REVIEW: Busta Rhymes, Extinction Level Event (The Final World
Front) (Flipmode Entertainment/Elektra)
- Joann D. Ball
We've heard for years (and will certainly be reminded throughout 1999) that the sky will turn purple and the party will be over when the year 2000 arrives. Well, that's nothing compared to what Busta Rhymes predicts. The hip-hop innovator offers a deeper, more intense, reality-based account of what the future will bring on his most ambitious release to date, Extinction Level Event (The Final World Front) . While the final countdown to 2K will undoubtedly bring insights from a variety of artists, Busta Rhymes is the only one who can deliver genuine apocalyptic hip-hop. After all, the millennium has been an interest of his since his tenure in the pioneering rap group Leaders of the New School.
Busta Rhymes has expressed his interest in the day of reckoning on his two previous solo outings, 1996's The Coming and 1997's When Disaster Strikes. But Extinction Level Event (The Final World Front) is the full text in full effect. Over the course of 19 tracks, the extremely innovative Busta Rhymes delivers his raw millennium message with a serious warning that it is "always better to be safe than sorry."
Busta wastes no time getting down to business, opening his third solo release with "Intro-There's Only One Year Left." This spoken word track begins with a child innocently asking what the Year 2000 holds. The response includes a long list of crimes against humankind and nature, developments with which we are all too familiar. Busta steps to the mike himself at the end of the track, shouting out a loud wake up call about all the shit's that's already gone down and what is about to break loose. "Everybody Rise," is the global event warning that Busta sends out to all of the "niggas and motherfuckers" in his favorite American cities. With these choice terms of endearment, Busta makes it clear that he and his Flipmode Squad have our backs through the hell on earth that lies ahead.
Not only is Busta rhyming with trademark fury on Extinction Level Event (The Final World Front), he grounds his rapid vocal delivery in a host of mad sounds and quality samples. Of course it's all good, especially "Extinction Level Event (The Song of Salvation)" and "What the Fuck You Want!!" And lead single "Gimme Some More" only hints at how Busta is all about doing what he promises on track nine, "Keepin' It Tight."
That Busta Rhymes approaches Y2K with his characteristic sense of humor (check out the skits which precede "Just Give It To Me Raw" and "Take It Off") is reassuring. And his dedication to making the best of the worst of times is evident on the phat rump shaker "Do The Bus A Bus."
Another lesson we should learn from Busta is the importance of brother/sisterhood in the future. Busta practices what he preaches by enlisting the help of a few good musical soldiers on the Event. Busta gets his steamy R&B groove on with Janet Jackson on "What's It's Gonna Be," and serves up metallic rap with Ozzy Osbourne on "This Means War," a millennium remake of "Iron Man." And adding yet another dimension to the hip-hop flow are Mystikal, of Master P's No Limit Posse, on "Iz They Wildin Wit Us & Gettin Rowdy Wit Us" and the Flipmode Squad, who throw down with Busta on "Against All Odds."
Busta Rhymes has always been a man on a mission. So it comes as no surprise that he has a lot to say about what's coming our way with the arrival of the big 2K. Busta's got a survival plan which is presented in great detail on all of the songs here, but especially in "Outro-The Burial Song." Extinction Level Event (The Final World Front) is a record with a message that is not to be taken lightly, and we would be wise to listen carefully.
