Busta Rhymes Spits The Violence On A 1999 Freestyle (Audio)

In 1999, Busta Rhymes had most recently dropped E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front, his third platinum album in as many releases. With two more consecutive platinum-selling LPs in the chamber (2000’s Anarchy and 2001’s Genesis), the Flipmode Squad MC was at the top of his game at the turn of the millennium, and in a 1999 visit to Tim Westwood, Busta was able to stack up his extemporaneous rapping skills alongside his stamina as a superstar recording artist.

Busta Rhymes Pays Tribute To Phife Dawg With A Heartfelt Open Letter (Video)

Accompanied by fellow member of the Conglomerate, Spliff Star, Busta spits off a few sets of seemingly unrehearsed bars (he in fact labels them as such at the 5:10 mark). But first, the two get off on Boogie Down Productions/KRS-One’s “I’m Still #1,” with Busta’s verse (at least in part) also appearing in the lyrics of this freestyle featured at Genius. For the vast majority of the nearly 14-minute segment, the two MCs trade bars atop Redman’s self-produced “Da Goodness,” a record from his 1998 LP Doc’s da Name 2000 (which, coincidentally, features a guest verse from Busta). Nevertheless, Bussa Bus doesn’t regurgitate any of his verse, and rather goes for several rounds of freestyling, including a considerable chunk in full patois. In closing, Busta requests to hear Nas’s “Nas Is Like,” an early 1999 single produced by DJ Premier. It’s safe to say he saved his best for last, and he uses the last couple of minutes to spazz out.

This wasn’t the first time Tim Westwood unvaulted some Busta Rhymes off-the-cuff material. Back in June, the U.K. DJ uploaded footage of the Flipmode Squad and EPMD.