One could argue that Busta Rhymes was the hottest rapper alive in 1997. If you disagree, you at least have to admit he was one of the top five. He was not only coming off the success of his platinum-selling 1996 debut solo album The Coming, but thanks to his undeniable charisma and energetic, animated flow, he was also becoming the most sought-after featured artist in hip-hop (aka, a cameo whore). By the last quarter of ‘97, he had appeared on everybody’s album, from Capone-N-Noreaga to P. Diddy to Diamond D, to Missy Elliot and TLC, just to name a few. In between his massive number of guest appearances, Busta was also working on his own music. He would return in September of 1997, releasing his sophomore solo effort, When Disaster Strikes.

When Disaster Strikes would feature production from some of the same names that helped produce The Coming: DJ Scratch, Easy Mo Bee, Rashad Smith, and J-Dilla (RIP). The liner notes also credit Busta Rhymes with some behind-the-boards work on a few tracks, along with some other names receiving production credits that we’ll get into a little later. The album received heaps of critical acclaim and solid reviews, yielding three hit singles (a couple would earn gold plaques), and became Busta’s second consecutive platinum-selling album.

Like most albums released after March of 1997, I’ve never listened to WDS in its entirety. Hopefully, the strike is enjoyable and not just a disaster.

Intro – Based on The Coming and Scout’s Honor, it’s clear that Flipmode artists had a thing for grandiose intros. That trend continues with WDS, which opens with a three-piece intro suite. Suite 1: Lord Have Mercy uses his authoritative tone to speak about an impending apocalyptic event that is supposed to happen before the year 2000, heavily suggesting that this Busta Rhymes’ album is that prophetic incident. The dramatic, theatrical music supporting Lord’s short story makes it feel like a scene from 300 or Sparta. Suite 2: Omar Glover slides Dolemite, aka Rudy Ray Moore (RIP), a gritty backdrop to give Busta some advice and shoutout the new album (Dolemite’s made a few cameos on hip-hop albums through the years; my favorite is still when he waged a war of words against Kane on “Big Daddy Vs Dolemite”). Suite 3: Busta’s loyal hypeman, Spliff Star, wraps up this lengthy intro by sharing a few energized words about Busta (whom he refers to as the eighth wonder of the world) and the album over DJ Scratch’s spookily gully instrumental. Now that we’ve got all the formalities out of the way, we can get on with the show.

The Whole World Lookin’ At Me – DJ Scratch hits Busta with some electronic boom-bap that has an urgent tone to it as if Busta’s life depends on his performance over it (the hook reinforces that sentiment). Thankfully, Busta’s up for the challenge as he sounds refreshed and hungry, ripping the instrumental to shreds. I don’t even know what “the rhymin’ Lou Gossett” means, but dammit, our host makes it sound sick.

Survival Hungry – Scratch keeps the fire production coming. This one’s a slightly devious, slow-rolling head nodder that Busta completely contrasts with a high-octane performance, but the two variations sound perfect together. The hook was trash, but the title fits our host’s output.

When Disaster Strikes – The title track finds Busta scolding wack emcees with a conversational flow that periodically goes into harmony and smoothly transitions right back to rhyming (in the middle of his reprimand, Busta hi-lariously lists potential alternate career paths for the objects of his wrath before giving them a sarcastic word of encouragement: “You can be something”). Scratch continues to impress with a gritty soul canvas that does sound “miraculous” when Busta summons himself to sing on the hook. This was dope.

So Hardcore – The liner notes credit J-Dilla (J. Yancey), courtesy of The Ummah (a production team composed of Jay-Dee, Q-Tip, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad…Tribe Degrees of Separation: check), for this instrumental. The drums sound flat, but I enjoyed the drowsily animated melody in the loop. The music, Busta’s rhyme pattern, and the hook (taken from a line from “Everything Remains Raw”) make me believe this was a leftover from The Coming sessions. It sounds cool, but slightly misplaced compared to the quality of the previous three tracks.

Get High Tonight – The taxi skit that precedes this record is funny as shit. Busta uses Scratch’s bouncy bass line and simple-but-funky guitar loop to get zooted with his squad, at a high rate, and encourages the listener to go “buy a nickel bag, smoke a little lye, and get high tonight” on the hook. It’s not original material, but it’s a feel-good record that I enjoyed.

Turn It Up – This was the third single from WDS. Well, kind of. The remix, “Turn It Up Remix/Fire It Up,” was released as a single on the Can’t Hardly Wait Soundtrack. The remix is, by all accounts, a completely different song with new rhymes, beat, and hook. The instrumental’s built around an ill loop of the Knight Rider theme song, and Busta rides it impeccably with a rapid-fire flow. It’s easily one of my favorite Busta Rhymes moments. The original mix is built around a flip of a portion of Al Green’s “Love And Happiness,” placed over hard drums that feel like they’re repeatedly punching you in the face (Busta Rhymes is credited with producing both tracks). The original version is solid, but it pales in comparison to the fire remix (pun intended).

Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See – This was the lead single and easily the biggest record on the album (it’s also a top-five hit in Busta’s esteemed catalog). Shamello & Buddah, and Epitome concoct a hypnotic tribal funk groove for Busta, who takes his energy level down a zillion levels to match the low-key genius of the instrumental. This is a timeless banger (so timeless, Coi Leray and Honey Bxby have even recycled the beat in recent years) that will still go off when it comes on at the club or kickback.

There’s Not A Problem My Squad Can’t Fix – Jamal (formerly of Illegal) becomes the first guest of the evening, joining Busta on this rhyming duet. On The Coming, the Def Squad (Jamal, Redman, and Keith Murray) got the win after waging war with Flipmode (Rampage, Lord Have Mercy, and Busta) on “Flipmode Squad Meets Def Squad.” Busta gets his revenge on this track, effortlessly rapping circles around a feeble Jamal and his underwhelming bars, while simultaneously annihilating the thumpin’ bassline and drum claps that he’s also credited with producing. This would have been way more entertaining had Def Squad sent one of their stronger soldiers (i.e., Keith Murray, Redman, or Erick Sermon). As is, even with Busta’s solid performance, it doesn’t have much replay value.

We Could Take It Outside – The track begins with a skit that finds The Flipmode Squad running into a few of their haters at a club, and drama ensues. The skit is way too long, but I listened to WDS on Apple Music a few times, which excludes the album skits, and this skit actually helps the following cipher session sound grander. Rampage, Serious, Spliff Star, Baby Sham, Rah Digga, Lord Have Mercy, and Busta (in that order) all take part in the fight that started at the bar and is on the verge of spilling outside, hence the song title and hook. Rampage, Spliff, Baby Sham, and Busta get a few licks in, but it’s Rah Digga (I’m shocked she didn’t catch heat for the bar about Betty Shabazz’s grandson) and Lord Have Mercy (“sipping fresh squeezed milk from the titties of llamas” is crazy) who inflict the most damage to Scratch’s gutter music, laced with a pensive piano loop. Oh, and Serious just showed up to watch the melee. I never need to hear him rap again.

Rhymes Galore – Rashad Smith serves up a bouncy, vibrating musical concoction for the album’s master of ceremonies to do just that. Mr. Smith’s instrumental isn’t great by any stretch, and there are only two rappers that I can think of that could breathe life into such a meager backdrop: Ghostface Killah and Busta Rhymes. Buss had my attention as soon as I heard “Mayday, mayday, mayday, mayday, walk barefoot on niggas like Kunta Kente.”

Things We Be Doin’ For Money Part 1 – Busta plays the role of a stone-cold stick-up kid, and Easy Mo Bee paints the criminal scene with a grimy backdrop that feels like a poor man’s Havoc (from Mobb Deep) beat. The record ends with Busta and a potential victim tussling over his gun. A skit of the tussle follows, setting up part two of this thug melodrama.

Things We Be Doin’ For Money Part 2 – The saga picks up with a dramatically pensive instrumental and Busta making a call to Rampage to send the cavalry, as the potential vic he was tussling with for his gun, had reinforcements show up in the form of a black jeep full of niggas. Long story short: Flipmode shows up, the two crews exchange gunfire, and Busta has an epiphany at the end of the record that his lust for money was the culprit for all this unnecessary violence. Busta’s moment of clarity is followed by Anthony Hamilton and The Chosen Generation choir ensemble singing a quick chorus to drive home his realization. I never need to hear from thugged-out Busta again. And I probably won’t, since we find out at the end of the track that the last two records were all a dream. The Ramapge/Busta phone call skit at the end of this track was the most entertaining part of this entire short series.

One –  Rockwilder loops up a little Stevie Wonder to create a smooth and soulful atmosphere for this Busta Rhymes/ Erykah Badu collabo. It was nice to capture Busta in a serious moment as he and Badu rap and sing on the importance of the family structure and working together in harmony. I’m not used to Rockwilder making mellow beats like this, but I enjoyed it.

Dangerous – This was the second single. After a female voice (Rachelle Weston) talks a bunch of shit, a cheesy electronic instrumental drops, which reminded me of “Rhymes Galore,” which makes sense, considering Rashad Smith is responsible for both of them (Armando Colon gets a co-credit for this track). This record is yet another testament to Busta’s rhyming ability and energy, as most rappers would have succumbed to the music’s cheap feel. But once again, Busta makes that thang do what it do.

The Body Rock – Flipmode dances with Bad Boy, as Ramapge and Busta tango with Diddy and Mase over a sedated musical bed (I should tread lightly using Diddy and bed in the same sentence). De La Soul used the same sample for “The Bizness,” but their interpretation had more bounce to it. Chuckie Thompson’s flip feels flat, drab, and empty. I’d be perfectly fine if I never heard this record again. Before the next track begins, Spliff Star gets off a sturdy verse over a filthy and brolic backdrop, but Busta hi-lariously cuts him off and scolds him for trying to steal airtime on his album. He also hints at a forthcoming Spliff Star solo album that was supposed to be released in ‘98 but never materialized. I wonder if the Flipmode group effort, The Imperial, was originally slated to be Spliff’s solo album, as that project did drop in 1998 (*looking up at the ceiling while my chin rests on my hand*).

Get Off My Block – Apparently, this is the third piece in the “Things We Be Doin’ For Money” series, as Busta begins the record saying “Flipmode Trilogy.” He and Lord Have Mercy put back on their thug personas to aggressively persuade a crew of “unfamiliar cornballs” to get out of their hood. It’s hard to take their thuggery seriously with Busta threatening to have Dinco D, of all people, come through with the heat (“Chill before I call Dinco, to grab the quatro cinco”). Meanwhile, LHM threatens to urinate on them and drown them in “buckets of piss water” (Wtf?). Scratch provides another solid instrumental, but this song was completely unnecessary.

Outro (Preparation For The Final World Front) – Busta brings back the gully backdrop from the third part of the “Intro,” and thanks each listener for “taking time to analyze this new LP.” You’re welcome. Then, to live up to the track’s subtitle, he goes into a rant about being prepared for the final world front that he’s been prophesying about since 1996.

Side note: If you purchased your copy of WDS outside of the United States, you received a nineteenth track, titled “It’s All Good” (if you have this pressing, it’s track nine in the sequencing). I pulled it up on YouTube to give it a listen. It’s pretty much Busta spewing verbal porn (he mentions “dick” and “pussy” no less than ten times each during a two-verse song) over a buttery guitar loop and chill drums. The rhymes are super erotic, and the instrumental sounds yummy enough to eat. You know what else sounds yummy enough to eat? I was thinking about a seafood boil. Get your minds out of the gutter!

It’s interesting how time and distance can distort your view of an artist. I was introduced to Busta during his humble beginnings, rhyming with Leaders Of The New School about Parent Teachers Associations and telling stories about Saabs (may Saab rest in peace). He’d later hit a lick with his cameo on Tribe’s classic posse record, “Scenario,” soon becoming a superstar. I stopped following Busta closely after The Coming, due to my hiatus from secular music. But from my distant view, he seemed to become a caricature, making pop accessible music and making himself available to guest appear on any and everybody’s record. Those perspectives may still hold some truth, but he was also making good albums, at least up until the late nineties.

The album’s titled When Disaster Strikes, but a more fitting name would be When Hunger Strikes, based on Busta’s performance on the microphone. The dude raps like he hasn’t had a meal in over a year, as his hunger and thirst sound more prevalent than they did on The Coming. Busta displays an underappreciated ability to not only adapt to any beat but also completely devour it, regardless of its tempo, mood, color, race, or creed. In the midst of his own feasting, Busta leaves room for others to dine. His guests eat with varying results, but the true star of the show is never in question.

The production on WDS is pretty thorough. My favorite moments come when Busta squares up with DJ Scratch’s gully, understated boom bap (as I continue to do this blog, Scratch is quickly moving up on my list of underrated producers). Scratch’s raw musical beds lay in the cut but hit hard, allowing Busta’s rambunctious rhymes and energy to run wild and shine bright. The rest of the album’s cluster of producers do a pretty solid job, and even when they don’t, Bussa Bust plays Jesus to their Lazarus. And as hard as I’ve been on hip-hop album skits in doing this blog, props to Busta for making a few that add value to the album or make you literally LOL.

There are a handful of records on WDS that could have been shaved off the final product and archived (i.e., all of Busta’s “Thug Trilogy,” the Jamal-assisted “There’s Not A Problem,” and the drab Bad Boy/Flipmode collab, “The Body Rock”). But most of the eighteen tracks work well and have me looking forward to fully delving into Extinction Level Event, when there were only two years left. Allegedly.

-Deedub
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