Nottz, man. Nottz. SMH.

http://youtu.be/Yl_-3oSlWaU

That groove in the first 30+ seconds of the YouTube link? I hope they used that on another song on this album. That was dope as hell.

just like kendrick hit us with that intro on the Alright video

I wish the album title was different. But this song is good.

not sure I'm feeling the chorus. glad to see busta's not just fast rapping.

that shit used to be like crab cake filler to me

also, this song has apparently been out since 2013 or something, which is crazy to me because i don't possibly see how i could've missed this after all these years. can't wait to hear ele 2.

The first 3 joints on ELE prove that and this is just further proof.

They should do an entire album.

i wanna see queensflip murder someone in his car to this

shit is beautiful.

I assume that’s the one Focus... did.

>I assume that’s the one Focus... did.
>
>

That shit is so dope!!!!!!!

just gotta stand up and clap to those chops

Damn.

Busta has had this problem for years with his inability to trim the fat. For the most part he sounded better vocally and flow wise than he has sounded on those recent Griselda and Roc Marciano features.

Lots of quality tracks. Only obvious cuts are the joint with Mariah and that short joint by Swizz. After that, you're cutting joints that are at least pretty good.
______________________________________________________________________________

"To Each His Reach"

but.....

Fuck aliens.

im glad bus aint try to make a 'modern' album.

he had better options to choose from.

... as I listened to it yesterday I was thinking that it was refreshing to hear Kendrick take it back to his old flow.

Now it makes some more sense.

to being one of his lead singles..

But Kendrick's cadence....loved it. Had the screw face for most of the verse. And to think it was several years old is dope.
Liked Busta's too but Kendrick stole the show.
Bout to listen again.

Imagine if your boy Nas decided to get these same producers for his album? Instead he get's hit boy...lol...shame really. Oh, and this Busta knocks...

I mean, this is like one of those late 90s albums where if you take the best 10-12 songs it’s a “classic”. Nas made a lot of those.

The best beats here(Nottz did most of them, Focus, 9th, and Premier) are better than any on Nas album. But Nas doesn’t have anything flat out trash like that Mariah joint, so?

Can't call it, I dig the Mariah track...and this right here...forgetaboutit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvoXkDckLkI


Production is stellar throughout...

Really like Look Over Your Shoulder and the one with Mary J. I believe Nottz did both of them. And the 9th Wonder track is fire too, as is the BBD Poison flip.

I’d probably take all of those beats over anything on Nas album.

But nah, that Mariah track and the track with Ross? Garbage.

Nas’s album didn’t have as high of highs or as low of lows. Something to be said for the consistency of a one producer album....even if I’d rather that one producer be somebody else. Still, Hit Boy did fairly well.

Personally glad we got both albums. Maybe with everyone else doing one producer albums, we needed this Busta album with an all star lineup? Variety in the game is a good thing. I like both albums.

That’s one of my favorites too.

Rapsody essentially writes a dis track in the voice of the baby mama, but like she's dissing herself? Did Busta Rhymes tell her to write that? It just seems so personal and exclusively from the perspective of Busta Rhymes. I feel like it would be really hard for her to write that verse.

She's speaking from the perspective of babymama, essentially saying she fucked up and did babydaddy wrong. Are we so gone now that it sounds unbelievable to hear a Black woman to take accountability for her mistakes?

and it's basically a verse of her shitting on herself, but as another person.

shitting on yourself?

What I heard was Rapsody rapping as a fictional character reflecting on her past and accepting blame and recognizing she could have been better.

That said... The Busta verse that follows kind of makes it *too* much of a one way street when it comes to admitting mistakes. I would have preferred Busta's verse to also take some blame in the situation rather than him being the victim who never did a thing wrong.

But that's obv not the story they were trying to tell with the song.

Owning mistakes is "shitting on yourself"? In what world?

>What I heard was Rapsody rapping as a fictional character
>reflecting on her past and accepting blame and recognizing she
>could have been better.


Same thing I heard. Hell, that's exactly what it is.


>That said... The Busta verse that follows kind of makes it
>*too* much of a one way street when it comes to admitting
>mistakes. I would have preferred Busta's verse to also take
>some blame in the situation rather than him being the victim
>who never did a thing wrong.
>
>But that's obv not the story they were trying to tell with the
>song.


Yeah I expected that from him verse. Guess Busta either wanted to get some shit off his chest or wanted to show that sometimes it just be the woman on the BS. Doesn't always have to be a man at fault. Dude speculated above that Busta gave her that verse. My guess is he told her what kind of verse he wanted and she wrote it. Rapsody definitely doesn't need Busta to write her a verse and I doubt she'd even want him to. She's an emcee. If you're gonna ask a woman to write a fictional verse of introspection, Rapsody is the right woman to ask because she has the skill to do it effectively.

It didn't feel introspective it felt like what Busta Rhymes would have said about his baby mama, and pretty hollow at that. It litteraly feels like you could copy paste the word 'I' with 'you'. I'm not saying the song is bad or devoid of truth. Just weird.

Maybe it was a failing of Rapsody's writing. I could see it being an awkward verse to write.

It was a frustrating song for me.

During Rapsody’s verse my initial thought was “why did she sign up to be the voice of fucked up women?”

Then while she kept going I was thinking “ahh Busta is gonna come in a own up to his mistakes as the man and this is going to be one of the best songs of all-times n shit!”

Then Busta came in and I was disappointed as hell lol

I get the story they were going for and 100% there are situations exactly like the one they wrote about.

My concern with it is that covering that topic, you can’t just ignore the other side of it because in doing so you then give some of these fucked up dudes the idea that they fit this scenario.

And we know there are dudes out there that are deserving of some of the shit they get.

I just would’ve loved to see them both take a look in the mirror and take accountability because 9 times out of 10, the shit goes both ways and the petty shit is at the cost of the kids.

I thought that would’ve been a powerful ass message.

You're not the one dealing with "Black men are trash" or "White people of Black people" hashtags and (non)think(ing)pieces that have zero basis in the statistical reality. There's a lot of backlash coming from Black men about all of this. The community and culture we exist in and our experience of it isn't something you get enough to be trying to critique. #BlameBlackMen didn't come from nowhere. I understand you don't really gaf, because while you fuck with our creativity, you're quick to take opportunities to attack us if it means brownie points with Black women.

>My concern with it is that covering that topic, you can’t
>just ignore the other side of it because in doing so you then
>give some of these fucked up dudes the idea that they fit this
>scenario.


Any "fucked up dude" is gonna be fucked up with or without this song. Just like you listened and thought the guy could take responsibility, other men can do the same.
Funny how we can understand that "gangsta rap" isn't to blame for social ills but suddenly this song is gonna make grown men (who are old enough to be listening to Busta Rhymes) duck accountability.



>I just would’ve loved to see them both take a look in the
>mirror and take accountability because 9 times out of 10, the
>shit goes both ways and the petty shit is at the cost of the
>kids.


You don't know what the ratio is. Even if you did, this situation could be the 10%. That would make more sense why it sounds odd, since you'd only hear it 10% of the time. But situations like this are much more common than that. Black women were incentivized to remove Black men from the home a long time ago. Again, this is the kind of thing you don't care to look into. Way deeper than you're willing to go. You just want to stay on the surface and judge Black men and women through the same lense that you judge white folks, even though our American experience is damn near opposite.

Rapsody's verse is still strange to me. Not for any socio-political reasons but because it is a verse that is 100% written from the perspective of Busta Rhymes but she is rapping as his baby mother.

and yeah, it would have been cool to get some perspective from Busta Rhymes or even if he put all his faults out on the table just like Rapsody's verse did. AGAIN, not because it is supposed to be a journalistic expose on co-parenting in the black community but because it is a SONG!!!

This is particularly true here

Easily. I won't presume to tell you how to enjoy music, but you can definitely just enjoy music AS music. It is as valid if not more valid to accept the artform as just art.

*shrugs*

My enjoyment of a song in no way reflects any confusion I have about any issue. It was an awkward verse that didn't sound like it was coming from the person who spit it.

For instance, when you understand that 75 Bars by The Roots was released at a time when people were seriously debating that rappers should stop using the N-Word in their music and... let's say you were strongly on the "no" side of the debate, the song hits harder to you. You enjoy it more.
Otherwise, you could be thinking... "ok, so he says 'nigga' 1000 times. what's so great about that?"

For me, this song has something similar going on. I touched on the current era in reply #49. As I listened, it was kinda refreshing because I can't recall ever hearing a woman admit to these kinds of things, even though they're extremely common. Oddly enough, everything she said didn't sound like a man wrote it imo. Actually sounds like a woman waking up to her own BS. People do have the ability to reflect. Even beyond all the songs where men are blamed, #blameblackmen it so out of control that it actually became a pretty popular hashtag. Had it not been for societal context, I may have felt the same as you about the song. Instead it feels like balance or a small form of justice. Maybe you don't care about the context or aren't affected by it tho. That's your prerogative, but that doesn't make it bad art... just art that resonates in a space that you're not able to feel.

It's great that we all enjoy different music for different reasons.

I used both a personal and non-personal example to flesh out my overall point of context. I'll take this to mean you don't have a response to that, and this is really just about you not liking the song.

As far as I know, you’re white as fuck

You, being "white as fuck", have again dismissed it altogether and shown the racism that you think you're hiding behind your enjoyment of Hip Hop.

You’re precious

>You’re precious

Sounds good.

All that and you said absolutely nothing.

Teach me your ways

this album feels like busta without copying his previous work. good shit, but 2-3 gripes.

its too long and has way too much Chris Rock. I more bars on the song with tip, but that's minor cuz that song is hard af.

Busta is so shameless with ripping off his own song with the Mariah joint.....they could've just done a new song lol. It's not like the first version was an all-time classic or something.

What helps the album overall is how Bus goes back to ending songs in random places. Sure Bus could've done (and probably did) second verses on True Indeed or The Purge but it keeps the album breezing along.

Wish M.O.P wasn't just sample ad-libs on Czar....the video is funny tho.

Chris Rock could've just been on 1 joint (the intro) he's just in the way the other way the other times he pops up.

YUU fits better within the album....but I still think Bus should've stole Bubblin for himself.

Having the Pete Rock & J Dilla song on the same track doesn't really make sense....but it still sounds dope.

Since it's the only Q-Tip verse we getting in 2020 it's a good think Tip killed it. C'mon Kamaal....drop the solo man lol.

The Don & The Boss doesn't deserve to be or fit on this album at all.

I wonder if you played the Poison flip in the club or a party would people rock to it?

Is Santanic about Kanye?

Shit is so good

One of the best projects I have heard this year indeed, just gotta step my tech ability up and figure out how to delete all the nut hugging/screaming by Chris Rock...

BROOKLYN!

Ngl, that had me laughing

i had seen mixed reviews so i wasnt too excited to check it out. i had not listened to the singles but on first listen i really liked it. the don & the boss is the only song i didnt like. there are definitely some songs that are better than others but im not sure i would remove any other song from the album.

i could do with less chris rock, or at least separate his parts from the songs so i dont need to hear them each time. the album as a whole is good/great listen but some songs i think might not have much replay value.

not as consistent as some other albums from the year but i do understand putting this up as an AOTY contender. it has that feel.

Yesterday when I was on soundcloud I see where Busta posted an "Reloaded" version of the E.L.E. Vol.2" with four bonus tracks:
"Blowing Your Speakers", Who Are You", "Hope Your Dreams Come True", & "Calm Down featuring Eminem" (which I think is a single from 2014, but didn't that have more rappers on it?).

Anyway, I noticed there isn't a bonus or exclusive physical version out there just the regular 22 track cd version, so I guess this is just songs he tacked on to the album for soundcloud or are these songs also added to the itunes/spotify versions?

The normal version has a white cover & the reloaded has a red one.

there are beats that i've heard back in the early 2010s

Whenever Redman drops Muddy Waters 2 I'm sure that they'll be 3 year old songs on it.....Ghostface will prolly be the same for Supreme Clientele 2.

That said, I'm not mad at it....especially since 90s-early 00s rappers have no major label budgets anymore.

I'm curious when the Swizz track "The Purge" was made....it could've been 3 months or 15 years ago....no joke lol

Just a steady built collection of good songs over a number of years, as opposed to trying to rush to keep up with a deadline or new sound. I feel like we're lucky that we're into the sounds from a 30 - 40 year period in that case.

Busta is RAPPIN on this shit. Damn. Sometimes I forget how well he can rhyme

I could've done without probably 6 or 7 songs but the good stuff is really good IMO. Lot of good production.

Like, I guess we're still doing the "why do men dress homosexually nowadays ?!" thing ?!!

also the criticism about the unnecessary stuff is legitimate, I'd have love to have heard him rap over one of the 80 beats he got from Kev Brown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmswkrdzFds

He talks about basically his entire career up to the album and reveals stuff that no one ever knew going on behind the scenes with his family and health.

He also says Rapsody created the direction of "Best I Can"... for everyone thinking he just orchestrated the whole thing by writing her verse and using her as a puppet or something lol.

I don't think I knew anything of this and am interested, but am decidedly *not* interested in listening to a 2 hour Busta Rhymes interview lol.

Or you can just give me the time that discussion starts within the interview if that's easier.

Appreciate it.

I listened to Busta's episode on Abstract Radio a couple times and it was great b/c of course him and Q-Tip have a great rapport.

Don't want to listen to Busta and a guy who doesn't know Mary J did 'Work That'. Or Busta and a probably drunk NORE.

I'm not a fan of Van either... kinda ended up listening due to needing something to listen to and having few options. It's kinda like an interesting history lesson on his life and career. I feel you on NORE tho, omg. I think it was the one with Curren$y where they were so drunk and high that they could barely speak. That was kinda it for me with Drink Champs.

I haven't listened in forever because they get too toasted and they just over talked and interruptted the guests too much.

but yeah, Van's interview was not bad at all. its long af, but they have a really good convo.

>I haven't listened in forever because they get too toasted
>and they just over talked and interruptted the guests too
>much.

>I don't think I knew anything of this and am interested, but
>am decidedly *not* interested in listening to a 2 hour Busta
>Rhymes interview lol.
>
>Or you can just give me the time that discussion starts within
>the interview if that's easier.
>
>Appreciate it.



The part about his health issues is from roughly 49:00 - 108:00
He actually says that he's never revealed this before.

Prior to that he's talking about what ultimately sent him down a path that caused all that (the death of his father and watching his mother deal with the pain of not having been able to make peace with him prior to his passing).

The part about "Best I Can" begins about 138:00

Yall are missing a really good interview about this man's life and career.

>The part about his health issues is from roughly 49:00 -
>108:00
>He actually says that he's never revealed this before.
>
>Prior to that he's talking about what ultimately sent him down
>a path that caused all that (the death of his father and
>watching his mother deal with the pain of not having been able
>to make peace with him prior to his passing).
>
>The part about "Best I Can" begins about 138:00
>
>Yall are missing a really good interview about this man's life
>and career.

I'm sure it's great - and I have nothing against Busta. I just don't have 2 hours to dedicate to nearly any one person's interview these days haha.

>I'm sure it's great - and I have nothing against Busta. I just
>don't have 2 hours to dedicate to nearly any one person's
>interview these days haha.

Lol, I feel you. I listened when I needed something to make the time pass quicker AKA at work. Must say that I was surprised how interesting it was though.

.. doing something else or something.

Either way thanks for the rec and for the time info.