Throwback Review--Busta Rhymes--E.L.E (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front

Whenever Busta Rhymes decides to retire from rap music, it's probably going to be safe to call him a hiphop legend. He's been on the map since the beginning of the nineties, initially trading verses with the other members of the well-received rap quartet, Leaders of the New School. It didn't take long; however, for everyone to realize that Busta was a dynamic force that simply could not be held down by the Leaders. Busta broke out on his own in 1996, and dropped his platinum-selling debut The Coming, which expanded upon the wildly flamboyant character he originally created for the Leaders. After scoring with the still-bumpable "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check", Busta would go on to create a couple of the most unique and strangely addictive tracks of the nineties, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See", and "Dangerous". These songs, with their brilliantly catchy beats and absurd music videos, grounded Busta Rhymes firmly in place as one of the most innovative, talented, and fun acts around. Being "fun" is one thing though. The question that was on some fans' minds was whether or not Busta could rightfully be placed alongside the true East Coast heat-bringers, like Nas and Biggie. Busta responded to the question with Extinction Level Event.

Not to say that Busta started to spit thought-provoking lyrics over mellow east-coast productions or anything. Conveying a profound message has never really been Busta's thing. Busta is all about his hardcore, seamless delivery and his in-your-face intensity. E.L.E. took those aspects and expanded upon them futher than the "party sound" that we were used to from Busta. Those factors, along with absolutely stunning production make E.L.E. Busta's best effort to date. The album tries to stick a vague theme about the apocolypse, but Busta quickly drowns out the theme with his own intensity.

The album opens with "Everybody Rise", a relatively short adrenalin rush of a track that sets the tone for the album, preparing the listener for the upcoming intensity that E.L.E. provides. It's done over a bouncy east-coast beat by the ridiculously underrated producer, Nottz (He's the guy who did Kanye's "Barry Bonds").

After this, the album proceeds to bombard the listener with high-octane tracks, including the title track, "Extinction Level Event (The Song of Salvation)", and the obligatory crew track "Against All Odds", which features the Flipmode Squad--to whom Busta has been surprisingly loyal and supportive througout his career, despite his being inifinitely more successful. "Tear the Roof Off" is similarly upbeat, and reminiscent of past hits such as "Dangerous" due to its formulaic verse structure and catchy beat. The braggadocios lyrics are markedly more poignant and biting than the 90s banger, however.

The most memorable song on the album is also the shortest: the popular single "Gimme Some More", on which Busta flexes his ability to spit lightning fast lyrics with little trouble. The two minute thirty-nine second long track features a genious sample of the frightening violin riff from the classic horror film Psycho. The creepy sound layered with the lively drums and Busta's effortless flow provides an awkward, yet absolutely satisfying sound.

Busta Rhymes and one of the very few guests, Mystikal, trade even faster verses on "Iz They Wildin Wit Us & Gettin Rowdy Wit Us?", a supersonic track that's so intense, you might need to come up for air once it's over. He lets you do just that, with the party tracks "Do the Bus-a-Bus" and "Take it Off", which were presumably added for the fans of Busta's ironically harmless and poppy "Dangerous" and "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" who might have been overwhelmed by the barrage of strange sounds and end-of-the-world talk.

Then, out of nowhere, Busta flips the script on us. In what was probably the most important track to the eventual longevity of his career, Busta shows us that he doesn't have to be a raging, dreadlocked maniac. He can also be...sexy. And he can sell records while doing so. Of course I'm talking about the super hit "What's it Gonna Be", which features a sultry Janet Jackson on the chorus. The mellow, super-sexual track--alongside its notedly expensive computer-animated video--provide Busta with a brand new, important demographic: teenage girls. In true Busta fashion, he again innovates by creating a unique blend of his normal highspeed flow and the mellow R&B sound.

And with that, Busta had firmly planted his feet into hiphop history by creating one of the most well-rounded and intense albums ever. E.L.E. contained a lot of the same catchy material found in Busta's previous two attempts, but he rounded it out with more dark, in-your-face subject matter, more polished flows, and much more masterfully executed production. Many say Busta has since fallen off and devolved into just another bitches-and-hoes rapper, but perhaps he can come back to true Busta form when his new album, Back on My B.S. drops.

The Report Card

Production: A+
The production on this album is absolutely marvelous. The album features a mix of very different sounds, from the epic "Extinction Level Event" to the eerie "Gimme Some More" or the poppy "Do The Bus-a-Bus". Really, every track is bumpable, and the best productions, like "Gimme Some More" make you want to replay the track over and over again.

Flow/Lyrics: A-
Busta has one of the best voices in hiphop, and one of the smoothest flows, and this album is the best example of that. His voice flows so well along the rhythm that it almost acts as just another instrument in the composition. Busta Rhymes has never had particularly interesting lyrics, although his word choice and rhyme schemes are definitely top-notch.

Originality: A+
This album is one in a million. Busta Rhymes established himself as a unique voice that could not be duplicated, and this album, with its great mix of sounds, will never be duplicated either.

Overall: A+
Extinction Level Event is definitely Busta Rhyme's best album. Is it his masterpiece? I don't know if I can say that. Busta has definitely gotten lazy over the years, but I think he could use his new-found sophistication to his benefit and crank out an album even more well-rounded and significant. But even if he never does, E.L.E. will do just fine in my collection.