Busta Rhymes is a name known worldwide. A product of 1990s New York hip hop, the rapper (real name Trevor Smith jr) is known for his tongue-twisting verses, lyrical skill and rapid-fire delivery that leaves his listeners speechless. With rhyme schemes that could blow your mind, Busta is undoubtedly one of hip-hop’s finest lyricists.
With the rapper’s beginnings rooted firmly in the mid-1990s, his mainstream commercial success came during the late ’90s and around the turn of the millennium. Born to Jamaican parents, Smith grew up between East Flatbush and Long Island in New York, making his early music with the collective Leaders Of The New School. However, Busta quickly set himself apart from the rest of his crew.
In his career thus far, Busta Rhymes has released ten studio albums, three collaborative albums, and seven mixtapes. His lyrical style is unique and has always been theatrical. His funny rhymes have earned him a BET Lifetime Achievement Award and several Grammy nominations.
Throughout his career, Smith has collaborated with many artists and has been inspired by many of whom he has worked with. That said, in an interview on MTV’s Total Request Live, he opened up about the emcee, who he claims is the “most profound wordsmith” in hip-hop.
Speaking to the hosts Tamara Dhia and DC Young Fly, Busta took viewers back, revealing, “I was on the 1998 Smokin’ Grooves Tour with the Fugees, myself, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy and Nas. So I was doing this tour, and Wyclef [Jean] tells me to come on his tour bus.”
He continued, “So I get on the bus, and he has a six-song EP of Eminem, and I think by the third song, I was losing my mind so much as I was coming up the stairs to make it onto the bus, I couldn’t even make it onto the bus because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!”
Revealing how much he loved Eminem’s EP, he stated, “I’m wildin’ out so much that I broke the windshield of Wyclef’s tour bus with my head. That cost a couple of thousand dollars to prepare. But the thing about it is, for me, when your music is that compelling that you don’t even have time to think, you just react, it’s instinctive, that’s when you know the music is touching your soul!”
Smith concluded, “I fell in love with Eminem from that day and have held him in the highest regard as one of the most profound wordsmiths and lyrical masters of the microphone.”
You can watch Busta’s Total request Live interview below.
