The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features
Nominate-best-2010

Busta Rhymes | Back on My B.S.

Universal Motown (2009)
By MIKAEL WOOD  |  June 2, 2009
1.5 1.5 Stars

090605_busta_main
Increasingly surrounded by Soulja Boys and Lil Waynes, Busta Rhymes has of late taken on the look of hip-hop's Father Time. Dude's a quick study, though: now that the Internet has turned even name-brand stars into Hype Machine heatseekers, he knows that you've gotta lead with your hottest material.

So over the past few months he's leaked a series of excellent singles as a run-up to the release of Back on My B.S., his long-awaited debut for Universal Motown following an ill-fated stint at Dr. Dre's Aftermath. The best of those leaks, a five-alarm firestarter called "Don't Touch Me (Throw da Water on 'Em)," even earned a place alongside such career-high hits as "Woo-hah!! Got You All in Check" and "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See." Unfortunately, "Don't Touch Me" didn't make the cut here — a sure sign that Rhymes (a) has lost touch with what he's good at or (b) knows more about Web marketing than I do.

Some of those other pre-release tracks do appear, among them the inescapable "Arab Money," which has grown no less perplexing (or funky) with age. But B.S. includes far more filler than it needed to; "Kill Dem," a zero-flair Pharrell joint, doesn't even deserve its inevitable Rapidshare link.
Related: Review: The Roots of Hip-Hop, P.O.S. | Never Better, Beef stakes, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Celebrity News, Entertainment, Music Stars,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
HTML Prohibited
Add Comment

[ 02/08 ]   Main Street Cruisers  @ Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun
[ 02/08 ]   2nd Annual Middle Eastern Festival  @ Berklee Performance Center
[ 02/08 ]   Collage New Music conducted by David Hoose  @ Longy School of Music
[ 02/08 ]   "Beat Research"  @ Enormous Room
ARTICLES BY MIKAEL WOOD
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   THE SOFT PACK | THE SOFT PACK  |  February 03, 2010
    This Los Angeles foursome first emerged in 2008 as the Muslims, a name they elected to change after they grew disgusted with and exhausted by all the ignorant — and often racist — bullshit that came out of people's mouths during shows/interviews/conversations.
  •   PRIESTESS | PRIOR TO THE FIRE  |  January 27, 2010
    Now Priestess are back in Indieland, rubbing denim-clad elbows with the likes of Nebula and Black Math Horseman.
  •   LAURA VEIRS | JULY FLAME  |  January 19, 2010
    Thanks to the string of albums she's released over the past decade or so, this Portland-based folkie has cultivated a reputation as a gifted chronicler of the outdoor experience.
  •   ANIMAL COLLECTIVE | FALL BE KIND  |  December 16, 2009
    This nifty little five-track postscript to January's celebrated Merriweather Post Pavilion demonstrates further how adept the members of Animal Collective have become at deploying their bottomless bag of electro-psych tricks in the service of songs.
  •   BIG STAR | KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY  |  December 09, 2009
    Like most Big Star fans, author Robert Gordon overheats a little in the biographical essay that accompanies this handsome four-disc box set.

 See all articles by: MIKAEL WOOD

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2010 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group