Lowering the Boom

"It's kind of crazy that I'm in a time frame in my life years later, so many years later, where I'm getting a shot at being one of the guys that owns something that I can finally put in the magazine and have people coming up and see my stuff..."

it was Billie Holiday who penned that cruel and poignant line, "God bless the child that's got his own." Well, Wyclef has his, Rockwilder and Flex too, and Busta isn't exactly the struggling artist, so you knew he had to have his. The pictures make that clear. Busta's rockin' the G500, a silver beauty with all the amenities. The color of the paint with its cool metallic quality suits the hard lines of this Mercedes. Busta thanks Ricky at Power Motors for hooking him up with all his rides.

When we caught up with the rhyme man he had a lot on his mind. We knew something about him coming off some video shoot, and that he was preoccupied with the release of his latest album, "Genesis," but we're a self-involved bunch here; all we wanted to hear was his take on the mag and on car audio culture in general. For putting up with us he should be commended. We thank Busta for being a gracious interviewee.

Intro: Who's Busta?
Everyone knows who Busta Rhymes is. In addition to being one of the biggest figures in hip-hop he shows up on the big screen ("Finding Forrester") as well as TV (e.g. on commercials for a certain soda maker). But some of the shorties out there who are too young to be ashamed of being ignorant may not be too familiar with his background. He started out as a member of the Leaders of the New School in 1990 before flying solo. The man was a cut above then as he is now. For over a decade he has been bringing it, influencing newcomers with his inimitable style and expanding the range of the genre with his choice of subject matter. From the early work on, "The Coming", "When Disaster Strikes" to "Extinction Level Event" Busta has always tackled the big theme. Perhaps the origin of it may be traced back to the New School's '93 album, "T.I.M.E." Listening to Busta is a serious reality check.

Despite the many accomplishments and remarkable success Busta remains true. The super celebrity still possesses humility (as much that a major figure in hip-hop can possess without undermining his larger-than-life persona). That's a facetious parenthetical statement, and what truth there is in it is more a reflection of the hip-hop world than Busta himself. Unlike a lot of people who "make it" Busta realizes that's it's not all a matter of pulling yourself up by the bootstrap. As he said at one point in our interview, the success he and a proportionately few experience is "crazy". He takes nothing for granted. So we shouldn't have been surprised to learn that Busta wanted us! That's right, he was into the magazine when he could only dream of someday owning the type of ride that graces these pages. Now he owns several variations of those "dream" vehicles.

Real-Life Intro
So one day we got a surprise phone call. It was Will Castro of Unique Autosports (uniqueautosport.com/516-564-5623), whose installers, Reme and Alex Rullan did the install on the G500, calling to say he was coming to L.A. to meet with Busta to check out his new apartment and the audio system being installed therein. Along with Will we arrived at Busta's new pad in an upscale neighborhood just off Santa Monica Blvd. and Melrose Ave. It's the kind of place that could get featured on those celebrity home shows; the kind of place most of us want to say is too ostentatious, showy, gaudy and over-the-top; and the kind of place we would all reject....unless we came into a few million dollars and it suddenly became affordable, that is.

As we pulled into the secured parking structure we saw several cars. It was like driving into a luxury car dealership. After salivating all over the first-class paint jobs on Busta's vehicles we strolled upstairs and through Busta's door. Shoes off! Our worn footwear took a humble place beside all the expensive sneeks parked along the entryway.

Inside the place was decorated in a 50's style with white Krypton fiberglass and white leather furniture atop red carpeted floors. There was a red felt pool table that seemed about the size of someone's bedroom. After putting to rest the last cell phone call and Motorola 2-way, we sat down and talked about (no, not the new CD) car audio of course. Although we felt a bit overwhelmed by the ostentatious, gaudy and way over-the-top environs we kept our priorities straight. Busta recounted how as a young ready-to-roar lion he coveted the fine rides with top-of-the-line audio gear that he saw in this magazine. We can't detect a trace of insincerity when he says that he can't believe he finally is in Car Audio print. We can't imagine how this compares to selling millions of records and having a lasting influence on fans... So we reiterate: no trace of insincerity! Wyclef and Rockwilder in the book also played a role in the timing of his appearance on the March cover. They are his friends, close associates, and they made the cover and, well, he hadn't. "God bless the child..." No suspense on that front, he was getting the cover.

From Studio to Vehicle
While most people boom a system for all to hear, Busta said his car audio systems are primarily for his listening pleasure. Being a musician he spends a lot of time in a studio, and naturally he's used to that sound. For Busta nothing is close to what he gets there than the music he hears in his vehicles. It has become the extended listening studio on the go for the day-to-day referencing of his and other artists' music (outside of hip-hop, he likes listening to Lenny Kravitz and the Gorillaz, for instance). He knows that if his sound is booming at average volume levels in someone's car that the recording and mix were done proper. That's why he also has a cassette player in the G500. Not only is it a convenient medium, but Busta also figures that if the music comes off with the force he put into the material then it can only sound better on a finer format. Call it low-grade testing for high-end results.

The above hints at Busta's analog tendencies. There's certainly warmth in the analog sound that he feels is essential in music recording. Pat and Vinny of Tower Audio Recording share his passion for the analog flavor and have been working with him since the early days. Basically, they know exactly what he wants and set up everything for Busta so that when he comes in to the studio it's all set to go. They worked with him on the latest and greatest, "Genesis", which hit the streets Nov. 27th. The new CD marks another beginning for Busta that reflects some changes in this talented man's life. Having watched him and listened to his music over the past decade one knows that the changes are all "upward and onward", demarcating, if you will, the evolution of an artist.

An Interview with Busta Rhymes
CA&E: Tell me about your drive coming up from Florida. What were you doing down there?

BUSTA: We was down there to promote my album. It's coming out November 27th and it's called "Genesis".

CA&E: So when I saw you in L.A. you told me you had been into reading Car Audio magazine when you were growing up.

BUSTA: Yeah, I used to see stuff in that book that I used to wish one day that things I saw in that book would belong to me. It's kind of crazy that I'm in a time frame in my life years later, so many years later, where I'm getting a shot at being one of the guys that owns something that I can finally put in the magazine and have people coming up and see my stuff and be like, "I wish I could own [stuff] like Busta Rhymes got in the book." Just like I was doing when I was seeing other people in [Car Audio]. It's just crazy how the world works sometimes. You get something that just happens in life for you that are the real wishes you lived by as a shorty that eventually comes through at some point or another. This is definitely one of those for me, man.

CA&E: Why is it important to have the kind of system you have in the car. How do you use your system aside from bangin' on the street.

BUSTA: I never bang it on the street, first of all, because I don't want to bait my vehicles for people who want to steal it. It's primarily for me and my listening pleasure. Y'know, you're in the studio, making these albums, these songs and you get a certain quality in the studio that you never get once you leave it. The closest thing you're probably going to have to a studio is your car. That's my extended studio. When you can go in the car and turn it down real low and hear all the distinct quality, the high hats piercing at the proper level, the bottom with the bass kick still thumping -- even when it's not that loud -- and you hear that distinct "cleanliness" in the system, then you know what you did in the studio was balanced right.

CA&E: Tell me about the engineers you work with.

BUSTA: That's Pat and Vinny. Tower Audio Recording. They're an independent engineering team. I've been working with them since the Leaders of the New School. I have a chemistry with them, a vibe, a comfort zone with the cats. They know what the sound is that I always love to have. So I can come into the studio when they start a mix and they'll tell me, like, if the session starts at six, they'll tell me not to show up at the studio until ten o'clock, because they know all the levels and the EQ that I want. As far as mixing is concerned they just understand so thoroughly about what I need, what I want, how I gotta' have it, what's going to make me happy, what's going to make me comfortable. So I don't have to sit in the studio for three or four hours while they're tweaking and getting the levels. I come in when they pretty much get it at that point and I'll just say the background levels are too low, tell 'em to raise it here, turn it down there, and the mix is pretty much done.

CA&E: They know your style.

BUSTA: They know it so thoroughly they could mix whole albums for me without me having to be there.

CA&E: Where are they from. East Coast, West?

BUSTA: No, Pat is from Long Island. Vinny is from Brooklyn. I worked with Vinny first and Vinny brought in Pat years later.

CA&E: Now what have you been doing out in L.A.?

BUSTA: In L.A. I was [working] with Dre, Michaelangelo, Jellyroll, Battlecat, and rhyming with Timbaland here and there.

CA&E: So all the stuff you do with those guys is going to Pat and Vinny -

BUSTA: Well, nah, Dre, he is uncompromising. You don't have to tell Dre anything about how he wants his finished product. Same thing with all the rest of them. But I have a preference with my own sound that I want balanced with the rest of the album, so everybody's mix but Dre's was done by Vinny and Pat.

CA&E: So does Dre record all digital and work with ProTools and --

BUSTA: He still records to two-inch. He loves the analog sound. And I think that has a lot to do with the warmth in his finished product. The only thing he'll do is mix to DAT, but it's still coming straight from analog. And y'know, that's the school that I come from. Ten years ago doing digital wasn't an option on the level it is now. Basically I'm stubborn. If digital is going to take away somewhat from the analog I'm not going there. I use digital for its benefits, but as far as recording goes I'm stuck with the two-inch tape.

CA&E: Tell me about the new album. Why did you title it "Genesis"?

BUSTA: It's the new time frame for my whole -- my career, my label, my growth as a man, my creative approaches, new money, everything. I felt like with the sequence of my albums, the way it played out after "Anarchy", "Extinction Level Event", "When Disaster Strikes" and "The Coming" -- y'know the whole mass ruckus had been brought about, so the only area left to go at this point was to go and bring about a new beginning, a new direction.

CA&E: You were one of the first cats we listened to that was talking about the new world order -- some of the intros were real tight.

BUSTA: Thanks. I was fortunate enough to be blessed and exposed by other great musicians that were into that. They talked about it in their music too but just in a much more....subliminal way.

CA&E: You brought it out, put it right in their face.

BUSTA: I was intrigued by it. I'm sitting and....people talking about aliens that have been living here since 1951, naval intelligence briefing team members -- like William Cooper and his Behold the Pale Horse book. That was intriguing to me. Even if it ain't real -- the possibility of it --

CA&E: The government has it's hand in something we don't know about.

BUSTA: Everything can't be a lie. I know even on a school level we don't get to learn. It just seems like a programming, conditioning, but whatever the sources of information that we are exposed to are controlled by the powers that be. But we have to be careful about how we talk about all of that.

CA&E: Because we need to use those means for our own selves.

BUSTA: At the end of the day, it is what it is.

CA&E: You gotta' live with it.

BUSTA: You gotta' live with it, and you have to try to live around it. You have to figure out the ways to beat them at the game or tap into the core element of those sources of information so that we can expose it. That's what I'm about. I want to learn how to deal with it, get around it, understand it and be able to address the issues accordingly so that my kids can grow up with the truth or get as close to the truth as they possibly can. Anyway, "Genesis" is bringing about the new life of Busta Rhymes in every respect. That's pretty much it. v

Busta Rhymes Genesis
You've heard him in the clubs, you play him in your cars, you sing his songs in the shower... That's right, music fans, Mista Busta Bust is back and just as good as ever. Hip-hop fans will surely love this latest. A word of caution, however: the beats will blow out your speakers and the rhymes deliver enough power to short your system.

This CD is a total club hit. Pretty much every song has that old school funky beat that is going to get people off their butts and onto their feet. And as always, Busta distinguishes himself with his one-of-a-kind vocal style, his inimitable rhymes. The force of his style combined with his words at high volume will overwhelm listeners -- and makes this CD a must have.

"As I Come Back", the third track, produced by The Neptunes, has perhaps the dopest beat on "Genesis". The beginning of this song sounds like a total electronic intro, shredding your speakers as if it were kicking off a rave scene. But after a few seconds when the rest of the track comes in you will definitely know who you're listening to. A great way to blend a different music style into Busta's.

From the electronica flavor to a dose of soul -- the sixth track takes it back. It starts out with a sample from Curtis Mayfield, showing everyone Busta's ability to incorporate any kind of music and giving it new life. Track #8 is a special dedication to all you Car Audio heads. Entitled "Truck Volume" this number is all about playing your music as loud as you can in your cars as you roll down the streets. Track #10, "Break Ya Neck" is reminiscent of early Busta Rhymes. Most of you have probably either heard this song on the radio or saw it being played on MTV, but just to play this track on a CD in your car is a whole different experience. With all the energy that Busta puts out, your car could run out of gas and still run for another 1,000 miles using your speakers as a power source. Last but not least, you have the hit, "What It Is", which (chances are you know it already) speaks for itself.

With "Genesis" Busta has kicked off a new beginning and he delivers the goods. Fans will not be disappointed. This album is available everywhere, so go out and get it today. --chux