York S" featuring Swizz Beatz, and "In The Ghetto."
This dude was on fire! He even opened up for Mariah Carey's tour, livin' the dream. Oh, and remember when he rocked it with Eminem on the "Touch It Remix Part 5" and dropped a sick verse on Em's track "I'll Hurt You"? That's the kind of collab we live for.
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But hold up, things got a bit rocky in 2008. Busta had to peace out from Interscope and Aftermath 'cause of some creative differences with their head honcho, Jimmy Iovine. 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." He even cooked up a jam called "Where's My Money" for a fake Grand Theft Auto IV radio station.
He signed a deal with Universal Motown, and on May 19, 2009, he released his eighth studio album, Back on My B.S. 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. The album had some killer singles like "Arab Money" with Ron Browz, "Hustler's Anthem '09" with T-Pain, and "Respect My Conglomerate." 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. Plus, he even teamed up with Tiësto and Diplo for a track called "C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise)."
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.
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(Sidebar - I actually got to see Busta a couple summers ago perform in Aspen at like a 200 person house party. Guy crushed it.)
Busta Rhymes was everywhere in 2011. He collaborated with Tech N9ne on the track "Worldwide Choppers" and even hopped on a Justin Bieber song called "Drummer Boy." 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.
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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.
He made an announcement in 2019 that he was putting the finishing touches on a new album with the one and only Dr. Dre producing it, but we haven't seen or heard anything about it yet…
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.
Busta said he only had “two minutes” but proceeded to pour his heart out while reflecting back on his start with Leaders of the New School in the early ’90s and explaining how he maintained top contender status over the next three decades.
He referenced how he “pioneered the feature”, (by default) and he wasn’t wrong. His story about how he’d hang out in studios where he’d know certain artists would be because he became friends with the receptionists was hilarious. He’d arrange these run ins with them, sit down and write a quick session, which he’d already prepared, then get in the booth and blow his verse out of the water. (Listen to the acceptance speech, it’s awesome).
His sound was ahead of its time and has endured, staying not only relevant, but “hot” for 3 decades now. The man is a beast.
After his speech he went on a 10-minute medley of his hits spanning his career, bringing the house down.
He's heading on tour with 50 Cent this year for what's sure to be one of the tour's of the year. Maybe decade.
p.s. - Busta was also in one of my most underrated movies with Sean Connery, Finding Forrester