1 Wheel Of Fortune
2 Give Em What They Askin For
3 Respect My Conglomerate (Feat. Lil Wayne & Jadakiss)
4 Shoot For The Moon
5 Hustler’s Anthem ‘09 (Feat. T-Pain)
6 Kill Dem (Feat. Pharrell & Tosh)
7 Arab Money (Feat. Ron Browz)
8 I’m A Go And Get My… (Feat. Mike Epps)
9 We Want In (Feat. Ron Browz, Flipmode Movement, Spliff Star & Show)
10 We Miss You (Feat. DeMarco & Jelly Roll)
11 Sugar (Feat. Jelly Roll)
12 Don’t Believe Em (Feat. Akon & T.I.)
13 Decision (Feat. Jamie Foxx, Mary J Blige, John Legend & Common)
14 World Go Round (Feat. Estelle)
Via NappyAfro
About three years since his last release The Big Bang, Busta Rhymes is “back in the most immaculate way” as he would say. Back On My B.S. is Busta’s eighth official album release to date since The Coming back in 1996 and as the album title would suggest, this is Busta getting back to his old ways on the microphone that we’ve grown to love. Originally scheduled for release back in 2007 under the title Before Hell Freezes Over, lets see if it was worth the wait and anticipation.
1. Wheel Of Fortune (Intro)
Produced by DJ Scratch
After a humorous introduction to the album in opera fashion Busta wastes no time getting right into it. The mid-tempo, stutter step beat is produced by the legendary DJ Scratch who provides a backdrop for Busta to let listeners know who they should be putting their money on when it comes to the rhymes. Busta interpolates Slick Rick’s “Mona Lisa” and Grand Puba’s “I Like It” into the chorus for nice results. This introduction track or “sound check” as Busta puts it is a nice start that leaves room for more intense tracks to follow.
2. Give Em What They Askin’ For
Produced by Ron Browz
Picking up the pace of the album after the introduction track Busta enlists auto-tune producer/rapper Ron Browz for a beat to get things moving. Browz provides Busta with a beat that is banging but sounds average at best and too similar to other Browz beats. I’m not exactly sure if this is the song everybody was asking for as Busta implies in the chorus it won’t be getting much play from me listening to this album. This is an average track that could have been much better given what we have previously heard from the Busta/Browz pairing.
3. Respect My Conglomerate
Featuring Lil’ Wayne, Jadakiss, & Debbie Coda; Produced by Focus…
After a minor step back Busta gets back on track with this one, which is the album’s third single. Busta recruits Weezy and Jada as guests on this track over a pounding, menacing beat provided by Focus. All three emcees do their thing on the track and give you enough reasons as to why you should respect them and their organizations. I must say that I liked this version of the song with Wayne better than the bonus track version with Jeezy on Jada’s The Last Kiss. The Chris Robinson directed video for this song is a nice complement to the song, check that out too.
4. Shoot For The Moon
Produced by Danja
On this track produced by Danja, Busta gives us rhymes about shooting for the moon and stars. This track is a nice follow up to the previous single as it keeps things moving along. It’s not one of Busta’s best tracks, but it’s pretty good for what it is and might be motivation to some in its meaning.
5. Hustler’s Anthem ‘09
Featuring T-Pain; Produced by Ty Fyffe
Busta turns it up with this Ty Fyffe produced track featuring every artist’s go-to-guy for chorus and singles, T-Pain. This track, which was the album’s second single, is about hustling just as the title suggests and stands to be this year’s anthem for hustlers alike. Busta comes correct with his rhymes pertaining to the song’s topic and T-Pain delivers a trademark chorus as only he can. I’m not too sure if it’s good enough to be labeled an anthem for hustlers, but it’s a pretty damn good track I just don’t know if it will be as known with hustlers as songs like “Can’t Knock The Hustle” or Ross’ “Hustlin’”.
6. Kill Dem
Featuring Pharrell & Tosh; Produced by The Neptunes
This is an interesting track to hear from Busta as it definitely goes left from what we’re used to hearing from him. The Neptunes produced track hears Busta spittin’ with reggae accent (What have you started Em???) about what he does with the tools when in his grip. Tosh sounding like an exercise instructor and Pharrell assist Busta on the chorus that doesn’t sound all that great. In my opinion I could say that about the entire song in that it doesn’t sound that good and sounds like Busta is reaching. A Busta/Neptunes collaboration should have been much better than this. This sounds like a sound more suited for Pharrell with Busta guest featuring than a Busta Rhymes song.
Overall Score: 3,5/5
Also, via RapReviews
After another long hiatus between albums – this time, three years since “The Big Bang” – Busta Rhymes is finally able to drop his latest long play, “Back On My B.S.” which shall be henceforth be referred to as BOMBS (ooh, clever). “The Big Bang” shot to the top of the charts, helped in part by the monster single “Touch It” and being “supported” by Dr Dre’s Aftermath label. Yet the sales hit a plateau, and, somewhat predictably, being signed to Dre proved pointless (if your name isn’t Eminem or 50 Cent). Can Busta confound the low expectations and drop a great album?
By now you should be aware of the usual smash Busta single in support of the LP… Oh, there doesn’t appear to be one. Whilst “Arab Money” provided a good bit of fun, it certainly wasn’t the universal club banger that he always drops. Put simply, there genuinely isn’t one. If that wasn’t shocking enough, it also turns out that Busta Bust has dropped an album that is seriously enjoyable to listen to, over and over again. BOMBS proves to be more even, more consistent than “The Big Bang” – even if it contains no palpable hit singles.
There is the right mix of street anthems, humour, self-awareness and, well, bullshit. The production is a cut above solid throughout, and whilst the album is surely destined to fail commercially, BOMBS proves to be one of his best musical albums, easily. Ron Browz seems reinvigorated by the invention of Autotune and isn’t even that annoying. The Neptunes drop the interesting uptempo ragga-infused “Kill Dem” (with Busta’s patois deserving PROPS); Danja’s beat for “Shoot for the Moon” is almost other-worldly, yet familiar enough to be immediately identifiable; Focus provides the superbly sinister “Respect My Conglomerate” featuring solid guest verses from Jadakiss and Lil Wayne.
Overall Score: 7.5 of 10
Also, via Slant Magazine
For all of the changes hip-hop has undergone in the 30-some-odd years since its birth, some things remain constant. One is the unfortunate prevalence of overstuffed, overweight albums packed to the brim with half-baked ideas, irrelevant skits, and other pointless noise. Busta Rhymes is guilty of all these things, having crammed every release since 1997’s When Disaster Strikes… with similarly uninspired, unneeded material. Back on My B.S. is Busta’s follow-up to 2006’s The Big Bang, where “Touch It” proved that rap minimalism could eat up the charts just as well, if not better, than bombast. Yet those expecting something new, exciting, or even dangerous will be disappointed with B.S., a fat collection of meandering experimentation and revolving-door guest spots. With so many random ideas and faces coming along for the journey, B.S. sounds less like one artist’s voice and more like an overcrowded carnival ride.
Bus-a-Bus was once endearing by way of his overblown apocalyptic imagery, a trademark he has long abandoned in favor of typical materialist swagger. Atop an overworked-if-dependable production, he spits the usual industry bravado as fiery as a thirtysomething rapper can muster. Album opener “Wheel of Fortune” tells us all we need to know about B.S.: Filled with equal parts outlandish crowing and purposeful schizophrenia, the track is a stumbling mess. Songs “Respect My Conglomerate” and “Arab Money” follow suit—the former relying on Lil Wayne’s contribution like a steel crutch, the latter milking a tired Auto-Tune chorus. Thus, beyond rare gems like the crunchy, synthy, vocally-spliced “I’m a Go and Get My…,” Busta takes few real chances.
In truth, B.S. offers nothing that wasn’t already tried on 2001’s Anarchy, from the confused genre-crossing pieces (the Eurythmics-like disco opus “World Go Round”) to top-heavy collaborations that are much less than the sum of their parts (the crowded “Decision,” featuring no less than Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, and Common). More often than not, Busta is content to recycle well-worn material, hoping that enough polish and guest-star participation will wick away the album’s dusty content. They don’t, leaving B.S. as nothing more than filler.
Overall Score: 2/5
