Rnation.com Busta Rhymes
b. Trevor Smith Jnr., 20 May 1972, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Rapper
Busta Rhymes became the toast of the American hip-hop community with the
release of his Elektra Records debut, The
Coming, in 1996. Although offering nothing outstanding in its
lyrics, album tracks such as "Everything Remains Raw" and
"It's A Party" highlighted his compelling ragga-influenced
delivery to good effect, and the catchy single "Woo-Hah!! Got You
All In Check" broke into the US Top 10. Rhymes had originally
rapped as part of the highly praised Leaders
Of The New School, with MC Charlie Brown, Dinco D and Milo In De
Dance, releasing the acclaimed A Future Without A Past in 1991.
He has also worked with a stellar cast of singers including Boyz
II Men, Mary
J. Blige, TLC
and A
Tribe Called Quest, and appeared in the movies Who's
The Man? and Higher
Learning. Attempts to promote The
Coming in the UK ended in disaster. His planned performance at
the Kentish Town Forum in May ended in calamity when delays in securing
a work permit prevented him from appearing. Outraged fans caused an
estimated £75,000 of damage after they rioted in protest. Rhymes
released the ambitious US Top 5 album When Disaster Strikes ...
in September 1997, exploring pre-millennial fears and the future of rap.
The album included a powerful duet with Erykah
Badu on "One" and "Turn It Up/Fire It Up",
with a remix of the latter entering the US Top 10. The track also
provided Rhymes with his highest UK chart placing the following April
when it debuted at number 2. The same year he released The Imperial
as part of the Flipmode Squad, a collaborative project with rappers
Rampage, Lord Have Mercy, Spliff Star, Rah Digga and Baby Sham. Rhymes'
fascination with film informed the same year's Extinction Level
Event: The Final World Front, which took its title from the disaster
movie Deep Impact. The frenetic "Gimme Some More"
reached number 5 in the UK singles chart in January 1999. Rhymes enjoyed
further transatlantic success in April when the highly catchy
"What's It Gonna Be?!", featuring Janet
Jackson, climbed to US number 3 and UK number 6. Rhymes
continues his career at a frantic pace, juggling his recordings with his
acting roles. In 2000 he worked on several movie projects, including the
movie remake of Shaft,
and released Anarchy.
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