Busta Rhymes

June 27 - July 4, 1 9 9 6
[Off the Record]

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**1/2 Busta Rhymes

THE COMING

(Elektra)

Busta's biggest ideological mistake: "This is specifically for the muthafuckas who come out here claiming to represent hip-hop but didn't really do shit to preserve the values of the art form" (in "The Coming"). Unlike Ol' Dirty Bastard (a/k/a Dirt McGirt), Busta, by acknowledging hip-hop as an "art form," commits to a dead-end struggle that inadvertently transforms rap into an impotent social fact. Just look at the social irrelevance of conservatory-bred jazz.

Busta has an unorthodox lyrical style, incorporating guttural growls and moans, but his beats come from stock material: a mix of not-so-fierce bass lines with quirky-if-familiar East Coast samples. When hip-hop is this flat, its power for social transformation is neutered ("Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check"). If Busta really wants to "kick you in the face like my fuckin' name was Chuck Norris" ("Abandon Ship"), then his best move would be to stop worrying about the "art form" of hip-hop and go for the throat.

-- Justin Farrar