Busta Rhymes BACK ON MY B S (EX)

Personnel: Kevin Mayer (guitar); Armond "Bamm" Davis, Eddie Montilla (keyboards).
Audio Mixers: Neil Pogue; Glen Marchese; Mark "Exit" Goodchild; Marcella Araica; Patrick Viala; Rick St. Hillaire.
Recording information: Creation Studios, North Hollywood, CA; Flipmode Recording Studios, NY; Music Factory Recording Studio, Hempstead, NY; South Beach Studios, Miami, FL; The Record Room Studios, N. Miami, FL; Westlake Studios, Beverly Hills, CA.
Photographer: Frank Ockenfels.
On his long-awaited eighth studio album, the Flipmode leader and super MC extraordinaire flows over high-budget productions from frequent collaborators Dr. Dre, the Neptunes, and Jelly Roll as well as fast-rising Bronx producer/MC Ron Browz. Busta blasts off in true street-hop fashion, reworking melodies from El Debarge and classic lyrics from Slick Rick on the fierce album opener "Wheel of Fortune." After Busta takes lavish-life boasting to surreal places ("I got oil well money/In the desert playin' golf/O.J. shorts, dashiki with a Louis scarf") over the Browz-produced banger "Arab Money," comedian Mike Epps sums up the track's nonchalance about the U.S. financial woes ("Your dollar ain't sh*t!"). R&B hooks dominate the second half of BACK ON MY B.S. and Busta chooses to engage them in one of two ways--by providing bold counterpoints with his signature high-energy shout raps (as on the heavy piano-loop of "We Want In" and the ATL-flavored "Don't Believe Em") or by softening his flow to interact with the melodies (as on the X-rated "Sugar" or the Dre-produced ballad "Decision").

• Format: CD
• Genre: Pop