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Busta Rhymes "The Big Bang" [review]

So Busta, the world has not ended as you so proudly proclaimed on your previous efforts. Also, the world of Hip-Hop records has changed a lot... it's really a young man's game, and while your style is very bouncy and fun, you have shown how much older you are. This is not a diss at all... your fans have grown up with you, from the young man with the LONS to the big, muscle bound mastadon you grew into, so it's only right that you echo your fanbase's "Hip-Hop is Dead" ethos on your first album for the good Doctor, The Big Bang. There's a lot of good in this album, but also some that is not so good... needs more bang and less big, if you ask the kid.

Now I'm a pretty avid fan of Busta; I have The Coming on cassette somewhere in my basement, I own various albums, as well as your Greatest Hits collection. I love how you switch your flows, and mimic certain elements of the beats... thank God, you kept that intact on this disc... it just seems like you tried to do too much. Was it necessary to have Stevie Wonder AND Rick James bless choruses? It just doesn't sound necessary to me... sounds like you are casting lines to the same fans who dug your work on Luther's last album. Both tracks highlight your past, from your parents migration and intergration into the American culture ("Been Through The Storm") to living in the slums ("In The Ghetto") and trying to make a better life for yourself. I applaud you on that, because most of your past albums have been thick with party anthems and smack-you-in-your-face bangers. That's not bad, but it's good to see you pour your heart out over the beats.

Speaking of beats, that's the main saving grace on this album. The Big Bang showcases many interesting ideas... from Timbaland's "nuttin'-but-percussion-and-crickets" sounding "Get Down" to Dr. Dre's piano ad organ laced "Goldmine", which features Raekwon calling himself a "Gangster Republican" (???). Dre even incorporates shoveling dirt into "Legend of The Fall Offs", which also executes an interesting idea -- the POV of a Grim Reaper for Old School MCs. No names were named, oddly, but it was executed well, even though it evokes that scene with the Bride from Kill Bill, vol. 2 and other "buried alive" movies. There are these hits, but there are some misses as well, sadly...

Hearing the Nas collabo "Don't Gey Carried Away", it sounds like you guys picked a B-beat from Dre, and worked out a shitty chorus overtop. That's another big downfall. The choruses on many tracks either seem too boisterous ("Get You Some" featuring Q-Tip and Marsha Floetry going back and forth for what seems like forever, as well as the odd-bar filling "They're Out To Get Me", which is produced by D-12's Kon Artis) or just down-right silly ("Cocaina", which just sounds lax). And why does Missy Elliot have to ruin any track she is on? The tit-for-tat shit on "How We Do It Over Here" is just, well, pointless. Could have left that one off the LP all together.

Another question: why was "Touch It" out back when I was wearing a coat? Was there a previous album drop date that got pushed back, b/c that track just seems old as hell? And why no inclusion of the Remix? People would like to get their hands on it sans illegal Internet downloads... In any case, I know many fans are salivating for DJ Scratch's Diamond D biting "New York Shit". Many NY niggas are "bringing it back to NYC", but this track does the best job at it. J. Dilla blesses Bussa Bus from the grave with "You Can't Hold The Torch", revisiting classic ATCQ vibes, and again touching on the Hip-Hop Is Dead ideals. Touched on too much, but with as much ignorant shit that there is out there, it is not without warrant. I am also feeling "I'll Do It All", with it's looped melody and floating flutes riding on top of that beat that's a slow nodder one minute, and then kicks the kicks kind of quick in it. And hearing Bus lay his mack game down is always hot to hear.

In the end, the only thing I am completely pissed off at is "I Love My Bitch", which is the new single out on MTV right now. I mean, featuring Kelis doing a retarded chorus is one thing... having fucking will.i.am produce a track on your album, that' s GOTTA be a new low. Fuck the bullshit, this is not acceptable.

Bus, where's all of the underground heat you had out there? I miss some of that. I need a Big Bang - WMD Edition or something. Tracks like "I'll Hurt You" with Eminem, or your OTHER Nas collaboration, "Rough Around The Edges", or even "Psycho" ft. Papoose and Cassidy, we need more of that. Speaking of Papoose, if you are working on his career, why isn't he on this album?!? Why do you have Q-Tip on 2 tracks, but no tracks featuring any Flipmode family? Just sounds odd... do your thing though, dog. Maybe the next go round?

khal gives this album a 7.5 out of 10 stars --- hot beats, nice flows, but lacking on original ideas and horrible choruses. In the end, it's good to hear new Busta out there, but the maturity leaves some big question marks on the whole Aftermath signing.
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I dont agree with this review at all. The album is big bang-in and the beat on the Missy Track is straight up hypnotic.
I recommend this review by John Kennedy is as brilliant as the album: http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:FHTbB4pxGK8J:www.nobodysmiling.com/hiphop/album_review/86295.php+busta+rhymes+big+bang+review&hl=da&gl=dk&ct=clnk&cd=9

Anonymous said...

Word to the man above! This album is HEAVY! This review is WACK.

Anonymous said...

Can't believe Busta Rhymes left his label! Wonder what else is around the corner!

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