Chatterbox Music: Busta Rhymes - Back on My B.S.

Busta Rhymes
Back On My B.S.
Universal Motown/Flipmode Entertainment
Released May 19, 2009


Busta Rhymes has never been one to disappoint. No matter when he dropped, you knew he was coming with an album full of lyrical fury, excellent production and groundbreaking videos to boot. He never followed trends, because he didn’t need to. Even if you felt like he did, he didn’t give a damn; he was gonna do him anyway.

So, for an artist that’s prided himself on being a trendsetter his entire career, listening to his latest album, Back on My B.S., is quite perplexing. Why would a person who the culture looks to bring something new, rely on so much of today’s radio-friendly and safe material to stay relevant?

The album starts on the right foot with the DJ Scratch-produced “Wheel of Fortune,” with Scratch giving us that sample ridden bounce-and-bass that made him and Buss a winning duo to begin with. There are a couple of highlights in the top half of the collection, namely “Shoot for the Moon” and “Respect My Conglomerate.” Things go downhill from there. The controversial single “Arab Money” and “Give em What They Askin’ For” are disasters courtesy of Ron Browz. “Hustler’s Anthem” features the original Auto-Tune king, T-Pain, and makes for a decent effort. The Neptunes turn in a standard track for “Kill Dem,” with Busta adopting a Rasta-like flow that showcases his ability to flow to ANY track. “Decisions” features Common, John Legend, Jamie Foxx and Mary J. Blige, and gives Busta and Com Sense the platform to spit some real talk. “World Go Round” has a rightful place at the end of the album, making it easy to skip.

After hearing Bus-A-Buss’s latest, you’ll be left scratching your head at his production choices. That being said, let it be known that he hasn’t lost a step as far as execution and lyrics. If you have all of his albums, it won’t hurt to continue the collection with this release. If you’re just getting familiar with his work, this is NOT the album to start with. Try picking up his first three albums first.

Standouts: “Wheel of Fortune,” “Shoot for The Moon,” “Respect My Conglomerate”

3 Stars out of 5