Busta Rhymes had a few choice words for rappers who perform with backing tracks during his set at this past weekend’s Lovers & Friends festival in Las Vegas.
Performing on the Bling Stage on Saturday (May 6), Busta acknowledged how the younger generation of artists have lost the art of live performance. According to the New York MC, his peers are “cut from a different cloth that they don’t manufacture anymore.”
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“We come from a time where there was no additives. no unnecessary mixing, and diluting, and tampering with the holy, sacred, and pure,” he said to the crowd.
“We [are] the holy, sacred and pure,” he added before launching into his verse from Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now.”
Busta Rhymes shades rapper who perform with backing tracks: “We the holy, sacred & pure” https://t.co/FoC4kyecyopic.twitter.com/gLlof1Yfdh
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) May 8, 2023
In part, his perspective on young artists may be influenced by the high standard he and his peers felt was applied to them, and even more so due to his reputation as one of the most innovative Hip Hop artists.
Considering his lyrical skill and animated delivery, as well as his colorful and wild videos, it’s understandable why his expectations are so high. Likewise, Busta is renowned for his electrifying performances.
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As he demonstrated at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, putting on a show is an art form. During the eight-minute medley, pyrotechnics and multicolored strobe lights were used as well as giant stage props just like his iconic music videos.
The only thing more impressive than the stage design, though, was Busta’s Dungeon Dragon energy.
But Busta Rhymes isn’t the only one who dislikes rappers performing over their tracks. During a 2017 interview with Sway In The Morning, Denzel Curry explained why some rappers have fallen off his radar due to their mediocre performances.
According to the rapper, he doesn’t “do that shit” because he cares about giving his fans an authentic show. “‘Cause I be lookin’ at shows and muthafuckas be playin’ they shit, and it be the fuckin’ soundtrack from the fuckin’ SoundCloud,” he told the host.
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Similarly, in 2018 Elliott Wilson posted a screenshot of a tweet via Instagram, which portrayed new school rap artists as lazy because, in essence, they let their recordings do the work while they let loose on stage.
Trinidad James, however, took to the Rap Radar host’s comment section to offer a different perspective and noted that the issue is “kids performing for kids.”
“It’s easy for somebody who don’t do music to throw the kids under the bus,” he wrote.
He continued: “If you a 24 or older, yo ass need to go to a J.Cole or Kendrick show. Stick to your age range.”
