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

Many people know Busta Rhymes. Hip Hop fans and casual listeners alike know of the wild, party animal with immense skill for rhyming. He s had quite a long career thus far, and has become well known with the hip hop and mainstream communities for his amusing style. He entered the rap game in 1996, and has dropped a number of impressive albums with the occasional disappointment. It was hard not to love the guy.

But since the release of his 2002 album It Ain t Safe No More, a lot had happened with Busta Rhymes. He left his previous label j Records due to lack of success. ( It Ain t Safe No More was only certified gold, and received mixed reviews.) So he would jump ship to one of the most well known Hip Hop labels out right now. Dr. Dre s Aftermath Entertainment. He began work on his next album, which would be titled The Big Bang. But the album had a hard time getting released, as the release date was constantly pushed back. Busta would also exchange words with Murder Inc. superstar Ja Rule during the wait. (I think it s fair to say Busta served him on the Hail Mary Remix.)

Years went by, and there was still no sign of The Big Bang. It was 2006 four years since Busta s last album. But it seemed like the album would finally come out, as Busta released a massive hit single titled Touch It off of the album. Hype was beginning to be built. Unfortunately, at the video shooting for this song, Busta s bodyguard was killed in a drive by shooting outside of the building where the filming was going to go on. Now Busta was all over the place. Everyone anxiously waited for The Big Bang to drop, including myself. When it was finally released in late June, I ran out to the closest music store and brought the new album home. I can honestly say now, that the album was everything I hoped it would be, and then some

Track Listing

Get You Some (ft Q-Tip & Marsha of Floetry)
Touch It
How We Do It Over Here (ft Missy Elliot)
New York Sh*t (ft Swizz Beats)
Been Through the Storm (ft Stevie Wonder)
In The Ghetto (ft Rick James)
Cocaina (ft Marsha of Floetry)
You Can t Hold the Torch (ft Q-Tip & Chauncy Black)
Goldmine (ft Raekwon)
I Love My Chick (ft Kelis & Will I Am)
Don t Get Carried Away (ft Nas)
They re Out To Get Me (ft Mr. Porter)
Get Down
I ll Do It All (ft LaToiya Williams)
Legend of the Fall Offs

With The Big Bang, Busta seems to have developed a mature side, as opposed to his usual careless and fun loving attitude. Don t get me wrong, that fun loving attitude is still here, but there are many tracks where Busta gets introspective. Such as Been Through the Storm, where he intricately describes his life growing up. His voice sounds very serious and mature here, as he describes the many obstacles his family had to go through during the course of his life. He demonstrates a love for Hip Hop with You Can t Hold the Torch, as he and Q-Tip bash today s emcees that have no real talent. Neither of them say any names, but they criticize the rap game today as a whole, making statements like They ain t got it in them to make a classic. The lyrics he lays on these tracks are quite impressive, and overall, Busta is better on The Big Bang than he was on It Ain t Safe No More. It s very interesting to hear things like these, especially from someone like Busta Rhymes, who had pretty much been clowning around his whole career.

Of course, this IS a Busta Rhymes album. So here we go with the party tracks. Although on The Big Bang, they are quite excellent. Touch It and How We Do It Over Here are immediate bangers, and Busta brings solid lyrics to them, with his voice ranging from booming to laid back. The catchy hooks are here, especially Missy Elliots on How We Do It Over Here. They also make for some of the highlights here. Busta once again shows off his battling skills on Don t Get Carried Away, Goldmine and Cocaina. Busta brings it all for these tracks lyrically, by spitting many of his sharpest rhymes on the whole album. Busta s been a roller coaster lyrically ever since E.L.E., but he s got his full potential flowing with this album.

Busta also drops a number of interesting concepts throughout The Big Bang. He describes an emcee who has long fallen off, and refuses to admit it on Legend of the Fall Offs. He expresses his disdain for his friends that have betrayed him on They re Out to Get Me, and attempts to bring the spotlight back to the east with New York Sh*t. He does a great job with all of these tracks, and The Big Bang rarely falters in quality, thanks in large part to tracks like these.

The guests were excellently chosen, as pretty much all of them do what was expected of them, and make the songs better than what they would have been. As previously mentioned, Missy Elliot drops a very catchy chorus on How We Do It Over Here, and Q-Tip contributes greatly with his verses on You Can t Hold the Torch. Nas and Raekwon drop some stunning verses on Don t Get Carried Away and Goldmine respectively. Stevie Wonder sings an excellent chorus on Been Through the Storm and Mr. Porter contributes to They re Out To Get Me with his singing. No one really disappointed except for Swizz Beats on New York Sh*t, whose verse was completely unnecessary. But overall, the guest performances were spectacular.

But the main attribute that makes The Big Bang what it is, is the amazing production supplied throughout. The party tracks are perfectly accommodated with some banging beats. For example, the banging synths and heavy claps on Touch it, and the pounding, head nodding percussion and with more heavy synthesizers on How We Do It Over Here. The emotional and introspective tracks also had excellent backdrops. Been Through the Storm has melancholy piano keys with a light violin loop, which perfectly emphasizes the subject matter. Legend of the Fall Offs is complete with a chilling beat of heavy piano keys, crickets chirping, and shoveling dirt, which adds the perfect eerie feel. The battle tracks were perfectly backed up. Get You Some has some heavy claps, and light, intricate piano keys, as does Cocaina, except Marsha of Floetry gives it more of a soulful feel, as opposed to the club like feel of the previous track. Fantastic production is supplied throughout the whole album. I would go so far as to say it s the best that he s ever got.

But don t get confused about Busta Rhymes lyrical abilities. His flow is quite excellent here (especially on In The Ghetto) and he s always been very good with rhyming. To go with his skill, he has decided to add many interesting topics to the album, which should keep the listener very intrigued. The Big Bang can be looked at as a typical Busta Rhymes album, but in my opinion, the music here is much better than anything he s put out for a while. He s got some outstanding party and battle rapping tracks, and more introspection than usual. This album surpasses the hype in my opinion. Evryone should give this a try.

4.55 rounded up to 5

Reviews in The Busta Rhymes Series

http://www.epinions.com/content_338194632324
The Coming

http://www.epinions.com/content_341312179844
When Disaster Strikes

http://www.epinions.com/content_344054533764
E.L.E.

http://www.epinions.com/content_344592846468
Anarchy

http://www.epinions.com/content_344977673860
Genesis

http://www.epinions.com/content_346740002436
It Ain t Safe No More


The Big Bang