Born to parents Geraldine Green (1947) and Trevor George Smith Sr, and he has a younger brother, Paul Smith. His parents divorced when he 10 years old. Busta’s time during the year of 1983 was that of change, his parents got divorced and his way of thinking was altered, during that year he also changed his religious beliefs and re-named himself ‘Born Justice God Allah’ because of the supreme sorts of names that he now believed in and looked up to. He discovered hip hop music through listening to the Zulu Beats Radio Show, something influenced him from that show and three years later he would form a group. Busta also went to school in the United Kingdom, where he lived in Blackpool, Preston and Morecambe. Ended up graduating from George Westinghouse High School in downtown Brooklyn.
As a youngster he played basketball, football and soccer.
His Panamanian baby-sitter, Aunt Mitzi, made him listen to all the rap radio stations. So, He would sit there at 2 in the morning rapping when he was supposed to be sleeping. I just couldn't be too loud or Mitzi's poodle would start dancing around and barking. One night, the poodle barked and Mitzi took my radio away. So he said, "I don't need that radio. I'll write my own rap songs." Busta Rhymes later became part of a B-Boy crew with mainly latinos, a couple of white kids, and Busta, the only black one. When he was about 10 years old after he moved from Brooklyn to Long Island, where he became a member of the crew when it was a big contest happening which the leader of the crew, Johnny Juice watched. Busta just came up to him like, "Are you Johnny Juice?" and Johnny answered like "Yeah." and he said he wanted to be down with this crew. He started poppin' and Johnny said he was dope so he said "We're about to do this contest" and they wanted to put him down with them, but he didn't know the routines. But they put him down anyways and they lost the contest because they didn't know where to put him in the routine. The next contest they had was more of a battle, for the crown of best b-boys in Long Island and they had their crew there and they won. Busta destroyed these other guys, when he was poppin. Johnny Juice says "even if you listen to his rhymes now, you can tell by the way he rhymes and the way he moves around he's really dope on the popping shit".
Before his leap to stardom, Rhymes, was a rambunctious middle-class kid from Long Island who wrote "rap poetry" and dropped out of high school to pursue a music career. "I really thought he'd be a dancer," says his mother, Geraldine Green. "At family cookouts he would win all the dance contests. He was always a showman." He reminds his worst job: “I used to work as a stock boy at a department store called Cheap John’s,” he says. “I knew that I couldn’t really wrap my head around doing that kind of work. Even if your heart is not in something, your mind has to at least be able to be willing to do it. So, I took the job and I worked for about two weeks, and then I quit.” Why?
“They just had me doing too much. I had to line up the roach sprays on the shelves and make sure they were all in order, facing the same way, with the logos facing the front. The dishwashing liquids, the detergents, the boxes that they came in when they came from the actual shipping companies that they were manufactured at. After I lined them up on the shelves, I had to cut up the cardboard boxes, fold them up neatly and tie them up so that they could do the recycling thing with them. After a couple paper cuts too many, and hands that were calloused and ashy and bruised, I said ‘this is definitely not the thing for me to continue to be doing.’”
Busta adds, “I used that as inspiration to go into the studio all the time when I had a free moment. After work, during my lunch break, traveling back and forth to work … to just apply myself creatively, and the opportunity finally came one day when I was downtown.” At 17, Rhymes landed a six-figure record deal.
LONS signing with Elektra
His first name as a rapper was Chill-o-ski, but he thought it was a corny name, and Chuck D from Public Enemy gave him a new name, Busta Rhymes. He got the name from an american football player from the eighties, George "Buster" Rhymes, and people always asked him to "Bust-a-rhyme", so the choice was easy. In the end of the eighties he met Charlie Brown at Turtlehook Middle School and they formed Leaders of the New School with Dinco "The rhyme scientist" D and Milo In De Dance (aka The Cut Monitor). They were on Rush Management. They was signed to Elektra Records December 12th 1989. First Recorded Appearance: “Mt. Airy Groove” from the Rubaiyat compilation, Elektra 1990. A&R Dante Ross heard about Leaders of the New School from Hank Shocklee [Bomb Squad] and Chuck D [Public Enemy] and them.He says "I knew they were one of their burgeoning groups and I also knew they didn't have a record deal. I heard they were performing and I went to check them out. I had just got my A&R gig at Elektra. I went there, saw them perform, grabbed them right after the performance and told them they had a record deal if they wanted one. LONS released 2 albums, "A future without a past" in 1991, and "T.I.M.E." in 1993. In 1992 Busta's girl was pregnant, but the baby died right after he was born, and Busta had big personal problems after that, but he got great support from his group members. In 93 they where divided because of ego in the group.
A couple of other things that made him well known before his solo career was a couple of cameo performances, among them A Tribe Called Quest's remix of "Scenario" with Leaders Of The New School, and the "Flava in ya ear remix" with Craig Mack and Rampage.
It took Busta three years before he released an album for Elektra, in 1996 he released "The Coming" with the hits "Woo hah! Got you all in check" featuring Rampage and "It's a party" featuring Zhane. while recording his debut album, he left the studio to check on his new SUV. He'd recently purchased the Toyota Land Cruiser, a giant vehicle that gives the impression of driving on an elevated track, for $40,000. Rhymes took the elevator down and came out on Broadway, in lower Manhattan, at 11:30 p.m. His ride was gone. Furious, he marched back inside and closed the door in the recording booth. "There was nothing I could do at that point, so I just vented that angry energy into three songs," he says. Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check, one of the tracks he completed by morning, went on to become a street anthem and crossover hit, his first ever.
There was a short gap between the release of Busta’s first album and his second album, but it came sooner than people imagined it to. Busta was sceptical about bootleggers copying the new album so for reviewing purposes he only sent out album samplers. In 1997 he released his second album, "When Disaster Strikes", and after that, his popularity exploded. 1998 became a very good year for Busta, he started his own clothing line, BUSHI designs, and released his third album "Extinction Level Event (The final world front)" and Flipmode Squad's debut "The Imperial". Flipmode Squad at that point included Busta Rhymes, Rah Digga, Spliff Star, Rampage, Baby Sham & Lord Have Mercy.
1999 became a year with problems for Busta, he had to visit the courthouse a couple of times because of child support, and police stopped his car and found an unregistered gun. He lost the case about child support, and he got a 5 year probation for the other case. Now Elektra started to shut him down with less studio time and promotion for his next album. Busta didn't like that, and took his squad over to J Records in 2001 after his fourth release in 2000, "Anarchy".
J Records
His first album at J was "Genesis", with the hits "What it is" featuring Kelis, "Break ya neck" & "Pass the courvoiser part 2" featuring Pharrell and P. Diddy. Now he is CEO for Flipmode Records. In november 2002 he released his most fervent album so far, "It Ain't Safe No More" with the singles "Make it clap" featuring Spliff Star, and a remix of it featuring Spliff Star and Sean Paul. Other achievements in 2002 was the movie roles he had in "Halloween: Resurrection" and "Narc". In 2003 his SUV was shot up with 6 bullets while he was in the Violator offices, that happened just a month after a couple of people shot inside their offices. The collaboration with Mariah Carey & Flipmode Squad named "I know what you want" on "It ain't safe no more" became Busta's biggest hit so far.
Aftermath
In February 2004, Flipmode Squad joined Aftermath Records, New members was added to the squad: M. Dollars, Labba and former Blackstreet Chauncey Black joined them. In March he got a six month probation sentence after pleading no contest to a charge that he assaulted a woman during a concert in Fall River, Massachusetts, in December 2002.
In November 2005 the first official single off the album "Touch it" was released to radio. The video premiered in December. He is now the father of four children (born in 93, 99, 00 and 02). In February, while making the second video for "The Big Bang"- the "Touch it remix" ft. Mary J. Blige, Missy, Rah Digga, Lloyd Banks, Papoose and DMX, one of his bodyguards, Israel Ramirez, who recently started working security for Busta as his jewelry handler, was shot and killed shortly after midnight outside of the Kiss The Cactus Production studio in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, NY. According to eyewitnesses, the shooting was a result of an argument that began inside the studio and continued outside.
The Aftermath chief Dr. Dre said before the release of The Big Bang that ”All of sudden I’m hearing people in the streets talking about hos Busta’s back. In my mind, he never left, and that’s why I wanted to fuck with in the first place. He’s got that drive, and he never stops trying to top himself. Anybody who knows Busta knows that he’s always gonna come with heat." His third video from "The Big Bang" was released 10th May, "I love my bitch". The video features actress Gabrielle Union and the Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am, who produced the song, but Kelis who is featured on the song, was not in the video. The single also features Kelis, but she's not featured in the video. Also changed is his appearance, as he has cut off his trademark dreadlocks as part of a personal renewal. "Eight years of court appearances later and I was awarded custody of my children," he explained. "My hair was remindful of the unnecessary rocks in my career and life. So it was time to shed the locks... I've got my career and family right." "The Big Bang" was released 13th June. The fourth video was released in July, "New York shit" and the fitth video came out in August, "In the ghetto". The album was certified Gold in that month too. This month he was also charged with an assault after the Amsterjam Music Festival on Randalls Island, and he was ticketed after police saw him talking on his mobile while driving past a Manhattan police station.
On January 3rd 2007 he turned himself in to police custody after he allegedly attacking someone on Boxing Day. Lt. John Grimpel said a man told police that Rhymes, had punched and kicked him repeatedly after an argument over money. On May 3rd was arrested on a drunk driving charge by police in New York City. Officers stopped Rhymes at about 12:40 a.m. because the sport utility vehicle he was driving had overly tinted windows, officers then smelled alcohol on the rapper's breath and he was subsequently arrested. was released on $7,500 bail, set by Judge Tanya Kennedy. After a 8th May court appearance, he was free to drive. Rhymes' lawyer said a judge ruled against a prosecution motion to suspend the rapper's license following the driving-while-intoxicated arrest. He also turned down a plea deal that day that would have sent him to jail for one year, the Manhattan district attorney's office said.
Bus appeared in a Super Bowl finale commercial for Pepsi Max Diet in February. Busta Rhymes pleaded guilty on 23rd January to assault, two driving infractions and weapons possession, avoiding a trial and the yearlong prison sentence recommended by prosecutors. But Judge Larry Stevens disagreed with prosecutors that Rhymes deserved time behind bars. Instead, he sentenced him to three years' probation and 10 days of community service for beating a fan who reportedly spat on his car in August 2006, and then assaulting his driver, Larry Hackett, that December. Rhymes was also fined $1,250 for driving with a suspended license in 2006 and driving while intoxicated in 2007. "I just want to say that I'm very grateful to the judge, I'm very grateful to the system. I believe in the system. It hasn't failed me personally yet," Rhymes, dressed in a crisp black pinstripe suit, said outside the courtroom.
"I'm just glad that all of this is finally behind me and I can go back to doing what I do best - making great music and great films and being a people person," he said.
His 8th solo album "Blessed" was set for a release in July 2008. First he called it "When Hell Freeze Over" then he changed it to "Back On My B.S.", a title Pharrell helped him come up with, last it was changed to "Blessed" in April 08. Rhymes was added to Projekt Revolution 2008 (summer tour), He was joining Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, The Bravery, and Ashes Divide on the main stage. After the first week of touring he had to leave the tour because of business matters; Late July he left Interscope, because they couldn't agree with Busta how to handle the final version of the album.
Motown
In September 08 he his new deal was announced, with Motown/Universal. He then re-titled his album to "Back On My B.S." The first single was released in October 2008, called "Arab Money" featuring Ron Browz. 2 remix videos with different guests were later releases in February 09. The second single, "Hustler's Anthem 09" was released in Febuary too. The third single's video "Respect My Conglomerate" was released in March. "Back On My B.S." was released May 19th 09, and entered the Billboard chart at #5, after a lot of delays; 1st July 08, 9th Dec. 08, 10th Feb. 09, 24th March 09). In June, the video for "If you don't know" was released. The video for "World Go Round" will be released soon.
All Night
Busta Rhymes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Flimode (ha ha ha)
Busta Rhymes (ha ha ha)
Another banging niggas (ha ha ha) [Repeats]
[Chorus]
All night
To my east niggas West Coast and dirty south,
Light L's and drink some liquor it make ya wild out
All night
To my niggas and my bitches get money
If ya running with me
Wave your hands up high
A yo I can't see y'all
You know we hang out in the streets y'all
All night
Yes yes y'all
I be the god up in the flesh y'all
Bless y'all
With nothing but the best y'all
Finesse shit and leave the spot up in a mess y'all
Bitches, you know the street shit caress y'all
Sex y'all
And put a bounce up in your breast y'all
Yes y'all we about to taste the success y'all
And quiz niggas like a fucking drug test y'all
And check y'all
And let the livest niggas step in
I keep the burner, what you think I'm turning mine in?
What the fuck,
Now all my live motherfuckers boggart or bring it straight to the front
And let me give y'all niggas just what you want
More fire for ya fresh off the press
Shit blazing to death
Bitches lust talking under they breath
Hope you niggas know to put on your vest
Or get a hole in your chest
Who in this motherfucker
Take you a guess
[Chorus]
Yeah-Yeah All my niggas
Yeah-yeah all my bitches
Yeah-yeah all my thugs
Yeah-yeah all my soldiers
Yeah-yeah all my honeys
Yeah-yeah all my playas
Yeah-yeah all my live niggas c'mon
Yeah-yeah
The grand finale y'all
Put it down and always repping for my family y'all
What, lets form a nation wide rally y'all
Of gutter niggas that will piss up in the alley y'all
Fuck it, now I know you know my rep nigga
And how it's hard to figure out my next step nigga
So step nigga, nigga sit your ass down
The way I mash down
Will only leave a legacy for me to pass down
Don't speak unless you're spoken to
Get broke in two
Flipmode we be the chosen few
Yeah nigga entrap y'all
I know some niggas that'll clap y'all
And strap y'all
Up to a post and back slap y'all
Put y'all in a mailbox and leave open the flap y'all
That's the hap's that make niggas take forever naps y'all
Strap y'all all up inside of your seatbelts
The beats felt like a fire watch the heat melt
Your patent leather stack cheddar nigga
Now or never
Better, whatever nigga feel this hot Beretta
Cause when we come you know we hit you with that shit for the head
With enough shit just like the Lox and the dread
Me and my niggas we be breaking this bread
With all the blood that we bled
See we was broke, now we flossing instead
The shit I drop will never leave you mislead
Might leave you tired of bed
Shit ain't over till' the party is dead
[Chorus: x2]
Yeah all my live bitches let me see you just
Wave your hands up high
And all my niggas running around getting pussy
All night
The lyrics of "All Night" by Busta Rhymes are all about having a good time and partying all night long with his friends, both male and female. He makes references to different parts of the United States and how he's united with people from all over. The song is all about letting loose, having fun, and chasing success, while disregarding any negativity that comes your way.
Busta speaks about his lifestyle, walking through the streets and turning up everywhere he goes. He talks about the weapons he carries to defend himself and his crew while also making references to sex, drugs, and crime. The chorus is an anthem for his fans to shout along as they party the night away, telling people to put their hands up high and enjoy the moment with him.
Line by Line Meaning
Turn it up (ha ha ha)
Start playing the music louder
Flimode (ha ha ha)
Representing the music group
Busta Rhymes (ha ha ha)
Introducing the artist who wrote the song
Another banging niggas (ha ha ha) [Repeats]
This is another great song by the artist
All night
We will party and enjoy ourselves throughout the night
To my east niggas West Coast and dirty south,
This song is for all my friends from the East, West Coast, and Dirty South
we make ya wave your hands up high
This music makes us feel so good that we wave our hands up high
Light L's and drink some liquor it make ya wild out
When we smoke weed and drink liquor, we let loose and enjoy ourselves
To my niggas and my bitches get money
This song is for my friends who are hustling and making money
If ya running with me
If you're with me, then you're part of my team
Wave your hands up high
Hype up the crowd by telling them to wave their hands up high
A yo I can't see y'all
The crowd is so hype that the artist can't see them
You know we hang out in the streets y'all
We are from the streets and we hang out there
Yes yes y'all
Continuing to hype up the crowd
I be the god up in the flesh y'all
The artist sees himself as a god in the flesh
Bless y'all
Wishing the crowd good fortune and happiness
With nothing but the best y'all
The artist will always give his best
Finesse shit and leave the spot up in a mess y'all
The artist will perform in such a way that the crowd will go wild and leave the venue a mess
Bitches, you know the street shit caress y'all
The ladies love the street life, just like the artist
Sex y'all
The artist will even give them some sexual energy through his music
And put a bounce up in your breast y'all
His music will even make their breasts bounce
Yes y'all we about to taste the success y'all
The artist is on his way to great success
And quiz niggas like a fucking drug test y'all
The artist will challenge his competition like a drug test
And check y'all
The artist will even make sure his competition is up to par
And let the livest niggas step in
The best of the best will perform with the artist
I keep the burner, what you think I'm turning mine in?
The artist is keeping his gun and not giving it up
What the fuck,
Expression of disbelief
Now all my live motherfuckers boggart or bring it straight to the front
His best friends will always be up front at his concerts
And let me give y'all niggas just what you want
The artist will give the crowd what they want
More fire for ya fresh off the press
He has more amazing music fresh off the press for his fans
Shit blazing to death
His music is so good that it's almost dangerous
Bitches lust talking under they breath
The ladies love the artist's music and can't help but talk about it
Hope you niggas know to put on your vest
Encouraging his competition to be prepared for his greatness
Or get a hole in your chest
If they're not prepared, they'll regret it
Who in this motherfucker
Asking who else is in the room with him
Take you a guess
Guess who else is in here with us
Yeah-Yeah All my niggas
The artist is addressing all his male friends
Yeah-yeah all my bitches
The artist is addressing all his female friends
Yeah-yeah all my thugs
The artist is addressing all his tough friends
Yeah-yeah all my soldiers
The artist is addressing all his friends who are loyal and brave
Yeah-yeah all my honeys
The artist is addressing all his female friends who are sweet and cute
Yeah-yeah all my playas
The artist is addressing all his friends who play the game of life well
Yeah-yeah all my live niggas c'mon
Encouraging all his best friends to join in the fun
The grand finale y'all
The best is yet to come, so stay tuned
Put it down and always repping for my family y'all
The artist will always represent his family and friends
What, lets form a nation wide rally y'all
Encouraging all his fans to come together like a nationwide rally
Of gutter niggas that will piss up in the alley y'all
Addressing his friends from the streets who will piss in the alley
Fuck it, now I know you know my rep nigga
His competition already knows how great he is
And how it's hard to figure out my next step nigga
They can't predict what he'll do next
So step nigga, nigga sit your ass down
Challenging his competition to take a seat and watch him shine
The way I mash down
The artist is in control and will destroy his competition
Will only leave a legacy for me to pass down
His music will leave a lasting legacy for future generations
Don't speak unless you're spoken to
Addressing his competition to only speak when spoken to
Get broke in two
His competition will be destroyed
Flipmode we be the chosen few
The artist's music group is one of the best out there
Yeah nigga entrap y'all
The artist will trap his competition with his music
I know some niggas that'll clap y'all
His friends may shoot if they have to
And strap y'all
His friends will also bring guns if they have to
Up to a post and back slap y'all
His friends will also beat them up if need be
Put y'all in a mailbox and leave open the flap y'all
His friends will even put them in a mailbox and leave them there
That's the hap's that make niggas take forever naps y'all
This is what will happen to his competition if they mess with the artist and his crew
Strap y'all all up inside of your seatbelts
Preparing his competition for the ride of their life
The beats felt like a fire watch the heat melt
The music is so hot it will melt anything in its path
Your patent leather stack cheddar nigga
His competition should stack their money and dress well
Now or never,
This is their last chance
Better, whatever nigga feel this hot Beretta
They better be prepared to feel the heat of his music like a hot gun
Cause when we come you know we hit you with that shit for the head
When the artist and his crew perform, they will deliver amazing music that will make their competition go crazy
With enough shit just like the Lox and the dread
Their music will be as great as that of The Lox and dread
Me and my niggas we be breaking this bread
The artist and his crew will make enough money to support themselves and their families
With all the blood that we bled
They've worked hard to get where they are
See we was broke, now we flossing instead
They were once poor, but now they are living large
The shit I drop will never leave you mislead
The artist's music will never be misleading
Might leave you tired of bed
His music might even make you tired from all the dancing
Shit ain't over till' the party is dead
The fun doesn't stop until the party is over
Yeah all my live bitches let me see you just
The artist is addressing female friends who are full of life and energy
Wave your hands up high
Encouraging the ladies to wave their hands up high
And all my niggas running around getting pussy
Addressing his male friends who are out there living their lives and getting women
All night
They will continue to party and enjoy themselves throughout the night
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: HARRISON SMITH, JARED LAVILLE, CAMERON FRASER, THEO COOKSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind