About Busta Rhymes

With a name like Busta Rhymes, what else could he do but become a rap megastar? Actually, Trevor Smith (real name) was given his stage name by Chuck D of Public Enemy after seeing Busta perform live. In 1996, Busta would release his solo debut, which was a success for Rhymes, landing at #6 on the Billboard charts and featuring several prominent rappers like Q-Tip and Redman. Busta followed up his debut with When Disaster Strikes and Extinction Level Event, an album expressing Busta’s belief that the world would end in the year 2000. The album featured the singles “Gimme Some More” which sampled Bernard Hermann’s movie soundtrack Psycho theme and “What’s It Gonna Be?!” with R&B and pop diva Janet Jackson. The album also featured rock icon Ozzy Osbourne. Busta then moved to J Records where he collaborated with Mary J Blige, Diddy, Kelis, Pharrell, Dr. Dre, Mariah Carey, and more. In 2005, Busta cut his trademark dreads, moved to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Records, and released The Big Bang, the first #1 album of his career. Busta worked with Missy Elliot, Will.i.am, Kelis, Raekwon, Rick James, Stevie Wonder, and Nas for this album. The “Touch It” remix featured Eminem and Ne-Yo, among others. Rhymes switched labels again in 2009, going to Universal and releasing his 8th album, Back on My B.S., with collaborations with Lil Wayne, Jadakiss, Akon, Common, John Legend, Jamie Foxx, and rockers Linkin Park.