It's disappointing to report, but, for possibly the first time in his career, Trevor "Busta Rhymes" Smith might have overstepped his mark.
Less than a year since his first record for J, 'Genesis', posited a rebirth, 'It Ain't Safe No More' feels rushed. Busta's sixth LP since his pioneering but under appreciated group Leaders of the New School broke up doesn't start where 'Genesis' left off. Rather, Busta seems to be taking some steps backwards.
The constant round of cameo appearances he made in the dying days of his relationship with Elektra had seemed to dilute his larger-than-life essence, commodifying and de-valuing a vocalist whose talents always seemed more suited to the short sharp shock of singles than the longer-form hard work of albums. But 'Genesis', arguably his best LP, changed all that, and saw Busta focussing on his strengths - an angular, spittle-flecked flow, and an immaculate choice in beats that would stretch him, and hip hop itself.
By contrast, 'It Ain't Safe No More', despite the title, seems to be Busta on autopilot, operating at well within his own considerable parameters. The Gothic scores and baroque flourishes that flesh out 'What Do You Do When You're Branded' are tricks he's used in the past; 'We Goin' To Do It To Ya' is a retread of the genuinely different, next-level 'Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See', while 'Taste It' cribs from the Knight Rider-sampling 'Turn It Up/Fire It Up'. Where the production is more conventional, Busta begins to sound like the competition, notably Redman on the partially effective title track.
That said, this is a far from bad LP. But Busta is becoming a hostage to his own fortune, a victim of his own success. The fact that experimental, abstract beats have become so popular is partly down to him, but now that everybody's doing it, he has to do it more, or better, or different. Whatever, it means that an OK album just isn't good enough any more.
