Art of Appreciation: Busta Rhymes

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Ken Micallef

AFTER A COUPLE BUMPS IN THE ROAD, BUSTA RHYMES AND PRODUCERS COOL & DRE TAKE THE BEST OF THE '80S AND A NEW PERSPECTIVE TO CREATE BLESSED

Patiently waiting at London's St. Martins Lane Hotel while his lost luggage and a missing Glyph hard drive are being sought by French authorities, Busta Rhymes is feeling anything but sanctified. Still in the tracking phase of his latest album, Blessed (Flipmode/Aftermath/Interscope, 2008), the celebrated rapper is already on the road in Europe, conducting press interviews, performing shows and generally attending to his legacy. But with the loss of an all-important hard drive — which contains rough tracks meant for the album — Busta's verbal flow is in full effect, and the rap is anything but calm.

“This has been one of the most grueling tour experiences of my whole career,” Busta barks. “The airport lost one of our Glyph drives. Every one of our drives has a backup drive, but that one drive hadn't been backed up yet. It's been catastrophic for two days 'cause we had to send one of our recording engineers back to Nice to try to track it down. The communication was poor; we didn't know if he got the shit or [not]. It was just grueling, and then having to deal with the different laws regarding baggage: They only allow you one bag at a certain weight, and over that they charge you. With an entourage of 13 people, 60 bags — that's 6,000 euros in overage charges every day. And I have six days left to complete the album! So between traveling, performing, full press days, minimal sleep in different time zones…but it's all a blessing. It's crazy when you don't have clean clothes and expensive gear can't be recovered, but fuck it, we're here and I'm happy.”

As you would expect, Busta Rhymes is not a man of few words. Articulate, quick-witted and thoughtful, Busta's legendary superspeed, ragga-inspired rapping style spills over into his conversation. These days, that conversation is tempered by what has been a punishing past two years of arrests, court appearances, bad press and nerve-rattling sentence hearings.

BLASPHEMED TO BLESSED

Beginning in late-summer 2006, Busta's world collapsed. He was arraigned in Manhattan on assault charges after attacking a man who reportedly spat on his car. Within weeks, the New York DA tried to add weapons charges (a machete) to the list. In early '07, Busta (legal name: Trevor Smith) refused a plea deal that would have included copious jail time and pleading guilty to two assault charges. Ultimately, the judge sentenced Busta to three years probation, 10 days community service, $1,250 in fines and enrollment in a DUI program. Busta expresses his travails — and his new perspective — on one of Blessed's songs, rapping, “This blessing is a gift and a curse/but the position I'm in/shit could be worse.”

“That statement sums up exactly where I am in my life,” Busta says. “As much as I might complain about trivial shit, I have to acknowledge that I am blessed tremendously. I went through a hell-driven period in my life, being locked up four times in 10 months. I was facing a year in jail; that is something you don't need when you have a blessed life that you wouldn't trade for the world. To be able to survive that, I have to be appreciative 'cause I could have been sitting in a cell and really been in a compromising situation.”

Busta's new attitude fills Blessed with a sense of triumph and overcoming adversity, as well as a more mature production aesthetic. Busta won't be trading rhymes with Sting anytime soon, but Mary J Blige, Common, Jamie Foxx and John Legend (on “Decision”) add to Blessed's expansive adult persona. Linkin Park's appearance on the first single, “We Made It,” produced by Miami's Cool & Dre, further broadens Busta's appeal. But sales expectations didn't entirely determine Blessed's more introspective mood.

“[Blessed] reflects my life and the way I need to approach the music,” Busta explains. “The shit you give off is the shit you get back. As a man, you get misunderstood. The press tried to make me out to be this menacing motherfucker, a threat to society. I couldn't even film a movie; they started to violate my civil liberties. [Busta recently wrapped shooting on Order of Redemption, with Armand Assante and Tom Berenger.] I couldn't do shows in New York for two years, but that is all behind me now. I can show everyone that I made it. [Maybe] it's something we all have to go through to be conditioned for those greater rewards that sometimes come sooner than you think.”

ASSEMBLING THE PUZZLE

Blessed's 10 tracks were produced by a veritable culture-mash of producers: Cool & Dre, DJ Scratch, Dready Beats, Focus, The Neptunes, Denaun “Mister” Porter and New York City upstarts, Sean C and LV. Considerable vocal star power lined up for the Blessed sessions, as well, including Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington, Akon, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Sean Paul, T.I. and T-Pain. Recording vocals at The Hit Factory and Circle House Studios in Miami, Busta followed the same approach that has served him well since his early days with Leaders of the New School to mega-selling solo albums The Coming (Elektra, 1996), When Disaster Strikes (Elektra, 1997) and Genesis (J Records, 2001).

“First and foremost,” Busta says, “I always write the song on the spot in the studio. When I finish writing the lyrics out, I have them in puzzle pieces. My lead vocals will go on one section of the paper. My group vocals will go on a separate piece of paper. I will highlight the words that I want to stack, usually seven to 10 tracks, just to add that bigness to the song. Then I have an ad-lib track on top of the lead. That's where I find all those little pockets that are like gaps in the verse that need to be filled. So I lay the lead first, then go back in and stack the highlighted words on the vocal-group tracks. I got that from the groups of the golden era of hip-hop — the Cold Crush Brothers, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. They would scream the lyrics together to show that unison of a crew. I maintain that traditional approach in my recording process.”

Working with recording engineers Rande Jackson and Rayshawn Woolard (who double as part of Busta's onstage crew), Busta prefers either a Neumann U 87 or Sony C800G microphone. Reporting that “Busta is very loud in the studio” (though he typically sits down to record), Woolard illustrates the rapper's technique of adding accents or “groups” to the main vocal.

“Busta records about eight tracks of groups or accents on his verses,” Woolard says. “Sometimes we will do effects on certain groups that he wants to emphasize. Working with Busta is easier than, say, Mary J. Blige. An R&B singer might need 30 tracks of vocals between harmonies. Busta's thing is more rhythmic than about harmonies. The EQ setting on his voice depends on the excitement in the song, so individual mic and pre settings always vary. We always listen and adjust accordingly. Sometimes he works a cappella if he has an idea; he will freestyle — it's all about feeling with Busta.”

“The U 87 is an old faithful,” Busta attests. “But as I had the opportunity to play around with different mics, I came upon the C800 in a session with Pharrell. When he got me on that microphone, I was able to hear my breathing in such a clear way that it almost scared me. The clarity is phenomenal. I could be in any part of the room; I didn't even have to stand up on the mic. I could say shit and the Sony mic would pick it up exactly how I wanted it to be heard. Sometimes if I wanted the ambience in the room to sound like 10 or 20 people, I would just stand in different parts of the room and shout or say shit at low to moderate levels. The C800 mic picked up everything so beautifully.

“I usually leave the vocal the way I record it,” he adds. “The only thing we might fix is a punch if it sounds a little rough. Then we go into Pro Tools and smooth out the punch. If I've done the punch 1,000 times and it's not coming out better, humanwise, then we make the corrections in the machine so that the punch doesn't compromise the performance and the song.”

COOL & DRE HEART THE '80s

“We are into the '80s, and a lot of people say that, but we really are,” exults Dre (Andre Christopher), who, along with Cool (Marcello Valenzano), is riding a serious streak of hit-making activity with everyone from The Game (“Big Dreams”) and Ja Rule (“New York”) to upcoming tracks with Queen Latifah, Lil Wayne, Gym Class Heroes, Young Jeezy, DJ Khaled and a remix for UK soul chanteuse Duffy.

“What is unique about those '80s songs is that they are very anthemic,” Dre says. “They're huge! Remember ‘Easy Lover’ with Phil Collins and Philip Bailey? [Sings sirenlike melody] Huge! I love the huge ['80s] sound of Chicago, or soundtracks like Streets of Fire, Top Gun, The Breakfast Club or St. Elmo's Fire. They had this larger-than-life feel. We are trying to create music that gives you the feeling that you got during that period but with artists that are relevant today.”

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