Lemme start by saying that Busta Rhymes and I share one very interesting trait… at one point in time, we were both Seventh Day Adventists. (sucks my teeth…) Not no mo’! So, call me a “lucky bitch” for multiple reasons, the last one being I had the privilege of listening to this ear candy aptly named, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God… and it was just what I needed.
From the start of track 1, I was immediately drawn in by the care taken in the production of the track and how it combined a not so subtle “I told you so” with the comedy of Chris Rock and the lyrical stylings of Rakim, Pete Rock and Buss…(OMG) He starts off his album with a message of social consciousness and responsibility; and as the track transitions to just the piano, the question is posited – “Who’s World is this?” to which Buss responds: “I believe the world belongs to the people. It has always belonged to the people. And to the powers that be: fuck your plague and your disease and your sickness that you have inflicted on so many lives since the beginning of time with your colonization. Fuck your systematic oppression, your systematic racist oppression. Matter of fact… FUCK YOU.”
Yo, lemme just say two words: BOOM BAP! Wait, wait, waaaait…. He’s sampling “Poison”?? He got BBD on the damn track?? What?! This dude is going so hard on this track, the snares are hittin’, and all you can do is just bob ya damn head.
Photo by Mikamote
The Abstract links back up with The Dragon on track 8, “Don’t Go”… and, nigga….. they got the game in a choke hold. He keeps on crackin’ jokes as you continue to listen to the EP; but in the midst of that, he’s rappin’ these rhymes around the drum tracks like that snake in the Garden of Eden wrapped around that tree…allegedly…
As a music producer, I just keep going back to what’s going on in these tracks. The producers have created such a warm stereo field, the highs are high and the lows are fuckin’ LOW. Each track pulls you in more than the one before, showing not only the versatility of Busta Rhymes as a rapper, but also as a collaborator. From Anderson.Paak to Vybez Kartel, Mary J. Blige to Mariah Carey and Eminem to Kendrick Lamar, Buss just shows again that he can rock with anyone. And THAT is a reason why he is one of the greatest to ever do it.
Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God (Reloaded) has 4 more tracks than the regular EP and it’s totally worth it. On the extras, he adds a lil trap, blows out some speakers and goes in with Eminem. Y’all, don’t believe me. Check it out for yaselves!
Label: The Conglomerate Entertainment, Inc.
Genre: Hip Hop
Release Date: November 2, 2020
Location: New York, NY
26 songs, 1 hour 34 minutes
