Busta Rhymes is a hip-hop legend whose career has spanned nearly four decades. With all that time spent in the music industry, one must have stories for days, and in Busta Bus' case, it may be time to share some of those moments.
Over the years, hip-hop fans have seen documentaries from the Wu-Tang Clan (Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men), Bad Boy Records (Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A Bad Boy Story), Nas (Time is Illmatic), and so much more. There are several artists who are deserving of a documentary, given the trajectory of their careers, and Busta Rhymes is one of the names at the top of the list.
According to the Brooklyn native, his documentary has been in development for some time, but fans won't have to wait much longer as the ball is rolling, and he has already locked in a deal for the film. With almost 40 years in the game, countless albums, hit singles, and more, Busta has more than earned his seat in the pantheon of hip-hop greats, and fans will get to know how he got there.
"It's actually been in the works for the last eight years," Busta told Complex. "So it's on its way, it's almost done, and the deal got done for it. I'm not disclosing that information yet in detail. But I do want you to know that we actually trying to get it out before the end of the year."
He added, "It's just so much amazing things that's been happening and been aligning as far as the stars in the universe for me. But then this year and last year, we just making sure that we are overprotective of the blessings that continue to be bestowed and making sure that we know when to get out the way so we don't block the blessing. I think we've been doing an amazing job, and I'm gonna tell you when it comes, it's gonna be a climate shifter."
The now 51-year-old emerged on the scene in the early '90a as a member of Leaders of The New School and became an instant star thanks to his razor-sharp rhymes and unique style. The group imploded in 1993, and Busta became one of the most exciting solo rookies in the game with a string of guest features on tracks with Big Daddy Kane, the Notorious B.I.G., A Tribe Called Quest, and more.
Busta Rhymes released his debut album, The Coming, in 1996, and the rest was history. He became a bonafide star in the late 90s and early 2000s with chart-topping albums (The Big Bang went No. 1 on the Billboard 200) and dipped into his acting bag by crossing over into the film and TV space. There's a whole side of his career that fans haven't seen, and a documentary will open the doors to those moments that Busta has experienced.
Some of the moments are deeply ingrained in hip-hop, and Busta Rhymes is a student of the game. Regarding some of his favorite hip-hop moments, Busta has too many to name, but there's one in particular that lit a fire within him right before he blew up on the scene.
"I ain't gonna front the first time we was in Spectrum City Studios in Hempstead, Long Island and Hank Shocklee called us to the studio with Chuck D, and he was like, 'Yo, come up here, y'all motherfuckers think y'all working hard? Y'all playing. Y'all ain't doing shit,'" said Busta. "In the meeting, it was Leaders of the New School and Kings of Pressure. Crazy shit was, we ain't have no clue what was getting ready to happen."
He continued, "They were kind of giving us shit for acting like we dope or whatever from the little demo tapes and songs we was making. Next thing you know, they put on 'Rebel Without a Pause.' When I tell you, I almost started crawling up the fucking walls and the ceiling? I actually cried in that room."
Busta Rhymes explained that his sudden burst of emotion came from "hearing a record that you wish you made but you can't have it because you didn't create it and it ain't yours, and you don't know if you are ever able to create a moment that will feel like that... ain't nothing fucking with that. Ain't nothing competing with that."
According to Busta, Chuck D was a rapper that hit you with so much in his rhymes that you had no choice but to feel, and what better way to connect with your fans as an artist? Public Enemy was just one of two hip-hop entities that got Busta in that mood, as he told Complex that A Tribe Called Quest invoked that feeling in him too.
"So there's only two albums that made me shed a tear, or two artists. They both were groups but Public Enemy and A Tribe Called Quest. Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders made me cry. It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back made me cry. Fear of a Black Planet made me cry. Nothing has ever made me feel like that."
He added, "The only three other things that made me come close to that was Nas' album Illmatic, Peter Rock & CL Smooth Mecca and the Soul Brother and Ol' Dirty Bastard Return to the 36 Chambers. Them three was the closest three to bring me to the tear-jerking moments. But them two, Tribe and P.E., they made me ball."
Busta explained when he stepped into the studio to hear "Rebel Without a Pause," the feeling he got hearing the record was something he couldn't explain. Everything came together, from the horn samples to Chuck D's voice, to make a timeless record. It was all that Busta aspired to do with his growing career at the time, as he wanted nothing more than to become a force like the men in the studio that day.
"I honestly have to say that moment with 'Rebel' is my favorite because I just never heard anybody ever do that. That Eric 'Vietnam' Sadler production? Shocklee that Bomb Squad shit? That shit was scary," Busta said. "And then Chuck's voice and his unorthodox patterns, and then he sounded like he just was commanding everybody's fucking attention on some black leadership shit.
"I was just dreaming and wishing and having nightmares about never being able to get to that. I wanted it so bad, bro. And at that time, I was still a child trying to find my voice, trying to find my confidence, but it just seemed so fucking impossible and so far away from being reality for me."
Busta obviously found his identity as he got older and figured out what sound worked for him and his art but what he experienced that day was out of this world.
"Not only does it give me chills, but I don't think it's been matched what Chuck and them did," he says. "There's never been another effect on the culture the way they had it."
