Review Summary: Delivered in an eccentric, concise format, Busta Rhymes follows his own unique format and creates his second and last great album.
Busta Rhymes has carved a name for himself in hip hop that will forever be noticed. Now that, in many instances, is not a very good thing to happen. Outside of his first few albums and the rare post-90s album by Mr. Rhymes which somehow manages not to suck completely (
The Big Bang), his career has mostly made a name for itself as he collaborates with just about every artist that moves, and a few of the ones that don’t. Nonetheless, his first two album are truly great rap albums, and Busta Rhymes’ sophomore effort
When Disaster Strikes only follows the formula that made his freshman effort such an oddball success.
What makes
The Coming so good remains on
When Disaster Strikes. Busta Rhymes flow contains that same unique spastic vocal rhythms, and his rhymes, though relatively simple, are quick cut and to the point. His topics generally range from how gangster he is (“Things We Doin For Money”) to how awesome he is (just about every other track), but he executes it with the already mentioned masterful flow and simple but relatable lyricism that manages to fit each of the tracks perfectly. The beats as well keep up with the same level of quality of
The Coming, ranging from the exhilarating anthems like the funky trumpet of boom bap that is “Turn It Up”, the minimalistic fuzzy keyboard notes that drive “Rhymes Galore”, and of course the pre-apocalyptic pianos “The Whole World Lookin At Me”.
What makes
When Disaster Strikes different from
The Coming at all? Just a few inconsistencies in a formula, sometimes in a way that aides Busta, others that are harmful to the album’s general consistent. “Put All Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” and “Dangerous” lean towards the former, experimenting with more African Tribal rhythms for Busta’s rhyme scheme (and the percussion of “Put All Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” especially), and the sheer oddity of it manages to fuse together and comparatively to other rap experiments, is a major success. What faults this album though, is it’s general failure in good squad collaborations. On
The Coming, Redman and Lord Have Mercy had their ways with their verse, and that just doesn’t happen as much here. “There’s Not A Problem” faults Jamal’s rhyming ability, and he doesn’t sound like a considerable MC and gets completely outshined by Busta, and “Things We Be Doin’ for Money Pt.2” simply falters as a Flipmode Squad collaboration track.
Busta Rhymes managed to make an inconsistent debut with
The Coming, and with his sophomore effort
When Disaster Strikes, he repeats a great success. The best moments of
When Disaster Strikes appear when Busta Rhymes experiments with his incredible flow and drives it to new places, but when he’s stagnant, he remains so boringly. His crew also lacks a severe… uniquity about them that their leader possess, and no doubt will dauntingly plague Busta Rhymes albums here on out. For now, though, why not enjoy a good rap album now and then?
