Why was Busta Rhymes arrested in London?
Before ASAP Rocky in Stockholm and Chris Brown in Paris, there was Busta Rhymes in London all the way back in 2008, pioneering the niche that is world famous hip-hop stars getting into legal trouble in Europe.
Or rather, London City Airport. Rhymes couldn’t even get into the country. The 12 time Grammy Award nominated rap star was held at the airport for nearly as many hours as he’s been up for a Grammy – a colossal 11 hours total – because of his criminal convictions in the USA.
Rhymes, who had flown in for the Orange RockCorps charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall, was eventually given bail to stay overnight at his hotel. The judicial review of the decision to prevent him from performing at the gig – in which he was billed as a headliner – was scheduled for 2pm that day, which led to a series of frantic consecutive hours of legal wrangling before the hard 7pm concert start.
“I believe in giving back to one’s community and I think it’s important to spread that message,” Rhymes had said from his hotel. “I’m here officially in the UK and I’ll be able to put on an incredible show for the kids tomorrow.”
The internationally celebrated rapper had a work permit for the show, but UK immigration authorities detained him due to his American convictions that included assault charges.
His legal team successfully secured a High Court injunction preventing his return to Amsterdam – where he was to be deported – and eventually won temporary admission to the UK. A judge later ruled that the manner in which he had been detained was contestable and ordered his release. Which, therefore, allowed him to perform at the charity gig.
Born in 1972 in Brooklyn, New York, Busta Rhymes burst upon the scene with his 1996 debut album The Coming. The critically acclaimed album debuted within the top ten of the Billboard 200, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The rapper has gone from strength to strength since, and has been cited as an inspiration by the likes of Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Doja Cat and Tyler, the Creator. MTV even awarded him their first Rock the Bells Visionary Award at the MTV Video Music Awards, a testament to his iconic music videos.
He is also no stranger to the world of law and order. In 1998, Rhymes was arrested and charged with possession of an unregistered gun which was discovered during a routine traffic stop in New York; two years later, he received five years’ probation after pleading guilty that year.
He was also arrested in 2006 for charges of third-degree assault after a man spat on his car in New York. And a year later, he refused a plea deal for the assault of his former driver, which would have entailed serving a six month prison sentence and pleading guilty to two assaults. Most recently, he was involved in the assault of one of his assistants after an argument broke out over a food delivery dispute. In this instance, the rapper turned himself into the police. The investigation is still ongoing.