Busta Rhymes proves that he still got it with “BLOCKBUSTA.”

STREAM

TOP 5

5. HOMAGE (Ft. Kodak Black)

This song has a very dope exchange between Kodak Black and Busta Rhymes.

In “HOMAGE,” Kodak Black and Busta Rhymes express mutual admiration. The former pays homage to OGs like Busta, acknowledging their influence, while the latter expresses pride in the former for successfully navigating his way out of jail and becoming a positive figure for those in the hood. The two rappers also pay homage to their diamond rings and women that go down every night like the Washington Wizards.

In addition to the engaging back-and-forth, I appreciate the highly focused delivery from Kodak in his verse, considering he has been sounding drugged-up in most of his songs as of late. Busta’s verse stands out with its laid-back demeanor and dynamic flows, adding to the overall appeal.

Why does this collaboration make so much sense to me?

Busta Rhymes unquestionably immerses himself in Young Thug’s world for this song. “OK” is driven by this booming, militant trap beat that gives me “Ski” vibes. Over it, Young Thug and Busta Rhymes stick their chests out like Janet, hitting us with bars highlighting how rich they are, how much they like bullying their competition, and how successful they’ve been in their career. What’s hella cool about the song is that we get cartoonish bars from both rappers; I’m talking everything from huffing and puffing to Animaniacs-type s**t.

Young Thug and Busta Rhymes’ brains need to be studied.

3. LUXURY LIFE (Ft. Coi Leray)

Oldheads love Coi Leray.

If you recall, Busta Rhymes and Coi Leray joined forces a few months ago for a “Players” remix. In the song, the two artists spit bars over the “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” beat. In “LUXURY LIFE,” Busta and Coi do work over Jay-Z and Foxy Brown’s “Ain’t No N***a” beat. While it’s a bit weird hearing them go back and forth considering their vast age gap, I f**k with how they hype each other up and floss their poppin’ careers and luxurious lifestyles. I also think the flows they toy with are pretty dope. 

2. BIG EVERYTHING (Ft. DaBaby & T-Pain)

Busta Rhymes and DaBaby accidentally murder one another in this song.

There are many f**king people on this album that Busta Rhymes goes back and forth with. In my opinion, the one he had the best chemistry with was DaBaby. In “BIG EVERYTHING,” I absolutely love how they go back and forth with one another, cutting each other off to brag about their own personal accomplishments and things that they want to see their women do for them. As expected, the two hit us with flows that are so complex that it will have your Siri saying “huh” if you let it listen to them. The song’s icing on the cake comes in the form of T-Pain’s explosive hook (Which was needed but not needed) and the flipped version of Bun B’s “Get Throwed” beat.

1. COULD IT BE YOU (Ft. Blxst & Yung Bleu)

Is “All I Want Is You” by Miguel eligible to be remade?

I guess the track came out fourteen years ago… Anywho, in “COULD IT BE YOU,” Busta Rhymes, Blxst, and Yung Bleu collaborate over a slightly altered version of the “All I Want Is You” beat. Surprisingly, they excel on it (I say “surprisingly” because who would have thought that Busta would sound great over this s**t?). Busta delivers intricate, tongue-twisting flows expressing admiration for his woman, and Yung Bleu contributes an excellent verse, skillfully riding the beat while portraying a successful individual enjoying his best life. Blxst adds a sly hook that poses all the right questions. In my opinion, this song is simply perfect.

SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. THE STATEMENT (3.5/5)

2. REMIND ‘EM (3.5/5)

3. BEACH BALL (Ft. BIA) (4/5)

4. OK (Ft. Young Thug) (3.5/5)

5. COULD IT BE YOU (Ft. Blxst & Yung Bleu) (5/5)

6. LUXURY LIFE (Ft. Coi Leray) (4/5)

7. BIG EVERYTHING (Ft. DaBaby & T-Pain) (/5)

8. ROBOSHOTTA (Ft. Burna Boy) (3.5/5)

9. TINGS (3/5)

10. THE RETURN OF MANSA MUSA (Ft. Swizz Beatz & Blackway) (2/5)

11. STAND UP (Ft. JNR CHOI) (2.5/5)

12. OPEN WIDE (Ft. Chris Brown & Shenseea) (3.5/5)

13. HOLD UP (3.5/5)

14. THE HIVE (Ft. Giggs) (3/5)

15. HOMAGE (Ft. Kodak Black) (4/5)

16. LEGEND (Ft. Morray) (4/5)

17. SLIDE (3/5)

18. LEGACY (Ft. CIE, Trillian & RAI) (3.5/5)

19. IF YOU DON’T KNOW NOW YOU KNOW PT. 2 (4/5)

RGM RATING

(C)

Assigning this album a C makes me uneasy because I enjoyed it, and Busta Rhymes is undeniably a legend. Nevertheless, our review system isn’t intended as a lifetime achievement award, so I had to assess it objectively. Below, I’ll elaborate on why I didn’t love it, though I wouldn’t say I hated it either.

When it comes to entertaining, Busta Rhymes sits at the top tier. S**t, just a month ago, I watched Halloween Resurrection for the 10th time, laughing my ass off at the scenes he was in. That said, with BLOCKBUSTA, if you have ears and aren’t uptight, you will be entertained by the cartoonish flows Busta dishes out for us with ease and how he typically pairs them with carefree lyrics about having fun with women and destroying those who wish evil on him. When he isn’t talking about having fun, he’s paying homage to the youth or the people who helped him get to where he is today. That’s a very dope aspect of the project that people will ignore.

Another thing listeners will enjoy about this album is how Busta Rhymes decided to link up with many individuals with f**ked-up brains like him. Young Thug, DaBaby, Kodak Black, and Giggs all have a little Busta Rhymes in them (Pause), so to hear him trade verses with them made it feel like a passing of the torch situation. The cool thing is that Busta’s version of passing a torch is kicking their ass in a song. S**t felt like some The Karate Kid s**t at times.

I’d also like to highlight the production on this album. BLOCKBUSTA encompasses a diverse range of beats, including club beats, action-packed beats, throwback beats, and more. Notably, Busta Rhymes seizes the opportunity to capitalize on the current trend of unabashedly sampling beloved songs from the 90s and 2000s. Given his prominence in those two decades, it’s only fitting that he sounds excellent over these types of beats, right?

OK, now that I got the good about the album out of the way, now to the bad…

In recent years, Busta Rhymes hasn’t experienced significant solo success. He has had to rely on the Pharrells of the world, the Mariahs of the world, and more. S**t hasn’t changed in 2023, as nearly every single song on BLOCKBUSTA features somebody. Some of the features felt forced (I’m looking at the features with Burna Boy and Quavo), while some of the features made me feel downright uncomfortable (The features with Coi Leray and BIA gave me ‘freaky old uncle’ vibes). But the most unfortunate thing about this album is that the songs that didn’t have features at all, such as “TINGS,” “HOLD UP,” and “SLIDE,” were simply unlistenable. I just feel like Busta has spoiled us for years with his collaborations, so now we don’t know what to do with ourselves when he’s doing some s**t all by his lonesome. You have to train your fans, right?

When it’s all said and done, I am appreciative and thankful for this album. It’s different, it’s fun to listen to, and it reminds folks how much of an influence Busta has had on the game.

Quincy

Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.