When Disaster Strikes [PA] - Busta Rhymes (CD 1997)

Let's all take a trip back to 1997


The golden age of hip-hop has ended to be replaced with the beginnings of the metallic, inorganic styles of commercialism. With the passings of two hip-hop legends not so long ago, it's time for the changing of the guard, led by the crown prince of hip-pop Puff Daddy. (Who's P. Diddy? Farnsworth? What Farnsworth?) Although there were other rap luminaries in this period (i.e. Common and KRS-One), they weren't being appreciated by most of the listeners of this time period.

Yet, there was one other who began to rise like a shining star popularized by the funk progressions of Earth, Wind, and Fire decades ago (But, moving on). This emcee, full of vibrant and sometimes seemingly psychotic energy, tried to bring the rage, the shock, the hardcore to this rap game. His name was Busta Rhymes and he was leading a movement with his generals, the Flipmode squad. On the CD When Disaster Strikes, which brought him mainstream popularity (this was his 2nd CD), he does this but in a slightly above-average way. Nevertheless, let's take a descent into madness.....


Track List
1. Intro (Not Rated)
2. The Whole World Lookin' At Me (****)
3. Survival Hungry (****)
4. When Disaster Strikes (***1/2)
5. So Hardcore (****)
6. Get High Tonight (****)
7. Turn It Up (*1/2)
8. Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See (**)
9. There's Not A Problem That My Squad Can't Fix (*)
10. We Could Take It Outside (****1/2)
11. Rhymes Galore (**1/2)
12. Things That We Be Doin' For Money, Pt. 1 (****)
13. Things That We Be Doin' For Money, Pt. 2 (****)
14. One f/Erykah Badu (****1/2)
15. Dangerous (***)
16. The Body Rock f/Mase & Puff Daddy (**1/2)
17. Get Off My Block (****)
18. Outro (Preparation For The Final World Front) (Not Rated)


Before we start, I would like you all to realize that mid to late '90s rap is different from this age's version. There are far fewer attempts to appeal to the masses, trading knowledge for dollars. Therefore, if you are a Master P or Chingy fan, leave now..If not, let's continue.


We start with the atmospheric, ominous Intro, which sets the tone for this LP. Those who are scared due to the forceful theme of this, then go home and watch Chingy and J-Kwon take turns raping hip-hop with gleeful looks on their faces while It s All About the Benjamins plays in the background. Anyways, let's keep on going. On the next track The Whole World's Lookin' At Me, we get a crazed pounding of drums and bass mixed with a sampled background. We hear Busta Rhymes spit creative and twisted braggadocio. It sounds like he's speaking tongues, due to his fast-paced lyricism. He doesn't show off an extended vocabulary, but due to the sarcastic and witty nature of his lyrics, it's almost forgiven.

After the tale for survival exhibited in Survival Hungry, we get to the title track When Disaster Strikes. On here, we get Busta exhibiting his superbly crazed braggadocio. He throws in indirect lyrical shots along with his over-excitable lyricism and twisted wordplay. The apocalyptic production matches all of the craziness that Busta exhibits on here to a tee. So far, I would advise that anyone that showed the characteristics that Busta exudes be committed, but moving on. (The track that immediately follows this one travels the same lyrical path, but with a different production of jazzy samplings and Christmas bells in the background)

The next three tracks (Turn It Up, Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See, and There's Not A Problem That My Squad Can't Fix) all fall under the same blanket of commercialism. The first track just features Busta spitting lame brag-rap (compared to earlier on the disc) over a sampled background. The next track consists of Busta rapping about partying over a beat that just jumps outs into your ears and screams "PLAY ME ON THE RADIO!" Also, the lyricism that Busta spits should make him want to write out the dictionary like one human rights leader did while in jail, but moving on. The last track...well, Sean "I Need to Dig Up B.I.G. To Get a Hit" Combs would be proud of it is all that I need to say about this one.

Fortunately, we have strayed from the club-ready tracks with We Can Take It Outside. This is the perfect example of what these lame rappers nowadays try to achieve: an atmospheric hardcore track. On here, over a unyielding production, we have Busta spitting some macabre, intimidating lyrics that could scare the white off Michael Jackson. The Flipmode Squad members that join him on this track almost match up with the lyrical intensity that Busta shows, especially Rah Digga and the forgotten Lord Have Mercy to name some standouts.

Skipping past the continuation of Get High Tonight on Rhymes Galore, we get to the superb set of songs Things We Be Doin' For Money, Pt.1 and Things We Be Doin' For Money, Pt. II. On these tracks, Busta, with some help from his group, explain what evil men can do just for money. It's said that money makes the world go around, so Busta just accentuates that theory on these tracks. The unyielding background helps us to understand Busta's imagery and the negative connotations that it emits. There is more I could say about these tracks, but I'll leave the ultimate karma to you.

On the next track One, we get Busta teaming up with the beautiful but possibly playaristic Erykah Badu on a mellow, chilled-back groove. On here, Busta thanks God for a gratifying life and for chances for him to have a wonderful existence. What may surprise some is Busta's attempts to emit introspective lyrics. For those expecting Busta to be hardcore all the time, it's a nice experience hearing this man calmed in a chillaxing kind of way.

However, the mood of this CD changes when Mr. Trevor Smith goes back into his commercial stage on the following two tracks: Dangerous and The Body Rock. On the former, we get Busta spitting some more lame braggadocio over another beat that screams for radio play. The next track is NEARLY ruined by the appearances of P. "Don't Call Me Puff Daddy" Diddy and Mase (What about this dude makes many (i.e. Fabolous and Loon) want to copy him?). Although, Busta succeeds at riding the track and twisting his lyrics, the appearances of the Bad Boy collective make this track not listenable. After the final tracks, we have reached the end of this LP. While we travel back to our time period, we wonder "Did Busta Rhymes create an impact on us?


Final Thoughts

This isn't the best album, but it's far from the worst. It seems like on half of these tracks, he was just having fun, saying anything that came to min, and on the other, he took his time to write gifted lyrics. There were numerous filler songs on here that dampened the future playability of this disc, therefore, ruining the future image of this LP. But, for what its worth, I half-heartedly recommend this CD.


3.5 stars