Busta Rhymes Biography

Busta Rhymes Biography

Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr. (born on May 20, 1972), better known as Busta Rhymes, is an American hip hop musician and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the name Busta Rhymes (from former NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes) after watching him perform. He is a follower of the Nation of Islam. Busta Rhymes was a member of Leaders of the New School and released two albums with the group before breaking out with a 1996 solo hit single, "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check."

Soon after their debut, The Leaders of The New School became associated with the Native Tongues Posse, which led to the group's collaboration with A Tribe Called Quest on the single "Scenario." Smith's live performance of "Scenario" with A Tribe Called Quest on The Arsenio Hall Show led to a solo contract with Elektra after an A&R representative saw the program. The Leaders of the New School released their second and final album The Inner Mind's Eye (T.I.M.E.) in 1993, after which Smith began his solo career.

Smith's debut solo album, The Coming, was released by Elektra Records in 1996. The album was a mix of reggae and hip hop, and it included the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) top 10 single "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check. It was Busta's first release on his label, Flipmode Records. The album was met with commercial and critical success and ended up going Platinum.

" His follow-up, When Disaster Strikes was successful in the US and sold well overseas. The album produced two hugely popular singles and videos in America, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and "Dangerous". The third single "Turn It Up/Fire It Up" reached as high as number 2 on the UK singles chart. The same year he released The Imperial Album as part of the Flipmode Squad, a collaborative project with rappers Rampage, Lord Have Mercy, Spliff Star, Rah Digga, and Baby Sham. It, like its predecessor would sell very well being a multi-platinum success.

In 1998, Smith recorded Extinction Level Event (Final World Front), the theme of which was an assertion that the world would end in the year 2000. Its single, "Gimme Some More" – which sampled Bernard Herrmann's theme from Psycho – reached number 5 in the UK singles chart in January 1999. Smith enjoyed further transatlantic success in April when the single "What's It Gonna Be?!", featuring Janet Jackson, reached the US and UK Top 10.

In 2000, after he worked on several movie projects, including "Full Clip", with Xzibit, the remake of Shaft, Busta Rhymes released his final album for Elektra, Anarchy. In between album releases, Smith had a falling out with longtime label, [[Elektra Records. He rushed the album into stores and it had a thrown-together sound. Despite this, the album did moderately well, but did not sell on the level of his previous releases, due to his rush to get the album out there to end his contract with Elektra.

Smith's debut solo album, The Coming, was released by Elektra Records in 1996. The album was a mix of reggae and hip hop, and it included the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) top 10 single "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check. It was Busta's first release on his label, Flipmode Records. The album was met with commercial and critical success and ended up going Platinum.

" His follow-up, When Disaster Strikes was successful in the US and sold well overseas. The album produced two hugely popular singles and videos in America, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and "Dangerous". The third single "Turn It Up/Fire It Up" reached as high as number 2 on the UK singles chart. The same year he released The Imperial Album as part of the Flipmode Squad, a collaborative project with rappers Rampage, Lord Have Mercy, Spliff Star, Rah Digga, and Baby Sham. It, like its predecessor would sell very well being a multi-platinum success.

In 1998, Smith recorded Extinction Level Event (Final World Front), the theme of which was an assertion that the world would end in the year 2000. Its single, "Gimme Some More" – which sampled Bernard Herrmann's theme from Psycho – reached number 5 in the UK singles chart in January 1999. Smith enjoyed further transatlantic success in April when the single "What's It Gonna Be?!", featuring Janet Jackson, reached the US and UK Top 10.

In 2000, after he worked on several movie projects, including "Full Clip", with Xzibit, the remake of Shaft, Busta Rhymes released his final album for Elektra, Anarchy. In between album releases, Smith had a falling out with longtime label, [[Elektra Records. He rushed the album into stores and it had a thrown-together sound. Despite this, the album did moderately well, but did not sell on the level of his previous releases, due to his rush to get the album out there to end his contract with Elektra.