Busta Rhymes is a 48 year old MC from Brooklyn, New York who came up as a member of the Leaders of the New School. Becoming the stand out member of the quartet, he branched out for a very successful solo career & dropped 4 classics in a row from 1996-2000. Last we heard from Busta was in 2012 when he released the universally panned Year of the Dragon but after 8 years, he’s back with a sequel to E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front.
The intro starts off with Busta rapping about being a God over a boom bap beat from Nottz with some strings & a vibraphone, but then Rakim accompanied him as it switches up into a more atmosphere instrumental. The next song “The Purge” talks about rioting over a Swizz Beatz instrumental with some prominent sirens while the track “Strap Yourself Down” talks about challenging his opponents over a dynamic beat from the late J Dilla & Pete Rock. The song “Czar” featuring M.O.P. finds the 3 talking about being the leaders of the new shit over a symphonic instrumental from Rockwilder while the track “Outta My Mind” is a fun club banger backed by a sample of Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison”.
The title track gets conscious then over a monstrous instrumental whereas “Slow Flow” is a sequel to “I Remain Raw” backed by a video game-esque beat & sampling Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Brooklyn Zoo” for the hook. The song “Don’t Go” with Q-Tip sees the 2 getting romantic over a luxurious piano instrumental while the track “Boomp!” talks about every hood having love for him over a boom bap beat from DJ Scratch with some keys & a synthesizer.
The song “True Indeed” talks about leaving dudes dead over a DJ Premier instrumental with a suspenseful loop while the track “Master Fard Muhammad” with Rick Ross finds the 2 getting materialistic over a jazzy beat from Hi-Tek & Terrace Martin. “YUUUU” featuring Anderson .Paak sees the 2 talking about money over a snap instrumental while the track ”Oh No” takes aim at anyone fucking with his click over a wavy trap beat.
“The Don & The Boss” featuring Vybz Kartel finds the 2 talking about strippers over a triumphant instrumental while the song “Best I Can” with Rapsody sees the 2 talking parenthood over a soulful beat from none other than 9th Wonder. The track “Right Where I Belong” is a redundant sequel to “I Know What You Want” down to the Rick Rock production while “Deep Thought” gets confessional over a dreary boom bap beat from Busta himself.
After the “Young God Speaks” interlude, the track “Look Over Your Shoulder” featuring Kendrick Lamar finds the 2 talking about hip hop needing them over a sample of The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” while the song “Another Me” talks about being unique over a smooth beat. The penultimate track “Freedom?” gets back on the conscious tip over a moody boom bap instrumental & then the album ends with “Satanic”, where Busta gets religious over an angelic beat.
“Blowing the Speakers” starts the deluxe run with some trap vibes thanks to Murda Beatz talking about fucking up the streets again while “Who Are You?” makes the hood fiend with Jahlil Beats. “Hope Your Dreams Come True” gives a middle finger to everyone who ain’t fucking with him while “Calm Down” featuring Eminem finds Scoop DeVille sampling “Harlem Shuffle” by Bob & Earl to battle each other.
The song “Follow the Wave” marks the reunion of the Flipmode Squad for 7 minutes of hardcore lyricism while “Blow 1,000,000 Racks” loosens up a little for a mediocre strip club anthem. The final bonus track “Hey You” featuring Trillian finishes up with the father/son duo over pianos & hi-hats to ask what one would wanna do because they gotta get to the money.
It’s been a longtime coming but at the end of the day, this is a great return to form for Busta & I’ll even say it’s his best since The Big Bang. There are a few filler cuts in the track listing, but I really enjoy how he spends most of the album sticking to his guns instead of trying to appeal to an audience that doesn’t exist.
Score: 4.5/5
Legends Will Never Die 