Busta Rhymes - It Ain't Safe No More

Busta Rhymes's sixth solo album loosely follows in the tradition of his 1998 Extinction Level Event and 2000's Anarchy, offering up lucid, timely commentary over futuristic beats. In fact, his previous new-world-order rants provide a perfect prelude to his post-9/11 analysis on the title track. While Busta offers his unpredictable array of flows across the usual balance of club tracks ("Make It Clap"), hottie songs of praise ("Hey Ladies"), and obligatory street anthems ("What Do You Do When You're Branded"), one can't help wonder why he'd mix in tired concepts (south Asian compositions on "Take It Off Part 2") or perform the pimped-out, playa routine on "Taste It," with its sundry (yawn) sexual references. Like its predecessor, Genesis, this album is sonically superior to most in the marketplace, thanks to contributions from the Neptunes. While big-name collaborations with Mariah Carey on "I Know What You Want" (where Busta croons) and Carl Thomas ("The Struggle Will Be Lost") don't exactly change the price of butter, hey, at least Busta's not pointlessly advertising chi-chi liquor companies this time around. --Dalton Higgins Amazon.com

THIS IS A DOPE ALBUM FROM BUS-A-BUS

YO BUSTA CAME CORRECT AND HE HITS ALL HIS BASES WITH THE RAWNESS OF "CALL THE AMBULANCE" TO THE LADIES BANGER "I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT" TO LYRICAL GEMS LIKE "STRUTTING LIKE G.O.D." AND "TIL IT'S GONE" TO THE BOUNCING BANGER "WE GON DO IT TOO YA"

FAVORITE TRACKS

STRUTTING LIKE A G.O.D.
WE GON DO IT TOO YA
RIOT
HOP
September 24, 2007

The One Busta Album Not Worth Buying

"It Ain't Safe No More" is Busta Rhymes's sixth and arguably worst solo offering of his career. Where did he go wrong on this album? Well, his unique, outrageous flow and hard deliveries seems to be ultimately lost over these mystic, often substance-lacking tracks. At the same time, Busta was most likely being influenced to releasing a rap album leaning, towards pop/hip-hop, something that would have a public appeal. Unfortunately, what came of the album was no-brainer club tracks. This album does have it moments don't get me wrong, where Busta shows a flair of his old self but on a big scale, "It Ain't Safe No More" does not reach any quality he has had prior or following this release.

This album actually opens up a strong note, with the self-titled track boasting some solid rhymes over a fairly hard toned beat. "What Do You Do When You're Branded" is in my opinion the best song on the album. This is classic Busta Rhymes with his tight flow, many voicings, and intricate rhyming structures. "Call The Ambulance" is a solid song until we reach the otiose chorus, which is simply bland and uncreative. "We Goin' Do It To Ya" has some good qualities to make a rap song, but doesn't really stand out for much. "What Up" has a spacey beat, which gives us a brief reminder of his E.L.E. days, and his flow is on the mark here too. "Turn Me Up Some" is decent, but lost in its forgetabble beat and lyrics. "Make It Clap" opens the stage for the worst of the album. It's dull attempt towards being a hit club banger is lost in it's tasteless lyricism and sappy beat. "Take It Off Pt. 2" is downright awful, and is recorded a completely different style than its predecessor. "Taste It" and "Hey Ladies" also remain wasted space of an album. "I Know What You Want" is without a doubt memorable, but Mariah Carey's feeble pop vocals do not fit well at all. "Riot" puts the album back on reasonable ground and "Together" has a catchy beat. "Struttin' Like A G.O.D." wants to be far too epic for what it actually is, and its chorus is very bland. "Till It's Gone" is a tight track however, with some fine work by Busta Rhymes on his delivery.

Overall, "It Ain't Safe No More" felt very rushed, and overproduced. It also represented a poor direction for Busta Rhymes, heading towards brainless club tracks. I am happy to report though, that he came back with "The Big Bang", an excellent rap album for 2006, with his raw voice and flow, and some hard-hitting gangsta beats supplied by the best producer in the game, Dr. Dre. All of his other studio albums are recommended. October 23, 2006

Okay, i guess

i love busta, but this cd just didnt do anything for me. i couldnt get into the songs and i was left wondering what happened to busta. only cop it if you are a die hard busta fan.
rating C+ October 1, 2006

Tight

This is a great CD. I held off buying it for a long time, but eventually came into some money and got it. I certainly wasn't disappointed. Busta's rhyming style is incredible. He can seem disinterested for half a song, then all of a sudden step it up to the next level on the chorus, and go back to his unemotional style on the verse. The lyrics at times can be a little shallow, as he falls into the 'Cars, Money and Bitches' category, but apart from that the album is great. Buy it! October 9, 2005

you gotta get this!

this is easily his best CD but I'm not sure. I think the best is "Taste It" cause it's got an extremely twisted beat. If you're looking for some good funk, then here you go! If you are looking for deep meaning in the lyrics then you do not want this cause he doesn't really talk about anything that's meaningful. Although I've always found him to be the best rapper out there. He has a jamaican voice without the accent. You should check out his videos. Those are crazy wicked! July 23, 2005

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