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Busta Rhymes
Photo of rapper Busta Rhymes
Background information
Birth name	Trevor Smith
Born	May 20, 1972 (1972-05-20) (age 37)
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genre(s)	Hip hop, dancehall
Years active	1990–present
Label(s)	Flipmode, Universal Motown, Violator
Associated acts	Leaders of the New School, J. Dilla, T-Pain, The Notorious B.I.G, Q-Tip, Lil Wayne, Flipmode Squad, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Sean Combs, The Game, Spliff Star, Missy Elliott, A Tribe Called Quest, DMX, Nas, Jadakiss, Ron Browz

Trevor Smith, better known as Busta Rhymes (born May 20, 1972),¹ is a Grammy-nominated Jamaican-American rapper, songwriter, and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the name Busta Rhymes (from former NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes).

Contents 1 Life and career 1.1 Early years 1.2 Early career – Elektra 1.3 J/Arista/BMG (2000-2004) 1.4 Aftermath/Interscope (2004-2008) 1.5 Legal issues 2 Discography 3 Filmography 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Life and career

Early years

Smith was born in East Flatbush, Brooklyn to Jamaican parents Cherry Green and Trevor Smith, Sr.²³⁴ When he was 12 his family moved to Uniondale, New York, a suburb in Nassau County, where he was raised. He attended High School but before he could graduate in 1991 he dropped out of school and pursued a music career as part of the group, Leaders of the New School.

Early career – Elektra

Smith's musical career began at the age of 17 as a member of the hip hop crew Leaders of the New School along with fellow Long Island natives Charlie Brown, Dinco D, and Cut Monitor Milo. They began recording in 1989 and released their debut album A Future Without a Past in 1991 on Elektra Records. In 1993, they released T.I.M.E. (The Inner Mind's Eye). Soon after, however, internal problems arose within the group, and the group broke up on the set of Yo! MTV Raps.

Smith broke out with a 1996 solo hit single, "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check" from his platinum record album The Coming. His second album, When Disaster Strikes, released in 1997, produced the hit singles "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and "Dangerous".

In 1998, Smith recorded Extinction Level Event (Final World Front), further expressing his view 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. The album received prominent notice for featuring the fastest rapping Busta has yet done, on a song called "Iz They Wildin Wit Us & Gettin' Rowdy Wit Us?", featuring a guest appearance by Mystikal.⁵

1999 was a challenging year for Smith. He paid a visit to a courthouse regarding confusion involving child support, and he received 5 years of probation for possessing an unregistered gun. Elektra, not fond of the bad publicity, began to offer less promotions and studio time for his forthcoming album "Anarchy". Busta realized this and transferred Flipmode Squad to J Records after fulfilling his contract with Elektra.

J/Arista/BMG (2000-2004)

After defecting from Elektra, Smith signed to J Records, a label started by the then recently ousted Arista Records chief and founder Clive Davis. In 2001 he released a greatest hits collection alongside a new album of original work.

Continuing the Biblical theme of his previous albums, he titled his record Genesis. The album featured collaborations with Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, Kelis, and others. Genesis was powered by the hit single with Kelis, "What It Is," and his solo single released in November 2001, "Break Ya Neck." The final single was the summer smash "Pass The Courvoisier Part 2," which featured Pharrell and P. Diddy. Despite the two powerful singles, this album did not sell as well as previous releases.

In 2002, Smith released his sixth studio album It Ain't Safe No More. The album was moderately successful, with a hit song featuring Mariah Carey and the Flipmode Squad called "I Know What You Want." Another hit song was "Make It Clap", featuring Spliff Starr. The remix of "Make It Clap" featured Sean Paul. After its release, he left J Records. In 2004, he signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.

Aftermath/Interscope (2004-2008)

In November 2005, Smith cut off his trademark dreadlocks during a photo shoot in a New York barbershop owned by producer Cory Rooney. The shop is featured on an MTV show titled The Shop. "I started growing [my hair] in December '89. I was 17," he said. "I signed my [record] deal and said I ain't combing my hair no more. I don't have to." He says the haircut was symbolic of a change in his music and the new record deal.^{citation needed}

His seventh studio album, The Big Bang, became the first #1 album of his career. The CD sold over 209,000 copies in its first week to earn the top spot on The Billboard Top 200.⁶ The album also became his highest charting album in the UK, peaking at #19. Some of the album was leaked on the Internet, and as a result several songs were left off the album and new ones added. The Big Bang featured more production by Dr. Dre than Smith's previous releases, as well as appearances by Raekwon and Nas. The singles that have been released from the album are, "Touch It," "I Love My Chick," featuring Kelis and Will.I.Am, "New York Shit," and "In The Ghetto." Smith also had a stint opening for Mariah Carey's The Adventures of Mimi Tour. Also, Smith performed with Eminem on "Touch It Remix Part 5". Others such as Jae Millz and Ne-Yo appeared as well.

On July 17, 2008, Rhymes left Interscope/Aftermath due to a creative clash with Interscope head Jimmy Iovine. It was later revealed that Rhymes inked a deal with Universal Motown, who will be releasing his 8th studio album Back on My B.S. on May 19, 2009.⁷

Legal issues

On August 20, 2006, he was arraigned for charges of third-degree assault after attacking a man who reportedly spat on his car in New York City on August 12 after the AmsterJam Music Festival on Randalls Island.⁸

On October 24, 2006, he appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court as the district attorney's office attempted to amend previous charges against him to include weapons possession for a machete found in his car. The judge, ShawnDya Simpson, refused to add the charge and adjourned the case.⁹¹⁰

On February 20, 2007, Smith refused a plea deal offered by the prosecutors office for the assault of his former driver, Edward Hatchett. The deal would have entailed six months in jail and pleading guilty to two assaults, the attack on Hatchett, and the attack on the former fan. The dispute with Hatchett is believed to have originated over back pay Hatchett felt he was owed. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Becki Rowe offered Smith another option, pleading guilty to third-degree assault. The conditions of the proposed sentence would include five days of community service, two weeks of youth lectures and six months of anger management classes, as well as three years of probation. On March 18, 2008 a judge in New York City sentenced Smith to 3 years' probation, 10 days' community service, $1250 in fines (plus court costs), and to enroll in a drunken driving program.^10111213

On September 25, 2008, he was temporarily refused entry to the UK due to "unresolved convictions".¹⁴

Discography

• The Coming (1996)
• When Disaster Strikes (1997)
• E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front (1998)
• Anarchy (2000)
• Genesis (2001)
• It Ain't Safe No More (2002)
• The Big Bang (2006)
• Back on My B.S. (2009)

Filmography

• Who's the Man? (1993), Jawaan
• Strapped (1993), Buster
• Higher Learning (1995), Dreads
• Cosby (1997), Philip
• The Steve Harvey Show (1998), Zack
• The Wayans Bros (1998), himself
• The Rugrats Movie (1998), Reptar Wagon – voice
• Shaft (2000), Rasaan
• Finding Forrester (2000), Terrell Wallace
• Space Ghost Coast to Coast (2001), himself
• Narc (2002), Darnell 'Big D Love' Beery
• Halloween: Resurrection (2002), Freddie Harris
• The Neptunes Present: Dude We're Going to Rio! (2003), Rhymes
• Death of a Dynasty (2003)
• Full Clip (2004), Pope
• Busta Rhymes: Everything Remains Raw (2004)
• The Boondocks (2007), Flonominal
• Order of Redemption (2009), Al Bowen
• The Jamie Foxx Show, Himself

See also

• List of number-one U.S. dance hits
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Busta Rhymes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Busta Rhymes

• Official Site
• Busta Rhymes: Biography, Photo Gallery and Videos
• Busta Rhymes at the Internet Movie Database
• Busta Rhymes - Back on My B.S. review 2,5/5

v • d • e Busta Rhymes Albums The Coming · When Disaster Strikes · E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front · Anarchy · Genesis · It Ain't Safe No More · The Big Bang · Back on My B.S. Singles "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check" · "It's a Party" · "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" · "Dangerous" · "Turn It Up (remix)/Fire It Up" · "One" · "Gimme Some More" · "What's It Gonna Be?!" · "Party Is Goin' On Over Here" · "Do the Bus-A-Bus" · "Tear da Roof Off" · "Bladow!!" · "Get Out!!" · "Fire" · "Make Noise" · "What It Is" · "Break Ya Neck" · "As I Come Back" · "Make It Clap" · "Make It Clap (Remix)" · "Pass the Courvoisier II" · "I Know What You Want" · "Light Your Ass On Fire" · "Where's Your Money?" · "Touch It" · "Touch It (Remix)" · "I Love My Bitch" · "New York Shit" · "In the Ghetto" · "Don't Get Carried Away" · "Watch Ya Mouth" · "Don't Touch Me (Throw da Water on 'em)" · "We Made It" · "Arab Money" · "Hustler's Anthem '09" · "Respect My Conglomerate" · "World Go Round" Related articles Discography · Native Tongues Posse · Flipmode Squad · Leaders of the New School · Flipmode Entertainment

Persondata
NAME	Busta Rhymes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Smith, Trevor Taheim, Jr.
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Rapper, hip hop musician
DATE OF BIRTH	5/20/1972
PLACE OF BIRTH	Brooklyn, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH