Busta Rhymes says he feels there’s something missing in Rap today.
“I just feel like balance is always necessary and I think that’s part of the reason why a lot of the way the climate shift happens,” Busta says in an interview with XXL. “I think there’s balance that is needed. If we had a little more balance, the way the shit would feel overall would be a lot different. For me, I come from a time when balance was primary in the 1990s. I’m not trying to live in the past ’cause I’m not about that. It just seems to me that the past was a lot more forward-thinking. Everybody is trying to make it a primary respective law to not copy each other’s shit and not try to sound like each other’s shit. Everybody put time into thinking what is the next new way you do things so you stand alone and you stand out. That’s the way the balance was maintained, upheld and upkept. Everybody had their own lane and everybody stayed in it. And if you tried to evolve, you evolved in your own way and in your own lane of doing you. Today, when you go in the club, eight different motherfuckers’ shit sound like one long record to me.”
Recently, Busta Rhymes released “Calm Down,” a song that features Eminem. During this XXL interview, Busta confirmed Eminem also mixed the record.
“Em ended up mixing the record and he did an incredible job ’cause I like my shit to hit hard and I like to push the levels all the way up to the red so that it’s right before distortion, but not distorted,” he says. “He just brought that real gritty, boom-bap slap out of the record by doing the incredible job with the mixing. Of course, you can’t do that with a record unless you got the tools to do it with. My man Scoop DeVille, he made a helluva slapper with the production of the beat.”
Earlier this month, Busta Rhymes spoke about “Calm Down.”
“We just kept going back and forth, just competitive,” he said. “It started to really feel like we battling each other. It started to feel like a three minute and eight second song. After we kept sending it back and forth, it ended up being six minutes. We was like, ‘Yo, listen, it’s one thing to say ‘F the rules, but it’s another thing to say we O.D.in’.’ But it’s a beautiful piece of art…You’re probably never gonna experience a moment like this before. It’s our first time going in this crazy on a record unlike we’ve ever done on our own records before and probably unlike what we’ll do on any other record again. It’s special.”
RELATED: Eminem Was Competitive On “Calm Down,” Busta Rhymes Says
I find it hilarious that Busta of all people, Mr Young Money signee, is having a problem with today’s music, and he’s the one that immerses himself into that garbage style or cosigns these talentless bastards.
Yeah, Busta’s a has been and only does features. He’s no leader anymore, and fallen off hard, except for his weight.
Took the words right out of my mouth Mr. Anonymous!
These fags^
Ymcmb is a pipeline busta tapped into, he already got his plumbing and spout he just needed a new source to drink from
Cant hate on that and call yourself a resonable adult
Fag kids dont know hip hop…. Busta Legend you pussys
Drug Boosta ain’t Young Money, he’s Motown… oh wait, he’s not Motown he’s Aftermath…. or was it Arista?
Deep shootin’ Boosta, maybe someday you’ll sink one, asshole.
yo…. I really like the song… and like busta said, “…it’s a beautiful piece of art.” I really think it’s a throwback type song that more of today’s artist need… I think the big sean and kendrick song was made in the same vein… Good work busta
Is this a criticism of “today’s rap” though? Or a criticism of today’s rap “business” which allows this copycat landscape to flourish?
LMAO BUSTA COMPLAINING ABOUT HIP HOP THEN MAKES A SONG CALLED TWERK IT… FUCK OUT OF HERE BUSTA
Have you actually heard the song “Twerk It”??? What other hip hop artist got a hit record that has a reggae infused sound to it??? You sound like an idiot!
^Bro, the fact that u responded to someone with TROLLING as their name…#FAIL.
These 2000’s kids need to get shot ASAP. Talkin about Busta is not a “leader” anymore and he “fell hard” WTF are you talking about?
Dude will outrap any one of you faggots, and your favorite faggot(artist) will lose
Take a listen to any Young Money song featuring Busta and tell me if he hasn’t fallen off the face of the earth. Go ahead, i’ll wait. Matter of fact, listen to Twerk featuring Nicki Minaj. You’ll laugh out loud.
I don’t care if Busta Rhymes has been doing this shit since Leaders of The New School. You gotta admit, he ain’t an interesting artist at all. You already know what to expect on a Busta verse: a bunch of yelling, getting hyped up for a mediocre verse. That Flava In Ya Ear Remix joint proves my point.
good to know em dont know how to mix
Hmmm…so what platinum selling, or/and classic song have you mixed down?
lol calm down is nowhere near a classic or wood let alone plat.
oh so I need to have mixed down a track or can I just listen to it and say it don’t knock? if i buy a car and it dont ride do i need to be a car manufacturer to state that it sucks? shut the hell up with your stan ass.
em has openly admitted in interviews he dont know how to mix. defensive stans are beyond delusional at this point
Em has never said that. He actually said that he like to be in on the mixing process, because he likes it to sound a certain way. In fact, he said it when asked about his verse from Drake’s “Forever”. He hates that verse because he didnt help mix it and it doesnt sound like himeself according to him. I would post links, but im at work unlike alot of you losers and i aint got time to hunt em down.
Legend or not, hes chosen one the least talented crews to fuck with.
Then leave that shitty label
Busta Rhymes his self have fallen off, but he still spoke the real when he say today rap songs are all sound the same, there is no Blance are leader nigga just follow the same beat and rhym stpyle
This “fell off” shit only exists in Hip Hop….SMH
^Doesn’t tho?!?! It’s just a bitch way out instead of saying “I don’t like this artist anymore because…well it doesn’t matter.”
bustas verse was nice on there tho he did the song justice.. eminem was wack and dont even get me started on that shitty beat. i would like to hear an eminem/ busta pt 3 with a nice beat.
I like that song. Go and check out thegrandreport(dot)com, they have some good videos on there too!
lol all these young kids think they know hip hop busta was and still is the man. I challenge any of u young fags to show me !. a good reason why he shouldn’t have left to cash money 2. show me here who hasn’t listened to young money but yet on here dissin him for bein on it 3. anyone want to proof they can mix or rap like busta I bet ill be waiting a long time so shut the fuck up and respect one of the greats that u guys only know to bash one song twerk out of how many countless hits stop bein a hater and all these kids makin fun of twerk well funny thing is ur generation made twerkin a trend wow lets be proud of that and once people start liking busta then all of you will just cuz ur followers and not a leader. that’s what this generation is he just said it poser faggots with nut choking jeans and queer pink shirts and u only like whats popular
Get a grip, bitch. Busta had his time. His problem isn’t skill. It’s demand. There is simply little demand for his style of music these days. He should have kept acting. That’s where the money is. Not music.
Preach!
Although Busta is absolutely correct, the majority of the younger generation has no idea what he is talking about because they were born into a world of copycats! The bottom line is how do you do different things if all you have seen is followers and dick riders who follow trends instead of creating them and this includes the DJ’s, program directors, record label execs, etc who fall into the Bullshit!!!!
There are some labels out that put out fresh hip hop. Check Bass & Format, Illect Recordings, Visioneternal, Hydeout, etc. If you only listen to mainstream shit then good luck to you, but for the rest of us who know where to look hip hop is evolving every year.
Eminem also wrote Busta’s lyrics, came up with the beat, and had Busta wash and wax his motherfucking car.
only thig missing in rap today is drakes album. this old fuck couldnt understand drakes lyrics if he tried. rap has gone too complex for these hood niggas these days
not like he would want to try and understand his lyrics cause its a waste of time since drakes lyrics are solid 10/10 on the “nothing special scale”. Busta’s a rap legend, drakes jus on the radio like every other piece of garbage.
Please tell me you just finished smoking,,,Drakes lyrics complex???You def rode the little yellow bus to school.Please don’t say such a thing.You must be 15.You want MCs?Go back and listen to Kool G Rap/Rakim/Big Daddy Kane/KRS1/LL Cool J/Then we can go to B.I.G/Nas/Jay Z/EM/Big L/Big Pun/Kurupt/Rass Kass/Chino XL/Pac all these MCs put Drake to bed and give him his bottle.Take your R&B singer I take REAL MCs!
Drake’s a lot more innovative, puts more emotion into the music rather than Busta, who comes with the same angry screaming verses on every record. lol i might be generalizing, but you gotta admit, Drake ain’t afraid to be himself despite the hate he gets.
Sure Busta Rhymes might be more of an MC, but as an artist? Drake’s artistically WAYYYYY ahead of him.
Steroid bloated gay rapper who hasn’t made a decent album in what… almost 20 years? STFU you fat piece of shit.
Wow haha. His last best album was The Big Bang. And why are you so upset, hm? Tell me why u mad son…
I was thinking the same thing why you so angry it’s a little strange/weird
any of these modern day pop rappers could not even hold a candle to busta. anyone who says otherwise doesnt know shit about hiphop. cracks me up when these dbags that have been listening to hiphop for 2-3 years try to chime in on some bullshit.
Busta is the biggest drug addled copycat in the game, he’ll do the same old bullshit on ANY track, any style, not because he’s “versatile” but because he’s a desperate has-been whore… And deeeep in the closet, right sweetcheeks?
Back on my bullshit right.
Watch out people, we have a keyboard warrior.
lol Pathetic loser.
It’s this trap rap garbage. Every beat is the same.
hi
busta rhymes goin special omypics to you fucked you to
This the same guy that made a song about twerking. I love Bussa buss, but he really sold out while niggas like 50 just switched up his style a little bit.
Boosa Boos = steroid poisoned has been mixtape rapper.
what is this blasphemy??? Busta Rhymes is a living legend, you kids these days have no respect, don’t even know your hip-hop history dissing one of the all-time greats. If there was a rap hall-of-fame they would have already inducted Busta Rhymes you kids don’t know sh*t, smdh!!! if you’re a 90’s baby or a 00’s baby don’t even comment i don’t wanna hear what u little kids think y’all don’t know anything yet.
Look man, I know Busta Rhymes has been down with hip-hop since Leaders Of The New School, but this dude ain’t even being innovative at the moment. I’m sure EVERYONE already knows what to expect when they hear a Busta Rhymes verse. The dude lost it already. Ain’t no one buying or getting excited over a Busta Rhymes record! Sounds pretty bitter to me
So true @Anonymous. Busta BEEN fell off. He was dope in the 90’s till the mid 2000’s..now he’s just a gimmick rapper. Twerkin? Signing to Cash Money? Come on Bus, u shoulda been established yourself business wise.
LMAO you children went FULL RETARD.
” I’m sure EVERYONE already knows what to expect when they hear a Busta Rhymes verse.”
No, just No. EVERYONE already knows what to expect from Wayne, Gay-Z, Future, Rick Ross but not from people like Busta Rhymes who always bring a new fresh innovative energetic approach.
That’s like saying we all know what Eminem is going to do, no children. Real MCs always surprise us.
You children are saying “The Sky is Red” and nobody believes you lol
Worst Gay Rapper… The Chemo would have been great though, right?
Dude used to have talent, then he started taking testosterone, steroids, human growth hormone…
Naw, Boosa Boos is the model of integrity, culture and social activism!
I’m sorry but Busta Rhymes already fell off, Em is somewhat still there. The problem is that alotta emcees aren’t studying the past rappers who came before them: Rakim, KRS-One, Kool G, Slick Rick, Nas, Jay, Common etc. Aside from that, these rappers needa think outside the box and study other genres of music besides hip-hop, expand their musical horizons and get real creative/experimental with the art from. Until then, I’m hoping the homie Logic can put out some good material lol
Was with u until the Logic comment. Still on the same page, otherwise 🙂
lol c’mon son, don’t get me wrong, I fuck with Busta heavy but he’s in no moral position of criticizing anything related to rap
dude is signed to one of the labels responsible for the downfall of the culture, I mean if this was coming from some no name underground nigga I could respect it, but this is coming from Busta?!?! lmao nah fuck outta here
Wow… does your mother hate you or something? You just made over 15 negative comments, full of hate.
I feel sorry for your parents
^ THIS
that joint bogish…
They need more Mega Trife & Nonsense 2095.
“Busta Rhymes says songs sound the same nowadays” says the traitor Busta who has a deal with cash money and who uses steriods.
So what if he uses roids what the fuck has that got to do with music dumb cunt
White Ray, you stupid.
Rap suck because the Dirty South rules rap and New York niggas sucking to much Dirty South dick or are stuck in the 90’s.
Looking at all the comments from the trolls and adults “25”+ who should know better proves that hiphop will soon be dead .
How can anyone disagree that for the past 7 years or so that most rappers play it safe and stick to the tried and tested formula handed down to them by the record labels bosses 60 plus
Are you people just trolling for the sake of it or do you really think that rap music in 2014 is in a healthy place
Its because half these clowns on here are still in high school and have only been listening to Hip Hop since the mid 2000’s and they think they no everything. You are right its a bunch of trolls on here as you can tell cause they NEVER RESPECT THE LEGENDS. So that in itself proves these are a bunch of kids who don’t shit.
haha he is signed to cash money. wayne can rap. he was talking about balance in the article. he started rappin with q tip since he signed to cash he kept it ny for the most part. had one song not so ny but he bust so its still ny all day. he sed balance. not the same auto tune shit over and over. singing on a rap song, over and over. balance have a dance song have a lyrical song have a trap song. thats hip hop. all the rnb rap and bullshit songs need to stop.
50-year-old roid rage cornball fuck… “Genesis” sucked… “It Ain’t Safe No More” sucked… the Dre album mostly sucked… “Back On My Bullshit” was worse than a bag of gay dog dicks… Yeah, Boosa Boos represent!
At least if he came out of the closet he’d so some good for gay black folks.
Your Bitch made clown listen to all the hate shit your talking acting tough over the internet. You’d never say that shit to his face so why bother opening up your damn mouth. You internet tough guys are a fucking joke.
Busta never did have an ear for pickin good beats.Slim’s verse is all over the place-just rhymin anything. its almost impossible to make sense outta what he’s sayin today.
HMMM BUSTA SHOULD BE THE LAST NIGGA TO TALK SHIT ABOUT MAINSTREAM RAP… DID HE FORGET THE MULTIPLE TIMES THAT HE WOULD JUST JUMP ON THE NEWEST TRENDY SOUND???
Boosa whole fucking career is trend hopping, mostly BAD trend hopping for the last 10-15 years… That he used to have skills, big deal. If he spent 1/1000th of the time thinking about MUSIC as he did scoring testosterone, ‘roids, HGH and keeping his homosexuality out of public view, yeah, then he’d be a ‘giant.’
As it is he’s a Bitter Old Queen and washed up fat fuck.
i think this song is going to mark the beginning of a shift in hip hop. i really think eminem is going to change the game. eminem, busta, etc all have the power to put real hip hop in the charts. i know yall are more comfortable with drake melodies, dumbed down lyrics and soft shit, but everyone should appreciate this song.