producers: just blaze, neptunes, dr. dre, nottz, diamond d, michaelangelo, pete rock, dilla, others.

There are a couple of rap superstars, but few as energetic, enigmatic, eclectic and all that other shenanigan as Busta Rhymes. And that's a good thing. Because that always made his albums entertaining, due to you never really knowing what to expect. Oftentimes his beats were pioneering what others later would ride to death. His flow has been toned down lately, but it's still a refreshing waterfall of words. And dude got humor too. So we got plenty of reasons to put our attention to "The Genesis", Busta's first release on Clive Davis' new J Records imprint.

Unfortunately some of the beats picked are thoroughly unimpressive, like what Just Blaze did on "We Got What You Want" and "Everybody Rise Again", that's a Dre meets Neptunes, hence unnecessary. On the latter we get some nice punchlines though, with Busta spitting: "blessing the younger thug wit shit to look forward to / the god is back, so niggas is quick and to fast forward you". The single "As I Come Back" features cool technozid sounds during the chorus, while the rest of the song we have to bear the typical and annoying Neptunes sound (and that can also be heard on "What It Is"), it's still being one of the strongest cuts on the album. The collaboration with P. Diddy "Pass The Courvoisier" is featuring some interesting clicking sounds, with the rest sounding like the hydraulics of a low rider.

Somewhat questionable is the almost cover version of the Public Enemy original, and very little updated "Shut 'Em Down 2002". The lyrics obviously are new, but the rest remains the remix that Pete Rock did, with him even doing the chorus again. Disastrous is "Truck Volume" that's produced by Dr. Dre. Now, if anyone else but him would have done this, no one would have ever bothered to rhyme over it. This is simply weak, naw, scratch that: this beat is wack. And damn, the beat on "Break Ya Neck" is not really better, and "Holla" does little to correct the wrongdoings. On the single "Break Ya Neck" Busta at least spits his rapid fire flow, and he goes "get money, then cash that check for me / all my niggas just bust yo' tech for me / everybody from every hood bang yo' head / 'til you break your motherfucking head for me!". Dre's protege Melman comes much doper on "Bounce (Let Me See Ya Throw It)", him pulling off a dramatic piece, while Busta is addressing the females in nasty ways.

But after all those complaints, let's give some praise too: "Genesis" comes brilliantly reduced, and Busta finds something worthwhile to talk about too: "and for my worthy niggas I'ma die trying for y'all / with the blessing of an angel tear crying for y'all / back to the foundation, taking you, wander back where it all started / with a whole new beginning and a brand new hunger", to then in the second verse returning to the battling words: "you like a weak preacher, swear, you smack dead on a cross / smack ya fingers for trying to put your hands in the sauce / sometimes I think that it would be best if you run / and do yourself a favor, cause you got your whole life ahead of you son!". We have heard better Busta and Diamond D collaborations, but what they've done on "Wife In Law" is still cool, again accomplishing much in simple ways. Opposite to this slow vibe, "Make It Hurt" is quick and pushing motivated. Just Blaze then finally comes correct with the beat on "Match The Name With The Voice", that's a ill posse cut, it featuring the Flipmode Squadians.

Okay, this is disappointing. Not totally, as we get a couple of tracks that are cool, and the rest is good in a mainstream release with a certain desire to have pop appeal kind of way. But what is disappointing, that rather than setting standards, Busta is adapting to ones that others set, that are just not working for him. Hence he has to tone down much of what exactly makes him unique, if not to say, used to make him good. Meaning that it should be a must for him to do things different, rather than doing what others have done before. Still, the value is there, the record is giving us head nods, we'll listen to it again. That has to be enough in this case.