BUSTA RHYMES E.L.E. 2 Review

Ever since his 1995 debut the Coming, Busta Rhymes has always been the instrument to give us the heads up on what to expect in the future. Apocalyptical predictions of a grim future were always the topic of his Introductions on his later albums such as When Disaster Strikes and E.L.E.. But it seems with E.L.E. he spoke into existence of the chaos that came to passage in 2020.

It seemed as if Busta was a prophet and predicted all of these dark times ahead of us. He’s spoke on it for years and 2020 became a true revelation of the anarchy he spent his career predicting. Whats interesting about E.L.E. 2 was that he’s been working on this project like a mad scientist for close to 12 years. Hip Hop was going through a transition to where everybody wanted to “Live their best life” and E.L.E. would have possibly gotten lost in the shuffle.

Busta releasing the sequel to E.L.E. couldn’t have came at a more perfect time where the world today is in more distress and the results of this album show that Busta Rhymes hasn’t lost a step when it comes to his lyrical ability, his flow structure and his abliity to craft cohesive projects. He sounds more focused and determined than ever. He proves that at 48 years old, He’s still MILES ahead of his peers.

The Introduction sets the tone off in a very eerie way similar to E.L.E.. Chris Rock adds some needed humor to what would consider to be a very serious album. Busta sets the tone off right as he comes across as a warning prophet:

See, back in ’98 when I dropped the first Extinction Level I was fightin’ inner demons with personal scores to settle They put it in a movie ’cause they knew that we ain’t really know Funny how they tried to tell us 22 years ago What deeply impacted how watchin’ a flick really moved me As the world was ending, Morgan Freeman was prez in a movie So, let’s fast-forward to 2009 Or 2012 when we left an impression on the minds Of the people makin’ sure we remember if we slightly doubted That the world was ending and we can’t really do shit about it Damn, funny when I saw the flick, it did amuse me through To the point that Danny Glover was prez the movie too Then I questioned why they reiteratin’ the same plot Should we be a little para’ now that they gave us Barack?

Pete Rock is one of the masterminds behind the intro and he cleverly flips it to Nas’s The World is Yours and invites the legendary Rakim the God Mc on for the ride. Purge is a perfect followup as Busta continues with the dark vibe using the Purge noises while painting pictures of chaos of revolting and rioting.

The album’s first single/Video CZAR has Busta showing that he is in indeed one of the most creative minds when it comes to delivering dope mini movies for his videos. My only complaint were M.O.P. didn’t get no verses here but they were featured on the remix with new verses:

This album is gonna also be sure to turn some heads as well start up controversy. Especially since Busta has either joined the Nation of Islam or became a affiliate. The Honorable Minster Farrakhan offered some serious wise words on what to come in the future and then it followed with the Rick Ross featured Master Fard Muhammad. This is possibly one of the best tracks of 2020 and Rick Ross continues to shine throughout:

Satanic is one of my personal favorite tracks where he goes in-depth about what goes on behind these secret society and its symbolism. This is further proof that Busta has many layers within his content and now just some rah rah fun rapper. This song here along with Freedom has proved that he’s aware of the times we live in and not afraid to go there. Theres many emcees that have tackled these issues but Busta provides the right backdrops to make his message listenable.

There are some misfires on this album and usually come from when he’s trying to go the commercial route. He attempts to recreate that 2002 magic with Mariah Carey on Back Where I belong. They literally tried to recycle “I know What you want” and it sort of fell flat. The same thing with the Bell Biv Divoe sampled Out of My Mind which comes across as a bit lazy. But it may grown on to you due to the video. The song with Anderson Pakk Youuuu could be left off too.

But despite those misfires. Theres too much loaded in the cannon. Busta and Kendrick lamar team up on the Michael Jackson sampled Look Over Your Shoulder. The MJ sample is so eerie that you almost wanted to shed a tear. Kendrick sets it off with a dope verse where he proclaims himself as the leader of his new generation and calls out culture vultures. Busta Rhymes then follows up and completely OBLITERATES this track.

Continuing to show love to the new generation, Busta teams up with North Carolina female emcee Rapsody to talk about the painful realities of divorce from a male perspective and Rapsody gives her personal reality from a female perspective. Backed by 9th Wonder’s soulful touch. This track comes off as hip hop purity.

Overall with all of the stuff thats happening in the world, Its great that we have artists like Busta Rhymes still alive and well and delivering us great music to take our minds off these challenging times. We need to give him his flowers and apperciate him while he’s here. So definitely copp this AND the Deluxe

Vic rating: 8.5 outta 10