Archive for May 16th, 2009

Busta Rhymes – “Back On My B.S.” (Album Review)

Busta Rhymes has called himself the “god” of rap flows for the longest, and when it comes to cameos and relevancy, there’s really not much ammunition you can use to argue against that fact. He can basically get on any style of track with any person and outshine them. That’s putting it lightly, considering that Busta usually DESTROYS tracks he jumps on and brings more energy to the track than the original artist… But that’s aside from the point. 5/19/09 is a big day for hip-hop, so for Busta to even stand a chance against Eminem as far as SALES and QUALITY music, there has to be good music on this cd. Of course we know the CD’s going to have hits on there…

But is it enough?

The Good: Busta’s high energy flow is back in abundance, for better or for worse. The intro song lets you know Busta still has his comedic side intact, and Busta’s lyrics have never been questionable as far as lyrical content. As far as his flow, he demonstrates his ability to get on a track and become creative (“Wheel Of Fortune”, “Kill Dem”), and then go back to his street flow (“Hustler’s Anthem”, “We Miss You”) and then slow it down to relate to the ladies (“Sugar”). Busta proves he can do it all on this album – again – and even goes further by going in on a techno-ish song with Estelle (“World Go Round”) that’s sure to please fans of the crossover radio hit.

The Bad: The same thing that’s impressive about the album is the same thing that kind of disappoints me. The album has no type of flow to it whatsoever to it. It’s like Busta picked a bunch of songs he liked and put it on the album, and said “Here you go. Woo-hah!” Some songs are good, and some…not so much. Even the songs that are ok, seem like it’s missing something, whether it’s a better hook (“Give Em What They Asking For”), or it’s just an awkwardly composed song (“We Want In”), unfortunately most of the album is just underwhelming at its best.

Not to mention, Busta co-signed freakin RON BROWNZ. I know he produced “Ether” for Nas, but if you want the T-Pain effect, at least get T-Pain, and not him. He can’t even use it right.

The “Wait, That’s Not On Here?!”: My biggest complaint is that arguably the hottest record that Busta released in the last year isn’t even on the album. The track “Blown” is now a ZShare downloadable, thanks to Busta not including it on the CD (maybe it’s a bonus track… I can only be hopeful). To be completely honest, it’s the only song that got me excited about the album. By the way, neither are the “Arab Money” Remixes…yet the disc is only 14 tracks. You would think he’d at least throw on a couple of remixes and/or long lost singles that are also NOT on the album (“We Made It”, “Throw The Water On Em”).

(Note: I’m completely aware that Busta went through label changes, but they let him walk with the whole album. He could put it out if he wanted to, and he chose not to. Not cool.)

Bottom Line: The CD has its high moments, including a monumental song featuring Common, Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige and John Legend (“Decision”), but for the most part, it’s just like most Busta CD’s. It has its moments, but there’s nothing here that’s going to stand up against the high quality releases coming out before, during, and after its release date.

I guess the only ammunition a hater could use is the same bullets they use when critiquing Jadakiss: “Yeah, he makes other CD’s hot, but why can’t he make his own classic CD?”

I’ve yet to figure that out.

Final Rating: —–> 3.4 / 5 <—–

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The Notable Tracks:

• “Hustler’s Anthem” (feat. T-Pain)
• “Don’t Believe ‘Em” (feat. Akon and T.I.)
• “Decision” (feat. Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, Common, and John Legend) *STANDOUT TRACK*
• “Sugar” (feat. Jelly Roll) *Warning: Adults Only*
• “Respect My Conglomerate” (feat. Lil Wayne and Jadakiss)