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Trevor Taheim Smith, Jr. (born on May 20 1972), better known as Busta Rhymes, is an American hip hop musician and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the name Busta Rhymes (from former NFL football player George "Buster" Rhymes) after watching him perform.
Biography
Early years
Trevor John Smith was born in Brooklyn, New York, and is of Jamaican heritage. At the age of 12, his family moved to Uniondale, a suburb of New York City on Long Island, where he was raised and eventually met up with other rappers from the growing New York area hip hop community. He graduated from George Westinghouse High School Downtown Brooklyn, the same high school attended by famous MC's Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z.Leaders of the New School
Busta Rhymes' musical career began as a member of the Hip Hop crew Leaders of the New School along with fellow Long Island, natives C. Brown, Dinco D and Cut Monitor Milo. They began recording in 1991 with the album A Future Without a Past (Elektra Records), and soon gained an amount of fame.Native Tongues Posse
Many influential and successful Hip Hop crews of the early 90's with styles comparable to The Leaders of The New School were located in and around the border between the Queens borough of New York City and counties of Long Island. Soon after their debut The leaders of The New School became associated with the Native Tongues Posse, which led to the group's collaboration with A Tribe Called Quest on the single "Scenario."Busta Rhymes' performance on "Scenario" is thought of by some as the performance which led to his becoming a fan favorite and eventually going solo. The Leaders Of The New School released their last album T.I.M.E. in 1993, after which Busta Rhymes began his solo career.
Elektra
Busta Rhymes' debut solo album The Coming was released by Elektra Records in 1996. The album was a mix of ragga and hip hop, and it included the US and UK top 10 single "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check." His follow-up, When Disaster Strikes... was successful in the US and sold well overseas. The album produced two hugely popular singles and videos in America, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and "Dangerous". The same year he released The Imperial as part of the Flipmode Squad, a collaborative project with rappers Rampage, Lord Have Mercy, Spliff Star, Rah Digga and Baby Sham.
1998 brought Extinction Level Event (Final World Front), the theme of which was an assertion that the world would end in the year 2000. Its single, "Gimme Some More"--which sampled Bernard Herrmann's theme from Psycho--reached number 5 in the UK singles chart in January, 1999. Rhymes enjoyed further transatlantic success in April when the single "What's It Gonna Be?!', featuring Janet Jackson, reached the US and UK Top 10. In 2000 he worked on several movie projects, including the remake of Shaft, and released his final album for Elektra, Anarchy.
J Records
After leaving Elektra, Rhymes signed to J Records, a new label started by recently ousted Arista chief and founder Clive Davis. In 2001 he released a greatest hits record alongside a new album of original work. Continuing the apocalyptic theme of his previous albums, he titled his record Genesis. This album featured a hit by The Neptunes called "Pass the Courvoisier," and the first work Busta did with Dr. Dre.In 2002, Busta Rhymes released his sixth studio album It Ain't Safe No More. The album was moderately successful, with a hit song featuring Mariah Carey called "I Know What You Want," though fans claimed that his music was becoming more club-oriented and watered down. After its release, he left J Records. In 2004, he signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.
Aftermath
In November of 2005, Busta Rhymes cut off his trademark dreadlocks during a photo shoot in a New York barbershop owned by producer Cory Rooney. The shop is featured on an MTV show titled The Shop. “I started growing hair in December '89. I was 17,” he said. “I signed my * deal and said I ain't combing my hair no more. I don't have to." He says the haircut was symbolic of a change in his music and the new record deal.2006 has seen the release of his seventh studio album, The Big Bang. The cd became his first #1 album of his entire career. The CD sold over 209,000 copies in its first week to earn the top spot on the charts. The album also became his highest charting album in the UK, peaking at #19 there. Some of the album was leaked on the internet, and as a result several songs were left off the album and new ones added. The Big Bang featured more production by Dr. Dre than Busta's previous releases and appearances by Raekwon and Nas. Two singles from the album have been released so far, "Touch It" and "I Love My Chick", featuring Kelis and Will.I.Am of The Black Eyed Peas.
Style
Rhymes has an atypical and distinguishable style. He is known by fans for versatility in flow, delivery and subject matter. Probably his most well known trademark is the roars and grunts such as "Woo-Hah", "Ha!", "Bwah!" that serve as his adlibs, along with his distinguishable voice.
Busta has made a habit of appearing on other artists' songs to do only the hook, bridge or chorus; he has done this for artists such as Big Pun ("Parental Discretion"), Black Moon ("The Onslaught"), Nas ("Suicide Bounce"), Puff Daddy and Notorious B.I.G. ("Victory") and Obie Trice ("Oh!").
Trivia
- The video for "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See" features a recreation of a well-known scene from the 1988 Eddie Murphy film Coming to America.
- On December 31, 1999, BET named "Woo-Hah!! Got You All In Check" the # 3 video on its list of the Top 100 Videos of the 20th Century. "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See" was # 39.
- His concert rider reportedly includes a box of ribbed condoms.*
- In the filming of Finding Forrester, he arrived on set two minutes late, prompting Sean Connery to give him a late slip.
- His first group, the Leaders of the New School, disbanded during November 1993 broadcast of Yo! MTV Raps.
- Daft Punk's "Technologic" was sampled by Swizz Beatz for Busta Rhymes' single "Touch It".
- During a video shoot, fellow rapper Tony Yayo and his entourage left abruptly after a heated exchange with the producer Swizz Beatz. A shooting had occurred leaving one of Busta Rhymes' bodyguards, Israel "Izzy" Ramirez, dead. The New York Police Department are investigating the incident. Since the death, Tony Yayo as well as Busta Rhymes have been tight lipped about the incident, forcing the police to subpoena the rappers to testify. One result of the ongoing controversy surrounding the street credibility of rappers is that most will not talk to police.
- Has been confronted once by an underground rapper, Tragedy Styles.
- Owns a green Lamborghini, nicknamed "Peppermint".
- Has had a flash animation made of his song "Break Ya Neck", which has internet cult-hit status.*
- He appears in the video game, Fight for NY, as "Magic".
- His remix of "Touch It" has been at the top of UK DJ, Semtex's chart for 15 weeks in a row. *
- He was supposed to appear on Punk'd where he was going to get pranked by Britney Spears, but Ashton Kutcher strongly opposed her.
- Busta Rhymes cut off his dreds late 2005 because he signed to a new label, was going to release a new album, and wanted to finish it off with a new hair style.
- Busta Rhymes' new album (The Big Bang) was leaked onto the internet on May 29 2006, almost two weeks before the retail date, the album was released on the 13th of June, 2006.
- Busta Rhymes' song "Gimme Some Mo'" contains a sample from the movie Psycho.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | U.S. | UK | Sales certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Coming | 6 | - | Platinum |
| 1997 | When Disaster Strikes | 3 | 34 | Platinum |
| 1998 | Extinction Level Event (Final World Front) | 12 | - | Platinum |
| 2000 | Anarchy | 4 | 38 | Platinum |
| 2001 | The Best of | - | - | - |
| 2001 | Genesis | 7 | - | Platinum |
| 2002 | The Very Best of | - | - | Silver [http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=31967 |
| 2002 | It Ain't Safe No More | 43 | - | Gold |
| 2004 | Busta Rhymes | - | - | - |
| 2006 | The Big Bang | 1 | 19 | - |
Mixtapes
- 2003 Salute the General by Cutmaster C
- 2004 The storm before the storm mixtape by Big Mike
- 2005 Surrender, The Mixtape by DJ Whoo Kid
- 2006 New Crack City by Clinton Sparks
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B/ Hip-Hop | U.S. Rap | UK singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Flava In Ya Ear" (Remix) (Craig Mack) | 9 | - | - | - | Funk the World |
| 1996 | "Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check" / "Everything Remains Raw" | 8 | 6 | 1 | 8 | The Coming |
| 1996 | "It's a Party" (featuring Zhane) | 52 | 27 | 7 | 23 | The Coming |
| 1997 | "Hit 'em High (The Monstars' Anthem)" (with B-Real, Coolio, LL Cool J and Method Man) | - | - | 17 | 8 | Space Jam (Soundtrack) |
| 1997 | "Do My Thing" | - | - | - | 39 | The Coming |
| 1997 | "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" | - | - | - | 16 | When Disaster Strikes |
| 1997 | "Dangerous" | 9 | 4 | 1 | 32 | When Disaster Strikes |
| 1998 | "Turn It Up (Remix)/Fire It Up" | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | When Disaster Strikes: New Version |
| 1998 | "One" (featuring Erykah Badu) | - | - | - | 23 | When Disaster Strikes |
| 1999 | "Gimme Some More" | - | 29 | - | 5 | Extinction Level Event (The Final World Front) |
| 1999 | "What's It Gonna Be?!" (featuring Janet Jackson) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Extinction Level Event (The Final World Front) |
| 1999 | "Party is Goin' on Over Here" | - | 72 | - | - | Extinction Level Event (The Final World Front) |
| 1999 | "Do the Bus a Bus" | - | 43 | - | - | Extinction Level Event (The Final World Front) |
| 1999 | "Tear Da Roof Off" | - | 75 | - | - | Extinction Level Event (The Final World Front) |
| 2000 | "Get Out" | - | 35 | - | 57 | Anarchy |
| 2000 | "Fire" | - | 67 | - | 60 | Anarchy |
| 2002 | "What It Is" (featuring Kelis) | 63 | 37 | - | - | Genesis'/'Violator V.1 |
| 2002 | "Break Ya Neck" | 26 | 10 | 24 | 11 | Genesis |
| 2002 | "As I Come Back" | - | 91 | - | - | Genesis |
| 2002 | "Pass the Courvoisier, Part II" (with P. Diddy and Pharrell Williams) | 11 | 4 | - | 16 | Genesis: New Version |
| 2003 | "Make It Clap" (Remix) (featuring Sean Paul and Spliff Star) | 46 | 17 | 14 | 16 | It Ain't Safe No More |
| 2003 | "I Know What You Want" (featuring Mariah Carey and Flipmode Squad) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | It Ain't Safe No More |
| 2003 | "Light Your Ass On Fire" (featuring Pharrell) | 58 | 23 | 12 | 62 | The Neptunes Present... Clones |
| 2006 | "Where's Your Money" (feat. O.D.B.) | - | 65 | - | - | - |
| 2006 | "Don't Cha" (Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes) | 2 | 8 | - | 1 | PCD |
| 2006 | "Touch It" | 16 | 3 | 1 | 6 | The Big Bang |
| 2006 | "I Love My Bitch" 1 (featuring Kelis and will.i.am) | 41 | 19 | 9 | 8 | The Big Bang |
| 2006 | "New York Shit" 1 (feat. Swizz Beatz) | - | 77 | - | - | The Big Bang |
- 1 currently active in music charts
- 2 charted on download sales only
Samples
- AbandonShip.ogg "Abandon Ship" (with Rampage), from The Coming
External links
See also
[[Category:American dance acts
1972 births | African American musicians | Aftermath Entertainment | American rappers | People from Brooklyn | Halloween actors | Living people | People from Long Island | Jamaican Americans | Rhythmic Top 40 acts | Dance/Club music artists | Long Island rappers | Artist-producers | People known by pseudonyms | Five Percenters
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