CD Reviews

Busta Rhymes | Back on My B.S.

Universal Motown (2009)

By MIKAEL WOOD | June 2, 2009

1.5 Stars

Increasingly surrounded by Soulja Boys and Lil Waynes, Busta Rhymes has of late taken on the look of hip-hop's Father Time. Dude's a quick study, though: now that the Internet has turned even name-brand stars into Hype Machine heatseekers, he knows that you've gotta lead with your hottest material.

So over the past few months he's leaked a series of excellent singles as a run-up to the release of Back on My B.S., his long-awaited debut for Universal Motown following an ill-fated stint at Dr. Dre's Aftermath. The best of those leaks, a five-alarm firestarter called "Don't Touch Me (Throw da Water on 'Em)," even earned a place alongside such career-high hits as "Woo-hah!! Got You All in Check" and "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See." Unfortunately, "Don't Touch Me" didn't make the cut here — a sure sign that Rhymes (a) has lost touch with what he's good at or (b) knows more about Web marketing than I do.

Some of those other pre-release tracks do appear, among them the inescapable "Arab Money," which has grown no less perplexing (or funky) with age. But B.S. includes far more filler than it needed to; "Kill Dem," a zero-flair Pharrell joint, doesn't even deserve its inevitable Rapidshare link.

Related: Review: The Roots of Hip-Hop, P.O.S. | Never Better, Beef stakes, More

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