Busta Rhymes took a moment during his own release party to shout out a fellow rap legend — Lil Kim.
On Friday (March 7), the Dungeon Dragon went to Brooklyn Chop House (which, despite its name, is in Manhattan) to celebrate the release of his new EP Dragon Season… Equinox, as well as his son Trillian’s new single with NLE Choppa.
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While there, Busta took time to bring Kim up to the front of the room, and to make a speech directed at her. In it, he said how much he missed her presence in the music world, and asked her to “get active again.”
“I made a decision the other night. I called Lil Kim[‘s] phone, and I told the queen, I’m tired of watching you sit down and be quiet. I’m tired of it,” he began.
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“Other alumnis [are] getting our flowers now,” he continued. “Missy got her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mary J. Blige got her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Missy did records with all of them. Mary did records with all of them. Lil Kim did records with all of them.
He then addressed Kim directly.
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“All right, Kim,” he said. “We got to light the fuse, the dynamite stick… It’s time to bust your gun, queen. It’s time to get active again, queen. It’s time to show Brooklyn who the fucking queen of the borough is, queen.
“I’m saying this to say, I’m leading the charge. Now, if y’all want to see Lil Kim in these streets, fucking shit up, the way I do, make sure you make some fucking noise in here.
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“We miss you…and we love you… I’m gonna make sure that we hold you in the highest regard, queen.”
Check the whole speech below.
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In other Busta news, last month he joined forces with Karriem Riggins and Westside Gunn to release a tribute song to the late J Dilla.
Riggins put out “Long Live J Dilla,” which features Busta and Gunn, on the producer’s birthday, February 7 — a day that is now known as “J Dilla Day” in the producer’s hometown of Detroit.
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“I’m excited to release this special song on Dilla’s birthday, featuring the incredible Westside Gunn and Busta Rhymes,” Riggins said in a statement. “This is a celebration of my brother, his artistry, and his timeless contributions to the culture.
“We give thanks to the Most High for his presence and his lasting impact. This one’s for Dilla.”
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The drummer and producer explained to HipHopDX how the song came about.
“I’ve loved Westside Gunn, and I’ve been wanting to work with him for a while. I’ve been sending him beats for different projects that he had been working on, but we just hadn’t connected on anything,” Riggins explained. “So I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m going to ask him to be on my album.’
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“So I sent him the beat. He hit me back and said, ‘When do you need it by?’ I’m like, ‘Now.’ [Laughs] This was like a year ago.”
Riggins said that the track did not begin life as a tribute to his friend.
“I did not give [Westside Gunn] the song concept,” he continued. “In the sample it was saying, ‘We pray to God to live a better day.’ He had this line where his his sentiment was, ‘Every day I pray to J Dilla/ It’s a full time job not to spray a n-word.’ I was like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty heavy.’ He was saying J Dilla’s his favorite producer. I had no idea he would do that. I was like, man, this is right up my alley — to pay homage to my guy.”
With Westside Gunn’s verse in the can, Riggins initially thought it was done — but he wanted a second opinion. So he asked one of Dilla’s other friends, Busta.
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“I was going to put this song out as-is — it was one verse and the chorus. I got on the phone with Busta and I was like, ‘I got this song that I want to put out. I just want you to tell me what you think.’ He listened, and he was like, ‘Yo, I gotta get on this. I’ll have my verse tonight.’”
