The Big Bang [PA] - Rhymes, Busta (CD 2006)

The Big Bang Busta Rhymes

There s no doubt that Busta Rhymes always brings the energy when he steps up to mic. Whether it be one of his millions of guest appearances or another one of his crazy singles on TV or radio everyone loves the Busa Bus. He s always been blessed with good production and his skill in writing insane head-banging hooks giving him that commercial appeal that so many artists yearn for. Yet at the same time, Busta Rhymes has the ability to get really deep and thoughtful and no matter how many party records he had on his albums it was always balanced out by some interesting introspection giving Bus that extra edge over most modern hip hop artists.

He s been around for a long time now and after numerous solo and crew albums he s signed to Aftermath Records, joined forces with Dr. Dre (always a good career move) and has brought us his seventh solo album in 2006 - The Big Bang. Dre and Busta had worked together before on the album Genesis a few years back which turned out to be one of the best releases of Busta s career thanks mainly to Dre s production skills. And because of this, many people myself included figured that this would be the point where Busta Rhymes a mature and fully grown artist at this late stage of his career would be bringing that classic album we had ball been waiting for, for so long. So would we get the album we expected or something entirely different? Here goes

Tracklist:

1. Get You Some (3 Stars)
2. Touch It (1 Stars)
3. How We Do It Over Here (2 Stars)
4. New York Sh!t (2 Stars)
5. Been Through the Storm (4.5 Stars)
6. In the Ghetto (2 Stars)
7. Cocaina (4 Stars)
8. You Cant Hold the Torch (4 Stars)
9. Goldmine (4 Stars)
10. I Love My B!tch (0 Stars)
11. Don t Get Carried Away (3.5 Stars)
12. They re Out to Get Me (3 Stars)
13. Get Down (1 Star)
14. I ll Do It All (2 Stars)
15. Legend of the Fall Offs (4 Stars)

My first question after hearing the album in its entirety was where the hell is the dreadlocked maniac we all came to know and love? Where was that over-the-top do you want to ram with me? type single that we had been expecting? Why is Busta so damn serious now? The fact is, its clear from the very first song that the party/club side of Busta is dead and gone and has been replaced with a Cent type Busta focusing (like almost all rappers do these days) on the same tired old subjects of money, hoes and cars. Even the once great Q-Tip along with Marsha of Floetry both enforce this newfound greed on the hook of the opening track Get You Some. Dr. Dre s production is easily the best thing about this track certifying its head-nodding status Dre s typical use of keyboard notes, handclaps and banging synths is just too perfect and even though the hook is shallow and materialistic it sounds good together with the beat and the stage is all set for Busta Rhymes to bring the goods the thing is he doesn t. Instead Busta uses his two terribly simplistic verses to brag and explain how he s still on top of his game. Somehow, I d have to disagree with him.

The album just goes in one direction only now and that s downhill with the Swizz Beatz produced Touch It; the latest huge hip hop club hit with about 5 different remixes making the rounds on TV and radio recently. I honestly cannot see what the big deal about the song is at all. The production is nothing but a few kicks, claps and drums with some synthesizers in the background and the horribly annoying droning voice on the hook just makes it worse. Busta himself adds absolutely nothing to the track with his rhymes again rehashing the same materialistic sh!t that s been done countless times before.

Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am and Kelis join Busta on I Love My B!tch which is surely the worst song Busta has ever been involved in. Will.i.am has been doing some good work recently, but his production here trying to give the song a funky feel with his drums and heavy synths - is pure trash; as his hook with Kelis - as is Busta himself this is by far the worst song on the album and one of the worst to come out last year. No wonder Busta s has struggled to go platinum on this release with these first two singles that are supposed to be promoting him. Get Down is another one of those songs that s an attempted recreation of Busta s old-school feel hits, but it just mostly comes off as tired and basically just bad music.

Okay; throw your hands to the ceiling (get down!)
Alright; go 'head and stack another million (get down!)
Jumpin around like you ain't really carin (get down!)
Ladies rippin off everything they wearin (HEY YO!)

Bleh

Missy Elliot joins Busta on How We Do It Over Here and does absolutely nothing help Busta s horribly simple and selfish rhymes by adding yet another terrible and annoying hook to the mix. If this track does have one thing going for it its Dr. Dre s tremendous work behind the boards the usual handclaps, heavy synths and horns balanced well with an assortment of occasional strings in the background yet again saving the song from being a complete waste.

Dre really is the star of the show here and he proves it again and again on almost half the album and luckily Busta manages to keep up with the level on some cuts a perfect example being Cocaina. Finally we see that creative side Busta we know he s really capable of; not really using an extended metaphor as such but linking the theme of cocaine to his rhymes as he flows well with a mixture of introspection, threat making and braggadocio rhymes well written, well rapped and overall making a good song. Marsha of Floetry is here again to provide some background vocals. She s got one hell of a voice and compliments Busta well over Dre s laid back piano keys. Of course as is to be expected Busta is no Canibus but I can appreciate him attempting to put something good together.

Oh sh!t, flow so sicker than Chlamydia,
We know you a slouch duke, we don't even consider ya,
Boss n!gga, see or hear me in ya area,
The more n!ggas, the murders, the more the money, the more the merrier,
Smash sh!t 'til everything become mass hysteria,
Hungry for street sh!t, see I be takin care of ya check n!gga,
F*ck all the talk, homey I'm daring ya,
The lead from the shot'll poison ya blood like malaria

Goldmine featuring the latest artist to be signed to Aftermath Raekwon the Chef from the Wu Tang Clan has a similar song concept just more straightforward with Bus and Rae trading rhymes over Dre and Eric Sermon s chilled yet somewhat grimy drum loop. Rae steals the show on this one with his steady flow and excellent lyrical skills putting him at a much higher level than Busta, but overall the two blend in together well and create another good song. Again, Busta is completely outshined by his own guest on the hard-hitting Don t Get Carried Away by none other than the legendary Nasir Jones himself. I m not really feeling Bus childish hook here and even though his rhymes aren t too bad and are pretty well focused, he s still not bringing anything new to the table while on the other hand we have Nas spitting an amazing verse proving that he truly is a poetical tyrant overloaded with some ingenious metaphors and a flawless flow this verse is probably the best thing about this entire album. Take a look at this:

They short, a few inches North of a dwarf,
My flow's Murci lago, ghostin them narcos,
Toast in the ways of the original Pablos,
Still a pyramid architect, mix liquors like a chemist,
Killer lyricist, poetical tyrant,
Sneaker store terrorist, Mt. Everest I climbed it

This song would be amazing if it were a Nas solo especially with Dre once again providing the dopeness behind the boards with a dark mix of drums, piano keys and eerie vocals over the hook its would have been an instant classic.

The piano keys and soft horns of New York Sh!t don t help much as Busta and Swizz Beatz drone on about their city with barely a hint of lyrical skill or anything worthy of listening to its yet another dud to add to the growing list. In the Ghetto with quite a nice sample from Rick James is basically the exact same idea, just replacing New York with the ghetto another waste of time. Luckily, Busta finally comes right with Been Through the Storm - this time using a Stevie Wonder sample for the hook and blends well with G Unit s Sha Money XL providing a typically dark piano key driven beat. Busta uses the first verse to speak about his parent s coming from Jamaica to the alleged land of the free and the struggles that came with it. The second verse is from a more personal perspective reminiscing on his life on the street and this all comes together in what is by far the best song here.

It's kinda hard bein humble in the belly of struggle,
Doin things that probably get you in trouble,
That's why we stay up on the block, gettin money while we keepin it safe,
In front of churchgoers keepin the faith,
Mom and pop be worryin for they son,
Despite they struggle and their honest livin look and see just what I become,
A scavenger, in brute pursuit to be happy, another young'n that's wildin,
Across the line until somebody tryin to cap me

Even though this album lacks those outright party bangers that Busta usually has it s clear that he still does have the ability to write some really interesting introspective raps and as I said before he s no top-class lyricist but when he puts in effort he comes out with a good result. They re Out to Get Me is such a song where over Kon Artis/Denaun Porter s production and somewhat annoying gospel-like hook, Busta takes the opportunity to speak of his fickle friendships in the rap game and how this money can change everything. It s a tired subject, but Bus puts it together well with a smooth flow and enjoyable rhymes. Can t Hold the Torch is another of these more serious tracks, though this time Q-Tip coming through with a show-stealing appearance as him and Busta Rhymes speak on the state of hip hop and contemplating how they could return and make an impact that could possibly change things back to good old days. It s a bit hypocritical of Busta to be complaining about rappers that are always talkin 'bout somebody else cars but then again he s perfectly right when he says They ain't got in 'em to make a classic, these n!gga s can't hold the torch, so why pass it? on the hook. A bit on the cynical side if you ask me but there s definitely some truth there.

I ll Do It All is saved mostly by Jelly Roll s rich mix of keyboards, synths, bass and drums as well as LaToiya Williams heartfelt hook and while Busta isn t too bad here his subject matter another song for the shorties lets him down and the entire song comes off as being cheesy and overdone.

The album closes off with the extremely disturbing Legend of the Fall-Offs. I m convinced after hearing this that Dr. Dre is back on top form with the darkest sounding mixture of sinister keys, strings and what apparently was him shoveling dirt in the studio to produce that terrifying all-too realistic sound of a burial. I just wish someone with a little more lyrical talent would have rhymed over this because its easily one Dre s best works ever. The female singer on the hook just adds to the eerie feel of the track and once again Busta has the opportunity to prove he s a force to be reckoned with. While the subject matter is quite interesting as Busta lyrically prepares a grave for rappers that have fallen off his rhymes are nothing special. There s no interesting wordplay and his flow isn t even all that great still he sticks to the topic and does a relatively good job, closing the album on a high note of sorts. There s a skit at the end of the song which is very disturbing and is definitely worth a listen.

Well, this certainly not the classic album I expected; in fact it s not really a good album at all Busta s capable of much more than he s brought on this. Production-wise there were one or two weak moments but it was mostly flawless especially Dre s contributions. Even most of the guest appearances (every song except 3) were good, but the worst thing about the album is Busta himself he s the one who should be buried for being a fall off because in comparison to some of his older albums this is a big drop in standards for him. Apparently, he s already working on his next album at Aftermath entitled Before Hell Freezes Over planned to released this year, though somehow I doubt that. Hopefully when it does come out Busta can pick himself up again and show us what he s really made of.

2.5 Stars

I m out

The Busta Rhymes Collection

Solo albums
The Coming
When Disaster Strikes
ELE: Extinction Level Event
Anarchy
Genesis (4 Stars)
It Ain't Safe No More
The Big Bang (3 Stars)

Crew Albums
A Future Without A Past Leaders of the New School
T.I.M.E Leader of the New School
Imperial Flipmode Squad