Busta Rhymes - Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God '2020

Tracks list

Tracklist:

[7:13] 01. Busta Rhymes - E.L.E. 2 Intro
[1:11] 02. Busta Rhymes - The Purge
[2:58] 03. Busta Rhymes - Strap Yourself Down
[3:02] 04. Busta Rhymes - Czar
[3:21] 05. Busta Rhymes - Outta My Mind (feat. Bell Biz DeVoe)
[4:44] 06. Busta Rhymes - E.L.E. 2 The Wrath of God (feat. Minister Louis
Farrakan)
[3:13] 07. Busta Rhymes - Slow Flow
[3:50] 08. Busta Rhymes - Dont Go
[3:02] 09. Busta Rhymes - Boomp!
[1:54] 10. Busta Rhymes - True Indeed
[4:00] 11. Busta Rhymes - Master Fard Muhammad
[3:31] 12. Busta Rhymes - YUUUU
[3:27] 13. Busta Rhymes - Oh No
[3:43] 14. Busta Rhymes - The Don & The Boss
[3:40] 15. Busta Rhymes - Best I Can
[4:13] 16. Busta Rhymes - Where I Belong (feat. Mariah Carey)
[3:11] 17. Busta Rhymes - Deep Thought
[0:41] 18. Busta Rhymes - The Young God Speaks
[4:09] 19. Busta Rhymes - Look Over Your Shoulder (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
[3:51] 20. Busta Rhymes - You Will Never Find Another Me (feat. Mary J. Blige)
[3:49] 21. Busta Rhymes - Freedom? (feat. NIKKI GRIER)
[5:15] 22. Busta Rhymes - Satanic


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ABOUT THE ALBUM
1 disc(s) - 22 track(s)
Total length: 01:17:36
Main artist: Busta Rhymes
Composer: Various Composers
Label: The Conglomerate Entertainment, Inc. / EMPIRE
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo
2020 The Conglomerate Entertainment, Inc. / EMPIRE

Hip-hop legend Busta Rhymes spent the better part of a decade without a new
studio album, issuing only mixtapes and singles after 2012s Year of the Dragon.
With over 30 years in the game and countless iconic hits, he could have slipped
quietly into retirement, but instead comes back louder than ever on his tenth
studio album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God. The 22-track set finds
Busta delivering his time-tested bombastic flows over old-school East Coast
production and wrangling in a dizzying number of big-name guests to help out.
These guest features result in some of the albums best moments, like when
longtime peer Q-Tip hops on the smooth, even-tempered Dont Go or when Kendrick
Lamar kicks off the sentimental, Jackson 5-sampling Look Over Your Shoulder with
a head-spinningly complex, scattershot verse. Even on tracks where the
instrumentals are relatively relaxed, like the slow-burning R&B-based You Will
Never Find Another Me, Busta stays in beast mode, throwing out high-energy bars
between passionate choruses sung by Mary J. Blige. E.L.E. 2 is tied together
loosely by themes of apocalypse and humankind atoning for their wrongdoings at
the end of the world. This gives Bustas already aggressive approach an
especially ominous atmosphere, particularly when hes shouting lyrics about the
end of days and secret societies operating in the shadows on Satanic or giving a
sermon over the course of a seven-minute intro. A lengthy spoken monologue from
Louis Farrakhan recorded exclusively for the album amplifies the intensity
already established by songs centered around political rhetoric and dark
visions. This intensity is broken up by some lighter moments, however, with
Anderson .Paak stopping by on the sleek, electro-tinged Yuuuu and Busta flipping
the beat of Bell Biv DeVoes 90s classic Poison for the rowdy party starter Outta
My Mind. Even with some respite from the gloom and doom that defines much of the
album, E.L.E. 2 overstays its welcome and makes some questionable choices. Slow
Flow awkwardly reuses rhymes from long-deceased rapper Ol Dirty Bastard without
context, and a duet with Mariah Carey (Where I Belong) sounds unshakably stuck
in 2002 radio production. Its to be expected that an emcee who helped innovate
mainstream rap in the late 90s and early aughts might have some dated
perspectives on his 2020 album, and at times these throwback sounds can even be
charming in a nostalgic way. Its not a lack of innovation that drags E.L.E. 2
down as much as a lack of editing. Four or five less tracks and a little less
time spent extrapolating on the end of the world would have made for a far more
engaging listen, even taking into consideration how rare new material from Busta
Rhymes can be in this phase of his work. By the time we reach the final outro,
one of many interludes consisting of Chris Rock serving as a relentless hype
man, the total album experience has been exhausting.
© Fred Thomas /TiVo


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