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Elision is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a vowel, a consonant, or a whole syllable) in a word or phrase, producing a result that is easier for the speaker to pronounce. Sometimes, sounds may be elided for euphonic effect.

In English, elision is often unintentional, giving a result that may in some cases be impressionistically described as "slurred" or "muted." Often, however, the elision is deliberate, as in the use of contractions.

In French, elision is mandatory in certain contexts, as in the clause C'est la vie (elided from *ce est la vie).

An example of deliberate elision occurs in Latin poetry as a stylistic device. Under certain circumstances, such as one word ending in a vowel and the following word beginning in a vowel, the words may be elided together. Elision was a common device in the works of Catullus. For example, the opening line of Catullus 3 is: Lugete, O Veneres Cupidinesque, but would be read as Lugeto Veneres Cupidinesque.

A synonym for elision is syncope, though the latter term is most often associated with the elision of vowels between consonants (e.g., Latin tabula → Spanish tabla). Another form of elision is apheresis, which means elision at the beginning of a word (generally of an unstressed vowel).

Some morphemes take the form of elision. See disfix.

The opposite of elision is epenthesis, whereby sounds are inserted into a word to ease pronunciation.

A special form of elision called ecthlipsis is used in Latin poetry when a word ending in the letter "m" is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, e.g., "...et mutam nequiquam adloquerer cinerem." = "...et mutam nequiquadloquerer cinerem." - Catullus 101.

The omission of a word from a phrase or sentence is not elision but ellipsis or, more accurately, elliptical construction.

Written representation[link]

Even though the effort that it takes to pronounce a word does not hold any influence in writing, a word or phrase may be spelled the same as it is spoken, for example, in poetry or in the script for a theatre play, in order to show the actual speech of a character. It may also be used in an attempt to transcribe non-standard speech. Also, some kinds of elision (as well as other phonological devices) are commonly used in poetry in order to preserve a particular rhythm.

In some languages employing the Latin alphabet, such as English, the omitted letters in a contraction are replaced by an apostrophe (e.g., isn't for is not). Greek, which uses its own alphabet, marks elision in the same way.

Examples[link]

English[link]

Examples of elision in English:

Most elision in English is not mandatory, but is used in common practice and even sometimes in more formal speech. This applies to nearly all the examples in the above table. However, this type of elision is never shown in writing; the words are written the same whether or not the speaker would elide them.

Other examples, such as "him" and "going to" shown above, are generally only used in fast or informal speech. They are still generally written as is, unless the writer is intending to show the dialect or speech patterns of the speaker in which case they would write "'im" and "gonna".

The third type of elision is in common contractions, such as "can't", "isn't", or "I'm". The apostrophes represent the sounds that are removed, and are not spoken but help the reader to understand that it is a contraction and not a word of its own. These contractions used to be written out when transcribed (i.e. "cannot", "is not", "I am") even if they were pronounced as a contraction, but nowadays that is no longer the case and are always written as a contraction so long as they are spoken that way. However, they are by no means mandatory and a speaker or writer may choose to keep the words distinct rather than contract them either as a stylistic choice, when using formal register, to make meaning clearer to children or non-native English speakers, or to emphasize a word within the contraction (e.g. "I am going!")

French[link]

Elision of unstressed vowels (usually [ə]) is common in the French language, and in some cases must be indicated orthographically with an apostrophe. For further information about final vowel elision, see Elision (French).

Elision of vowel and consonant sounds was also an important phenomenon in the phonetic evolution of French. For example, s following a vowel and preceding another consonant regularly elided, with compensatory lengthening of the vowel.

• Latin hospitāle → Old French (h)ostel → Modern French hôtel
• Latin spatha → Old French espee → Modern French épée
• Latin schola → Old French escola → Modern French école

German[link]

Nouns and adjectives that end with unstressed "el" or "er" have the "e" elided when they are declined or a suffix follows. ex. teuer becomes teure, teuren, etc., and Himmel + -isch becomes himmlisch.

The final "e" of a noun is also elided when another noun or suffix is concatenated onto it. ex. Strafe + Gesetzbuch becomes Strafgesetzbuch.

In both of the above cases the "e" represents a schwa.

Irish[link]

Elision is found in the Ulster dialect of Irish, particularly in final position. Iontach, for example, while pronounced ['i:ntəx] in the Conamara dialect, is pronounced ['intə] in Ulster. n is also elided when it begins intervocalic consonant clusters. Anró is pronounced aró; muintir is pronounced muitir.

Japanese[link]

Elision is extremely common in the pronunciation of the Japanese language. In general, a high vowel (/i/ or /u/) that appears in a low-pitched syllable between two voiceless consonants is devoiced, and often deleted outright. However, unlike French or English, Japanese does not often show elision in writing. The process is purely phonetic, and varies considerably depending on the dialect or level of formality. A few examples (slightly exaggerated; apostrophes added to indicate elision):

Matsushita-san wa imasu ka? ("Is Mr. Matsushita in?")

Pronounced: matsush'tasanwa imas'ka

IPA: [matsɯɕtasɑ̃wa imasːka]

roku, shichi, hachi ("six, seven, eight")

Pronounced: rok', shich', hach'

IPA: [ɽokɯ̥ ɕitɕi̥ hatɕi̥]

Shitsurei shimasu ("Excuse me")

Pronounced: sh'ts'reishimas'

IPA: [ɕi̥tsɯ̥ɽeː ɕimasː]

Gender roles also influence elision in Japanese. It is considered masculine to elide, especially the final u of the polite verb forms (-masu, desu), whereas women are traditionally encouraged to do the opposite. However, excessive elision is generally viewed as basilectic, and inadequate elision is seen as overly fussy or old-fashioned. Some nonstandard dialects, such as Satsuma-ben, are known for their extensive elision.

Malayalam[link]

Dropping of sounds in connected speech (as Elision) is very common in this south Indian language (of the state of Kerala). Native Malayalam speakers are very much used to it.

Examples:

• entha becomes ntha
• ippol becomes ippo

Spanish[link]

The change of Latin into the Romance languages included a significant amount of elision, especially syncope (loss of medial vowels). In Spanish, for example, we have:

• tabla from Latin tabula
• isla from Latin insula (through *isula)
• alma from Latin anima (with dissimilation of -nm- to -lm-)
• hembra from Latin femina (with lenition of f- to h-, dissimilation of -mn- to -mr- and then epenthesis of -mr- to -mbr-'

In addition, speakers often employ crasis or elision between two words to avoid a hiatus caused by vowels – the choice of which to use depends upon whether or not the vowels are identical.^{[citation needed]}

Tamil[link]

Tamil has a set of rules for elision. They are categorised into classes based on the phoneme where elision occurs.

Finnish[link]

The consonant in the partitive case ending -ta elides when surrounded by two short vowels except when the first of the two vowels involved is paragoge (added to the stem). Otherwise, it stays. For example, katto+ta → kattoa, ranta+ta → rantaa, but työ+tä → työtä (not a short vowel), mies+ta → miestä (consonant stem), jousi+ta → jousta (paragogic i on a consonant stem).

Welsh[link]

Elision is a major feature of Welsh, found commonly in verb forms, as in the following examples:

• Ydych chi'n (chi yn) hoffi'r (hoffi yr) coffi? (Do you like the coffee?)
• Ble mae'r (mae yr) dre? (Where is the town?)
• Rydw i'n (i yn) darllen. (I am reading)

See also[link]

• Apocope
• Sandhi
• Synalepha
• Relaxed pronunciation
• Contraction
• Crasis
• Liaison
• Elision in the French language
• Lacuna

References[link]

Notes[link]

General references[link]

• Crowley, Terry. (1997) An Introduction to Historical Linguistics. 3rd edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195583786

External links[link]

Look up elision in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• French examples (contains pop-up ad)
• Greek Grammar
• Putting Words Together

Tech N9ne
Tech N9ne at release signing for Everready (The Religion) on November 6, 2006
Background information
Birth name	Aaron Dontez Yates
Born	(1971-11-08) November 8, 1971 (age 40)
Origin	Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, Vice President at Strange Music
Years active	1985–present
Labels	Strange Music
Associated acts	The Regime, Krizz Kaliko, Kutt Calhoun, Yukmouth, Big Scoob, 816 Boyz
Website	TheRealTechN9ne.com

Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971),^[1] better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "Tech Nine"), is an American rapper from Kansas City, Missouri. In 1999, Yates and Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. Throughout his career, Yates has sold over one million albums and has had his music featured in film, television, and video games.^[2] In 2009, he won the Left Field Woodie award at the mtvU Woodie Awards.^[3]

His stage name originated from the TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun, given to him by rapper Black Walt due to his fast rhyming style.^[4] Yates later applied a deeper meaning to the name, claiming that it stands for the complete technique of rhyme, with 'tech' meaning technique and 'nine' representing the number of completion.^[4][5]

Early life[link]

Aaron Dontez Yates was born on November 8, 1971 in Kansas City, Missouri.^[1] He began rapping at a very early age, and would rap the letters of his name in order to remember how to spell it.^[6] He never met his father, and his mother suffered from epilepsy and lupus when he was a child, which emotionally affected him and inspired him to "search for God."^[6] He would wander around abandoned buildings with his best friend, Brian Dennis, hoping to catch a ghost on film.^[6] In 2003, Dennis was shot and killed by his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, which further inspired Yates' search for a higher power, as well as giving him the drive to vent his frustrations in his music.

Career[link]

Early in his career, Yates was a member of a group formed in 1991 called Black Mafia.^[7] He saw glimpses of success in the group 57th Street Rogue Dog Villians with their single "Let's Get Fucked Up." As a member of the group Nnutthowze, Aaron Yates signed with Perspective Records in 1993.^[8] However, the group disbanded soon after being released from the label. Yates signed with Qwest Records briefly before moving to JCOR Records.^[8]

In 1997, Yates joined the group The Regime formed by rapper Yukmouth.^[9] The following year, he was featured on the soundtrack for the film Gang Related.^[10] Yates appeared on the song "The Anthem" by Sway & King Tech in 1999, which also featured artists RZA, Eminem, Xzibit, Pharoahe Monch, Jayo Felony, Chino XL, KRS-One, and Kool G. Rap. Later that year, he and Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music.^[11]

In 2001, Yates released the studio album Anghellic on JCOR Records.^[8] After disputes arose about the promotion of the album, Yates and his label severed ties with the JCOR with a deal that allowed them to retain the rights to the album. The next year, he released Absolute Power, under a 50–50 joint venture between Strange Music and M.S.C. Music & Entertainment (which was founded by former Priority Records head Mark Cerami). The album debuted number 79 on the Billboard 200. The albums sales are said to have tripled following a campaign, going by the name of "F.T.I." was started by the rapper and his label. The campaign, which asked music listeners to legally download the album for free through the artist's own website was in response to the anti-downloading campaign by the RIAA.^[8] In 2006, Yates released the album Everready (The Religion).^[12] The following year, he released Misery Loves Kompany.^[13] Yates announced that the album was the first in a series of "Tech N9ne Collabos" albums that feature a wide range of guest appearances.^[13]

The following year, Yates released the album Killer.^[14] That September, he exceeded one million album sales over his entire catalog.^[2] Yates remarked of the accomplishment that, "It just reminded me of all the work we'd done in the past, up until now [...] I don't think it's sunken in yet. I've been celebrating for the last two days because that's a hell of an accomplishment. I've been planning success all my life. I'm not even a bit surprised, I'm happy about it. That just means I was right."^[2] Yates released his second Collabos album, Sickology 101, in April 2009.^[15]

Yates later performed at the Rock The Bells 2009 Festival and the tenth annual Gathering of the Juggalos.^[16][17] That October, he released K.O.D., an acronym for King of Darkness. The album featured a dark overtone, as Yates was dealing with the illness of his mother.^[18] An EP of new songs over unused beats from the K.O.D. album was released in 2010 as The Lost Scripts of K.O.D.. Later that year, Yates released his third Collabos album, The Gates Mixed Plate.^[18] In October, he released his second EP Seepage. On December 23, he released his first mixtape Bad Season.which was later released in retail CD form with a modified track list and without DJ Scream. On June 7, 2011 Yates released All 6's And 7's. The album features several hip-hop artists as well as rock artists including B.o.B, E-40, Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, Mint Condition, Busta Rhymes, Twista, Lil Wayne, Yelawolf and Deftones.

In 2011, Yates told 411mania.com that after All 6's And 7's he planned on releasing his fourth album in the Collabos series titled Welcome to Strangeland, featuring guest appearances from everyone on Strange Music, followed by the long awaited K.A.B.O.S.H. and 816 Boyz albums.^[19] Then, in July 2011, Yates said in a blog post that Rick Ross has agreed to do a song with him for the K.A.B.O.S.H. album and that he is also hoping to have a collaboration with Jay-Z on that album. In the same blog post, he said that the K.A.B.O.S.H. album will be a rock album.^[20] In another blog post several weeks later, he confirmed that he will begin work on the album after completing Welcome to Strangeland.^[21] Following his tour, he announced that he was about to begin work on Welcome to Strangeland and KLUSTERFUK, confirming producers for both projects. He said he will then begin work on the K.A.B.O.S.H. album.^[22]

Tech N9ne is featured on Lil Wayne's ninth studio album Tha Carter IV on the song Interlude. The track features a verse from Tech and Andre 3000. During a radio interview with Funkmaster Flex in August 2010, Wayne stated that he and Tech N9ne formed a "brotherhood" when Yates visited him in jail. In a later interview, Tech N9ne claimed that he thinks the song will "awaken a lot of other people that wouldn't usually look [his] way" and "teach all the new fans how to become technicians."

On January 27th 2012, in an interview with "Underground TV" posted on Tech N9ne's blog, Tech N9ne talked about his 2012 plans, confirming the release of Klusterfuk, the K.A.B.O.S.H. album and an untitled solo album to be released in 2012. As of March 19, 2012, Tech announced that he would be featured on New York rapper, DMX's upcoming album.^[23]

Style and influences[link]

Yates is known for his dynamic rhyme schemes and speed rap abilities. Soren Baker of VH1 states that Yates' techniques "showcase his wide-ranging, mind-blowing flows."^[8] Baker characterizes Yates' earlier work as "apocalyptic music, which discussed abortion and infidelity as much as his rapping prowess."^[8] Allmusic reviewer Jason Birchmeier calls his style "bizarre hardcore rap."^[1]

Yates says that he is influenced by Old school hip hop, and specifically cites Slick Rick, N.W.A, Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, Schoolly D, and Just-Ice.^[18] He is also interested in other genres of music, and lists The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, AC/DC, Metallica, Floetry, Outkast, and Gnarls Barkley as influences. He's remarked generally that "I love beautiful music, beautiful music no matter what type".^[18]

In popular culture[link]

Films[link]

Yates' songs have appeared in the films Gang Related, Alpha Dog, Our Heroes: The 25 Best Black Sports Movies (Ever), and The Life of Lucky Cucumber.^[24][25][26] Yates was originally set to score the entire film Alpha Dog, but the studio decided to replace some of his music with more commercially known songs.^[27] In 2009, his song "Let's Go" was used in an online promotional short film for AXE body spray.^[28] Yates also appears as an actor in the films Vengeance and Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D.^{[29][30][31][32]}

Video games[link]

Several of Yates' songs are featured in the video games Madden NFL 2006, Midnight Club: Los Angeles,EA Sports MMA, and 25 To Life, the latter of which Yates is also an unlockable character.^[33] In 2009, Yates and label mate Krizz Kaliko appeared in a promotional video for the Fight Night Round 4 video game.^[34]

Television[link]

Yates' music has appeared on the television shows Dark Angel, I'm From Rolling Stone, My Super Sweet 16, The Hills, Spike Guys' Choice Awards, and Warren The Ape.^[35][36] In 2008, his song "Earthquake" was featured on an episode of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew in which the crew had to visually convey the title of the song in their performance.^[37] On the August 15, 2009 Strikeforce event, Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, MMA fighter Gilbert Melendez entered the arena to Tech N9ne's 2006 song "The Beast" for his bout with Mitsuhiro Ishida.^[38] His song "Riot Maker" was used as the official theme song for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's 2010 Hardcore Justice pay-per-view. Yates also appeared on the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards in the BET Cypher with B.o.B, Machine Gun Kelly, Kendrick Lamar, and Big K.R.I.T..

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• The Calm Before the Storm (1999)
• The Worst (2000)
• Anghellic (2001)
• Absolute Power (2002)
• Everready (The Religion) (2006)
• Misery Loves Kompany (2007)
• Killer (2008)
• Sickology 101 (2009)
• K.O.D. (2009)
• The Gates Mixed Plate (2010)
• All 6's And 7's (2011)
• Welcome to Strangeland (2011)
• TBA (2012)^[39]

with K.A.B.O.S.H.

• Amafrican Psycho^[40] (TBA)

Extended plays[link]

• The Lost Scripts of K.O.D. (2010)
• Seepage (2010)
• Klusterfuk (2012)

Mixtapes[link]

• Bad Season (2010) (with DJ Whoo Kid and DJ Scream)

Selected filmography[link]

• Beef (2003)
• Das Bus (2003)
• T9X: The Tech N9ne Experience (2004)
• United Ghettos of America Vol. 2 (2004)
• Hip Hop Nation Vol. 1 (2005)
• Letter to the President (2005)
• Alpha Dog^[A1] (2006)
• The Psychumentary (2008)
• The Life of Lucky Cucumber (2009)
• Strictly Strange (2009)
• K.O.D. Tour (Live in Kansas City) (2010)
• EuroTech Tour (2011)
• Hip Hop Squares (2012)
• Vengeance (TBA)
• Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D^[41] (TBA)

Selected filmography notes

1. ^{^} Tech N9ne does not physically appear, but he did have a helping hand in scoring the movie, this includes the placement of several of his songs in the films score as well as the appearance of a song from fellow label mates Skatterman & Snug Brim.

Awards and nominations[link]

mtvU Woodie Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Tech N9ne at the Internet Movie Database
• Tech N9ne on Myspace
• Tech N9ne at Allmusic
• Tech N9ne on Facebook
• Tech N9ne on Twitter

Busta Rhymes
Background information
Birth name	Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr.
Born	(1972-05-20) May 20, 1972 (age 40)
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, actor
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Conglomerate, Cash Money
Associated acts	Leaders of the New School, A Tribe Called Quest, Flipmode Squad, Spliff Star, Dr. Dre, N.O.R.E., The Notorious B.I.G., Pharrell, Swizz Beatz, DMX, Mystikal, Wu-Tang Clan, M.O.P.,

Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., (born May 20, 1972),^[1] better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes. Early in his career, he was known for his wild style and fashion, and today is best known for his intricate rapping technique, which involves rapping at a fast rate with lots of internal rhyme and half rhyme, and to date has received eleven Grammy nominations for his musical work. About.com included him on its list of the 50 Greatest MCs of Our Time (1987–2007),^[2] while Steve Huey of Allmusic called him one of the best and most prolific rappers of the '90s.^[3]

Early life[link]

Busta was born in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, to Jamaican parents Geraldine Green and Trevor Smith, Sr. in 1972. Smith attended George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School, alongside Jay-Z, DMX and The Notorious B.I.G.^[4][5][6][7] He went to Uniondale High School on Long Island, graduating in 1990.

Music Career[link]

Leaders of the New School and rising popularity: 1990–1993[link]

Hip-hop crew Leaders of the New School began recording in 1989 and released their debut album A Future Without a Past... in 1991 on Elektra Records. In early 1992 the group appeared on A Tribe Called Quest's posse cut "Scenario," in which Busta's climactic verse propelled him into the cultural consciousness.^[8] In 1993, they released T.I.M.E. (The Inner Mind's Eye). Soon after, however, internal problems arose because of Busta's increasing popularity, and the group broke up on the set of Yo! MTV Raps.

After LONS broke up, Busta Rhymes began making guest appearances on several hip-hop and R&B artists singles such as R&B group Boyz II Men, he appeared on the track "Intro Talk" on Mary J. Blige's landmark debut album, What's the 411?, he also appeared on the album jacket of fellow hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders, with a host of other fellow hip-hop pioneers. In 1993, he appeared in a cameo role in Yo! MTV Raps hosts Doctor Dré and Ed Lover's film, Who's the Man?, and in the HBO film, Strapped, and co-starred alongside Ice Cube and Omar Epps in the John Singleton film, Higher Learning (which was in post-production until it was released in 1995). The following year, he teamed up with Puff Daddy, LL Cool J, and future Flipmode Squad member, Rampage and former classmate The Notorious B.I.G., on a remix to Craig Mack's "Flava In Ya Ear", soon after he would team up again with The Notorious B.I.G. among a plethora of rappers such as Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Coolio on the single, "The Points" which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1995 film, Panther.

[edit] The Coming and When Disaster Strikes: 1995–1997

In the summer of 1995, Busta Rhymes started work on his first album The Coming, and a month after recording the album, he released it in March of 1996. A month before the album was released, he broke out with a solo hit single, "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check". Later, he started work on his second album, When Disaster Strikes, which would not be released until September 1997. It produced the hit singles "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and "Fire It Up".

[edit] Extinction Level Event (Final World Front): 1998–1999

In 1998, Busta recorded Extinction Level Event (Final World Front). Its lead single, "Gimme Some More" — which sampled Bernard Herrmann's theme from Psycho — reached number 6 in the UK singles chart in January 1999. Busta enjoyed further transatlantic success in April when the single "What's It Gonna Be?!", featuring Janet Jackson, reached the US and UK Top 11. The album received prominent notice for featuring the fastest rapping Busta has ever performed, particularly on a song called "Iz They Wildin Wit Us?", featuring a guest appearance by Mystikal.^[1]

J/Arista/BMG[link]

Busta Rhymes performing in 2006

Anarchy & Genesis (2000-2001)

In 2000, Busta recorded his final album for Elektra, entitled Anarchy. After Busta signed to J Records, a label started by the then recently ousted Arista Records chief and founder Clive Davis, he released a greatest hits collection^{[citation needed]} alongside a new album of original work. Continuing the Biblical theme of his previous albums, he titled his record Genesis. The album featured collaborations with Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, Kelis, and others. Genesis was powered by the hit single with Kelis, "What It Is", and his solo single released in November 2001, "Break Ya Neck". The final single was the summer smash "Pass the Courvoisier, Part II", which featured Pharrell and P. Diddy. Despite the success of the two singles, this album did not sell as well as previous releases.

It Aint Safe No More (2002-2004)

In 2002, Busta released his sixth studio album It Ain't Safe No More. The album was moderately successful, with a hit song featuring Mariah Carey and the Flipmode Squad called "I Know What You Want". Another hit song was "Make It Clap", featuring Spliff Starr. The remix of "Make It Clap" featured Sean Paul. After its release, he left J Records. In 2004, he signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.

Aftermath/Interscope[link]

The Big Bang (2006)

His seventh studio album, The Big Bang, became the first #1 album of his career. The CD sold over 209,000 copies in its first week to earn the top spot on The Billboard Top 200.^[9] The album also became his highest charting album in the UK, peaking at #19. Some of the album was leaked on the Internet, and as a result several songs were left off the album and new ones added. The Big Bang featured more production by Dr. Dre than Busta's previous releases, as well as appearances by Raekwon and Nas. The singles that have been released from the album are, "Touch It", "I Love My Bitch", featuring Kelis and Will.I.Am, "New York Shit", featuring Swizz Beatz and "In The Ghetto". Busta also had a stint opening for Mariah Carey's The Adventures of Mimi Tour. Also, Busta performed with Eminem on "Touch It Remix Part 5" and performed a verse on the aforementioned rapper's song, "I'll Hurt You". On July 17, 2008, Busta left Interscope/Aftermath due to a creative clash with Interscope head Jimmy Iovine.

Universal Motown[link]

Back on My B.S. (2007-2009)

He also made a song featuring Linkin Park called "We Made It". It was later revealed that Busta inked a deal with Universal Motown, who released his eighth studio album, Back on My B.S., on May 19, 2009.^[10] He also appeared on Asher Roth's debut album, Asleep in the Bread Aisle. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, selling 56,000 copies, and was his first album to not receive an RIAA certification, selling 122,000 copies to date. The singles that have been released from the album are, "Arab Money", featuring Ron Browz, "Hustler's Anthem '09", featuring T-Pain and "Respect My Conglomerate". The song "World Go Round", featuring British singer Estelle, was released in France on April 6, 2009 due to the heavy rotation of a leaked version. The single was released in the UK on July 13, 2009. Due to controversial content, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has banned the album. Back on My B.S. was released internationally, but because of one song, "Arab Money", it is not available to buy as a CD there (however, the album can still be purchased via iTunes). According to the National Media Council, the lyrics were considered to be offensive to Arabs and to Islam, and permission for distribution was therefore denied. Some DJs, artists and fans have lambasted the track, saying it portrayed Arabs in a stereotypical way. The first part out of three of the remix by Rhymes contains verses from the Quran. In November, when "Arab Money" was released as a single, DJ Dany Neville and the Iraqi rapper The Narcicyst responded by recorded a reply. Busta later apologized. DJs in the country said they had not received an order banning the record from being spun in nightclubs, and they had mixed feelings on whether the record was offensive or not.^[11] DJ Saif of Dubai said:

2002

Emirati DJ DJ Bliss, refused to play the Busta Rhymes' single called Arab Money on Radio 1 in Dubai after it was banned in the UAE for offense to Arabs along with many other Dj's in the United Arab Emirates that also took a stand. He added:

[edit] Conglomerate Records / Cash Money Records & Extinction Level Event 2 (2010-present)

Busta announced that he was working on his tenth studio album, alongside Canadian producer Boi-1da, entitled The Chemo. He says that his next project is 80 percent finished.^[12] Busta has reportedly changed the title of his forthcoming Chemo album to Extinction.Level.Event.2 (E.L.E. 2).^[13] Some new songs are being considered for the album, including "C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise) by Tiësto and Diplo and "Look at Me Now" alongside Chris Brown and Lil Wayne. The trend of album sequels continues with Busta adding another chapter to his 1998 opus E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front. Busta's manager Chris Lighty sent out the message via Twitter. He said; "Extinction.Level.Event 2 ......prepare yourself." Like the first, E.L.E. 2 is inspired by movies of impending destruction on planet Earth, Lighty said; "From the Intro of the new Busta Album you're going to know you're in trouble and you just turned on 2012 the movie on warp speed,".

DJ Premier, in an August 6, 2010 interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio said Busta Rhymes has received over eight beats which he didn't want to use but Premier hoped his next beat would be chosen for inclusion on the album.^[14] On DJ Premier's Live From Headqcourterz radio show Premier confirmed that one of his beats were to be included in E.L.E. 2. In 2010, Busta Rhymes formed his new label Conglomerate Records (With later on having rosters such as N.O.R.E., and Spliff Star). He was featured on C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise) by Tiësto and Diplo.

In 2011, Rhymes recorded "Look at Me Now" with Chris Brown and Lil Wayne on Brown's fourth album, F.A.M.E., the song has received favorable reviews regarding Rhymes guest verse on the song, and is his highest chart entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number six, while reaching number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming his first #1 on that chart. On September 7, 2011, Rhymes received six nominations for the BET Hip Hop Awards, held on October 11, 2011.

On May 1, 2011 Rhymes appeared on the launch show for MNET's Big Brother Africa 6: Amplified and performed some of his songs.

In 2011, Busta Rhymes performed at the Gathering of the Juggalos.^[15]

Rhymes contributed to the 2011 Tech N9ne album "All 6's and 7's". The single "Worldwide Choppers" was released on May 31st, 2011.^[16]

Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber will feature Busta on a song called "Drummer Boy" off Bieber's sophomore studio album, Under the Mistletoe, released on 1 November 2011.^[17]

On November 11, 2011, a Heavy D tribute song titled "You Ain’t Gotta Wait Till I’m Gone" was leaked.^[18]

On November 16, 2011, it was announced that Busta Rhymes and Mystikal signed to Cash Money Records.^[19] On June 08, 2010, way before he was signed by Birdman, he released "Stop the Party (Iron Man)" which featured Swizz Beatz. For his debut single on the Cash Money label and his Conglomerate Records, he reunites with Chris Brown to make the aggressive single known as Why Stop Now.

In 2012, Busta collaborated with Jodie Connor, featuring on her single "Take You There", however he did not appear in the music video.

A song with Twista, titled "Can You Keep Up" was leaked.

Acting Career[link]

Busta has appeared in a number of films (including Shaft, The Rugrats Movie, Halloween: Resurrection, and Higher Learning) and TV shows (including Cosby, The Boondocks, and The Steve Harvey Show).^{[20][21][22][23][24]}

Personal life[link]

Busta has three children with his ex-girlfriend, Joanne Wood: T'Ziah (born 1993), T'Khi (born 1999), and Trillian (born 2000).

Religion[link]

On September 2, 2007, a video was uploaded on Liveleak.com about Rhymes having converted to Islam.^[25] He himself has said that he lives his life by Islam, stating he is Muslim and loves Allah.

Legal issues[link]

On August 20, 2006, he was arraigned for charges of third-degree assault after attacking a man who reportedly spat on his car in New York City on August 12 after the AmsterJam Music Festival on Randall's Island.^[26]

On October 24, 2006, he appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court as the district attorney's office attempted to amend previous charges against him to include weapons possession for a machete found in his car. The judge refused to add the charge and adjourned the case.^[27][28]

On February 20, 2007, Busta refused a plea deal offered by the prosecutors office for the assault of his former driver, Edward Hatchett. The deal would have entailed six months in jail and pleading guilty to two assaults, the attack on Hatchett, and the attack on the former fan. The dispute with Hatchett is believed to have originated over back pay Hatchett felt he was owed. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Becki Rowe offered Busta another option, pleading guilty to third-degree assault. The conditions of the proposed sentence would include five days of community service, two weeks of youth lectures and six months of anger management classes, as well as three years of probation. On March 18, 2008 a judge in New York City sentenced Busta to three years' probation, 10 days' community service, $1250 in fines (plus court costs), and to enroll in a drunken driving program.^{[28][29][30][31]}

On September 25, 2008, he was temporarily refused entry to the United Kingdom due to "unresolved convictions".^[32]

On October 14, 2009, a Brooklyn judge ordered Busta to pay a concert goer $75,000 in compensation for an assault which occurred in 2003.^[33]

Discography[link]

• The Coming (1996)
• When Disaster Strikes... (1997)
• E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front (1998)
• Anarchy (2000)
• Genesis (2001)
• It Ain't Safe No More... (2002)
• The Big Bang (2006)
• Back on My B.S. (2009)
• E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event) 2: End of the World (TBA)

Awards and nominations[link]

Busta Rhymes has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards during his 16-year solo career.

Grammy Awards

Busta Rhymes has been nominated for 10 MTV Video Music Awards during his 16-year solo career, but has yet to win one.

MTV Video Music Awards

See also[link]

• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. dance chart
• List of number-one U.S. dance hits

References[link]