S. Samuel
Cash Money Records' Busta Rhymes recently talked about his veteran status in the rap game and why some high-profile rap stars limit themselves when it comes to doing guest features.
Busta said he has learned over time it can be a gift and a curse to collaborate with artists.
“There’s one of two reasons to me why the same people appear on every song: one reason is either they’re just the hottest dudes, and the other reason is . . . [Long pause] It’s interesting to me that Eminem isn’t on a lot of people’s sh*t. It’s interesting to me that Nas isn’t on a lot of people’s sh*t. It’s interesting to me that Jay-Z isn’t on a lot of people’s sh*t. A lot of the very dangerously lyrical motherf*ckers. I think there’s a fear factor that plays a role, because sometimes you really don’t know if you’re going to be happy with what you asked for – especially if you might get your a** whooped on your own f*cking record!” (Rolling Stone)
He also discussed how much of an impact a guest spot can have for an artist’s career.
“A long time ago, especially for the artists that can’t carry a record on their own,” Busta added when asked when he realized features started becoming more important than the song. “And since the era of developing artists has died with record companies over 10 years ago, a lot of dudes had to come out here and figure out how to get hot on their own. A lot of the times, the novelty of a name that’s popping in the market is the easiest way. So the feature became more important than the record a long time ago. It’s unfortunate, but I think there’s a change happening: A lot of the new dudes aren’t doing it. They started to realize chasing down a hot motherf*cker was a sh*t-ton of work, cause when a hot motherf*cker think he’s hot, they become divas real quick.” (Rolling Stone)
A few weeks ago, Busta’s new Pharrell-assisted “Twerk It” anthem premiered online.
Busta Rhymes and Pharrell always have the potential to create something interesting and unique when they link up. Busta’s high-energy approach, commanding vocal presence and willingness to take risks blends perfectly with Pharrell’s boundless creativity. “Twerk It” draws from Busta’s Jamaican roots, as he chats, in a throaty patois, things that would make Vanessa Del Rio blush. (Smoking Section)
Recently, New York rapper Talib Kweli spoke to SOHH about finally securing a Rhymes feature for his new “Rocket Ships” track.
“Busta Rhymes is a good friend of mine. He’s someone I’ve worked with and spent a lot of time hanging out with but we’ve never actually had an official song that we worked on together and put out. We had some mixtape things we’d done before but nothing official. It was overdue. I was hanging out with Busta, talking to him about my new album and he’s like, ‘Yo, why don’t you ever put me on your albums?’ And I was like, ‘You know what? Yo, I don’t know. You’re so close to me that I’m kind of spoiled. It never even crossed my mind.’ He’s on the ‘Get By’ remix and things that we’ve put out on mixtapes, but, for him to actually be on my album, I made sure to play the beats right then and there. He chose that RZA beat. I had recorded my first verse to that beat and so I played it for him and he was like, ‘Yo, I’m jumping on that!’ He didn’t jump on it immediately. He sent it to me about a week later. And then when he sent it to me, he sent it with the skit in it, with the whole ‘Bacon’ skit in it. I had no idea he was doing that.” (SOHH Singled Out)
