On his long-awaited eighth studio album, the Flipmode leader and super MC extraordinaire flows over high-budget productions from frequent collaborators Dr. Dre, the Neptunes, and Jelly Roll as well as fast-rising Bronx producer/MC Ron Browz. Busta blasts off in true street-hop fashion, reworking melodies from El Debarge and classic lyrics from Slick Rick on the fierce album opener "Wheel of Fortune." After Busta takes lavish-life boasting to surreal places ("I got oil well money/In the desert playin' golf/O.J. shorts, dashiki with a Louis scarf") over the Browz-produced banger "Arab Money," comedian Mike Epps sums up the track's nonchalance about the U.S. financial woes ("Your dollar ain't sh*t!"). R&B hooks dominate the second half of BACK ON MY B.S. and Busta chooses to engage them in one of two ways--by providing bold counterpoints with his signature high-energy shout raps (as on the heavy piano-loop of "We Want In" and the ATL-flavored "Don't Believe Em") or by softening his flow to interact with the melodies (as on the X-rated "Sugar" or the Dre-produced ballad "Decision").
Professional Reviews
Billboard (p.53) - "[T]here's something for everyone on BACK ON MY B.S....The rapper is still one of the most skilled in the game."
XXL (Magazine) - "[Busta Rhymes] stays true to form, meshing the same witty concepts and dope production he has been known for his entire career....He also draws upon his Jamaican roots with the reggae-influenced 'Kill Dem'..."
Q (Magazine) (p.110) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[With] the utterly fantastic 'World Go Round' -- grunting hip-house, breathless rapping a killer hook from Estelle."
