| Back on My B.S. | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 19, 2009 (2009-05-19) | |||
| Recorded | 2007–2009 | |||
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| Length | 54:04 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Busta Rhymes chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Back on My B.S. | ||||
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Back on My B.S. is the eighthstudio album by AmericanrapperBusta Rhymes. It was released on May 19, 2009, throughFlipmode andUniversal Motown.[4][5] The production on the album was handled by multiple producers includingPharrell Williams,DJ Scratch,Danja andCool & Dre among others. The album also features guest appearances byT-Pain,Jamie Foxx,Akon,Lil Wayne,Mary J. Blige,T.I. and many more.
Back on My B.S. was supported by four singles: "Arab Money", "Hustler's Anthem '09", "Respect My Conglomerate" and "World Go Round". The album received mixed reviews from music critics and moderate commercial success. The album debuted at number five on the USBillboard 200 chart, selling 59,000 copies in its first week.[6]
The album was originally going to be calledBefore Hell Freezes Over, but went through several name changes (includingBack on My Bullshit,Blessed andB.O.M.B.) before being finalized asBack on My B.S.. The release date changed many times, mostly due to Busta Rhymes' release fromAftermath Entertainment andInterscope Records. The album was originally supposed to come out as early as December 4, 2007 but went through many projected release dates before an official release date of May 19, 2009.
During an interview withMTV News, Busta Rhymes mentioned that he will be working with longtime collaborators as well as some people he's never had the chance to work with before. He said:
You're gonna get your traditional Busta Rhymes andPharrell collabo. My man Focus from theAftermath crew;Dr. Dre; the late, great J Dilla got work on the album. It's gonna be great — look forward to the new bang-out.[7]
In May 2008, news spread of a tracklisting confirming these tracks, stating the album would be titledBlessed and would feature a holographic cover.[8][9]
During an interview withFLOW 93.5 inToronto,Kardinal Offishall stated that he would appear on a track which would also featureAkon.[10] Kardinal Offishall did not appear on the album, but Akon did. At a private listening session in Manhattan, Busta announced that guest appearances on the album would includeMary J. Blige,Jamie Foxx,Common,Nicole Scherzinger,Akon,T.I.,Lil Wayne,Ludacris,The Game, American rock bandLinkin Park,T-Pain, andSwizz Beatz.
The first single was originally going to be "Watch Ya Mouth" featuringSwizz Beatz, but then it was changed and will not appear on the album and was dubbed as a street single. "Don't Touch Me (Throw da Water on 'em)" then became the first single, but was changed and simply became a promo single.[11] Although not confirmed to be on the final release of the album, Rhymes teamed up withTravis Barker for one of the latter's underground hit "rock remixes", with the homemade YouTube video having more views than the official single video. Linkin Park also collaborated on the second promo single, "We Made It". The video was shot April 15, 2008. The video for "We Made It" premiered on BET andYahoo! Music on April 29, 2008.[12]Pharrell did 3 tracks with Busta Rhymes for his new album, one including "G-Stro"[13] "G-Stro" did not appear on the album, but was included on theFast & Furious soundtrack. Only one made the final cut.
Busta Rhymes premiered the video for "I Got Bass" on November 24 and has cameos from DJ Scratch, Bangladesh,Fabolous, Alfamega, Swizz Beatz and theFlipmode Squad. Hip Hop producer/singer Ron Browz collaborated on the song "Arab Money". The music video debuted on BET's106 & Park on December 2. It features cameos fromRick Ross,Spliff Star,DJ Drama,Jim Jones,Juelz Santana,DJ Khaled,Akon,Sean Paul,Soulja Boy Tell 'Em,Kardinal Offishall,Ace Hood,Shawty Lo,Paul Wall among many others. The first part of the official remix of "Arab Money" was leaked on November 27. It featuresDiddy, Ron Browz, Swizz Beatz, T-Pain, Akon and Lil Wayne. The second part was leaked on December 13 and features Ron Browz,Rick Ross,Reek Da Villian, Spliff Star,N.O.R.E. andRed Cafe. The third part was leaked on December 20 features Ron Browz, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones andJadakiss. All three are the official remix of "Arab Money."
A video for "Respect My Conglomerate" has been shot and the song has been released as a promo CD single. The song is also rumored to be the official third single. However, the video version featuresLil Wayne in place ofYoung Jeezy.[14] The track is featured as aniTunes bonus track on Jadakiss'The Last Kiss. Upon release, both "We Made It" with Linkin Park and "Don't Touch Me (Throw da Water on 'em)" were not included on the final version of the album. Due to its graphic nature, the track "Kill Dem", which featuresPharrell and Tosh, is not speculated to be a single. However, the song has received airplay onNew York radio stations. The fourth single is "World Go Round", featuring Estelle. The video of the song has been shot and released. The album is notable for being Busta Rhymes' first solo album in 11 years not to feature production fromJ Dilla, who died in 2006.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 60/100[15] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [16] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+[17] |
| HipHopDX | 2/5[18] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [19] |
| Mojo | [20] |
| NME | [21] |
| RapReviews | 7.5/10[22] |
| Slant | [23] |
| Spin | 5/10[24] |
| The Telegraph | [25] |
Critical response to the album was mixed. According toMetacritic, the album scored a 60 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[15]Entertainment Weekly wrote an unfavorable review, saying, "All things considered, Busta should probably try including a little less B.S. the next time he comes back."[17]Slant Magazine also wrote a negative review, stating that, "More often than not, Busta is content to recycle well-worn material, hoping that enough polish and guest-star participation will wick away the album's dusty content. They don't, leaving B.S. as nothing more than filler."[23] The album was named the most "disappointing album" of 2009 by Hip-Hop news website HipHopDX.[26] HoweverXXL, a hip-hop magazine, gave the album a high rating of XL (4 out of five stars), stating that, "Bussa-Bus stays true to form, meshing the same witty concepts and dope production he has been known for his entire career."[27]
Back on My B.S. debuted at number five on the USBillboard 200 chart, selling 59,000 copies in its first week.[6] This became Busta Rhymes' sixth US top-ten album.[6]
The track listing was confirmed by two major retail sites.[28][29]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wheel of Fortune" | DJ Scratch | 3:24 | |
| 2. | "Give Em What They Askin For" |
| Ron Browz | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Respect My Conglomerate" (featuringLil Wayne andJadakiss) | Focus... | 3:34 | |
| 4. | "Shoot for the Moon" |
| Danja | 3:20 |
| 5. | "Hustler's Anthem '09" (featuringT-Pain) | Ty Fyffe | 4:29 | |
| 6. | "Kill Dem" (featuringPharrell Williams and Tosh) |
| Pharrell Williams | 3:48 |
| 7. | "Arab Money" (featuringRon Browz) |
| Ron Browz | 2:45 |
| 8. | "I'm a Go and Get My..." (featuringMike Epps) |
| DJ Scratch | 4:54 |
| 9. | "We Want In" (featuringRon Browz,Spliff Star and Show Money) |
| King Karnov | 3:11 |
| 10. | "We Miss You" (featuringDeMarco and Jelly Roll) |
| Needlz | 5:02 |
| 11. | "Sugar" (featuring Jelly Roll) |
| Jelly Roll | 4:05 |
| 12. | "Don't Believe Em" (featuringAkon andT.I.) | Cool & Dre | 3:49 | |
| 13. | "Decision" (featuringJamie Foxx,Mary J. Blige,John Legend andCommon) | Mr. Porter | 4:28 | |
| 14. | "World Go Round" (featuringEstelle) |
| Jelly Roll | 3:51 |
| Total length: | 54:04 | |||
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "How You Really Want It" (featuringJesse West) | Dready Beats | 4:57 |
| 16. | "If You Don't Know Now You Know" (featuringBig Tigger) | Focus... | 4:59 |
| Total length: | 1:04:00 | ||
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "G-Stro" | The Neptunes | 3:42 |
| Total length: | 1:02:48 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Day in the Life of Busta Rhymes" | |
| 2. | "The Days of Our Rhymes" | |
| 3. | "News Flash" | |
| 4. | "Busted!" | |
| 5. | "The Many Styles of Busta Rhymes" | |
| 6. | "Ruffneck Soulja trailer" | |
| 7. | "Music video: Hustler's Anthem 09" | |
| 8. | "Music video: Arab Money Remix" | |
| 9. | "Music video: Arab Money live at the Knitting Factory" |
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[31] | 66 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[32] | 88 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[33] | 18 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[34] | 20 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35] | 94 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] | 15 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[37] | 92 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC)[38] | 12 |
| USBillboard 200[39] | 5 |
| USTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[40] | 2 |
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | May 18, 2009 |
| United States | May 19, 2009 |
