Busta Rhymes Biography

Trevor James Smith (born May 20, 1972), better known as Busta Rhymes, is an American hip hop musician and actor and brother of Brodie Edwards known as Busta Rhymes the 2nd. Busta Rhymes punningly took his name from former NFL football player George "Buster" Rhymes.

Of Jamaican heritage, Busta Rhymes was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Uniondale, New York. At 12 his family moved to Long Island where he met up with other MCs from the growing New York hip hop community.
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Smith became well-known throughout the hip hop community with the release of his debut solo album The Coming, released by Elektra Records in 1996 after leaving the Leaders of the New School. The album's mix of ragga and hip hop made it a success, and it included the US and UK top 10 single "Woo-Hah!! Got You All In Check". The 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 (Remix)/Fire It Up" (which featured a sample from the 'Knight Rider' theme) was less popular, but only just failed to top the UK charts and was a top 10 hit in Germany, establishing Rhymes as an international star.

The same year he released The Imperial as part of the Flipmode Squad, a collaborative project with rappers Rampage, Lord Have Mercy, Spliff Star, Rah Digga and Baby Sham. Rhymes' fascination with film informed the same year's Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front, which took its title from the disaster movie Deep Impact. The frenetic "Gimme Some More" reached number 5 in the UK singles chart in January 1999 (see 1999 in music). Rhymes enjoyed further transatlantic success in April when the single "What's It Gonna Be?!', featuring Janet Jackson, reached the US and UK Top 10. Rhymes has kept up his work rate, juggling his music career with his acting roles. In 2000 he worked on several movie projects, including the remake of Shaft, and released his final album for Elektra, Anarchy.

After leaving Elektra, Rhymes signed to J Records, a new label started by recently ousted Arista chief and founder Clive Davis. In 2001 he released a greatest hits record alongside a new album of original work. Continuing the apocalyptic theme of his previous albums, he titled his record Genesis. The aptly titled Genesis gave Busta Rhymes a rebirth of success with the hit singles "Break Ya Neck" and "Pass the Courvoisier" produced by well-known hip-hop producers Dr. Dre and The Neptunes.

On November 26, 2002 Busta Rhymes released his 6th studio album It Ain't Safe No More. Its first single, "Make It Clap," was a moderate hit and had a popular remix featuring a sample from Eric B. and Rakim's hit song "Eric B. is President", along with a remix video, which featured Sean Paul and gave the song an even more reggae-inspired flavor. The second single, a duet with Mariah Carey, entitled "I Know What You Want" has been more successful. It reached the top ten of Billboard's pop singles chart and the top ten in rap radio airplay.

Busta Rhymes has recently signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and will release his newest album, The Big Bang. Some of the album was leaked over the Internet, forcing the record label to place the album in high security to prevent it from being leaked again. There is no official release date.

Busta has appeared in several films, including Higher Learning, Full Clip, Finding Forrester, Halloween: Resurrection and the 2000 version of Shaft, among others.

Over the years Busta Rhymes style has changed significantly. His earlier work is generally considered more creative displaying his talent for unique wordplay and subject matter. It was only after friend and mentor Sean "Diddy" Combs convinced him that his efforts on his first solo album were too spaztic for the club that he changed his focus. Currently his style and subject matter is differs little from other mainstream rap acts. As a result his recent albums are not held in as high esteem as his earlier works although they have sold significantly better.

In November of 2005, Busta Rhymes cut off his trademark dreadlocks during a photo shoot in a New York barbershop.

�I started growing [my hair] in December '89. I was 17,� Busta stated. �I signed my [record] deal and said I aint combing my hair no more. I don't have to." Busta now sports a "ceasar" style hair cut.

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BUSTA RHYMES BIOGRAPHY