Busta Rhymes and the late legend DMX were frequent collaborators who worked on several tracks together. The pair formed a great relationship during the 1990s, which carried on into the next millennium.
During an appearance on Kick Games’ YouTube series Sneaker Shopping, the Brooklyn legend spoke about when he collaborated with DMX (real name Earl Simmons) for his 2000 song ‘Why We Die’ which also featured Jay-Z.
While shopping for some new sneakers, Busta explained that after the song’s recording process, Simmons called him, asking him why he hadn’t warned him that Jay-Z was on the track. Detailing the aftermath of the release, Busta (real name Trevor Smith) stated, “When we put the record out, and Dog [DMX] heard Jay-Z was on it, he stepped to Eric Nicks and he called me and was like, ‘Yo, you know that verse was just a ref, right? N*ggas went and put Jay-Z… If I’d have known that shit, I’d have spit my shit better!'”
He continued, “I was like, ‘But Dog, your shit was crazy!’ He was like, ‘Fuck that. Y’all ain’t tell me that Jay was getting on the shit. Next time we do a song, let me hear my shit finished first!’ Dog’s passion, I can’t even compare it to nothing else in existence.”
However, Smith did reveal that working with DMX was always a crazy experience as he had such an erratic recording process. Smith explained how Simmons was always doing wacky things before he actually began recording, “Dog would tell you he coming to the studio, and then he’ll tell you to meet him somewhere. You gotta go four-wheel motorcycle riding with him first, you gotta go to the hobby store and he’ll buy like a $30,000 remote control car, and he builds it, and then he wants to play with it in the street.”
He added, “Dog would take you on like a 15-hour excursion before he’d come studio, and then you’re lucky if he comes that day. He might make you do that shit for three days in a row before he’d pull up to the studio — but when he come, he gonna deliver.”
As well as ‘Why We Die’, DMX featured on the remix of Busta Rhymes’ 2005 club anthem ‘Touch It’ which also boasted verses from Eminem, Lloyd Banks, Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige, Papoose and Rah Digga. You can watch Smith’s Sneaker Shopping interview below.
