What can be said about Busta Rhymes that hasn’t been said a million times before? Busta has changed the shape of hip-hop time and time again and was a major force in the mid-90's Hip-Hop explosion. Always eccentric and in your face, the dread-locked superstar has always shown flamboyance in a genre where mediocrity is always order of the day and always stayed true to his own inimitable style.
Turn It Up! (The Very Best) does exactly as it says on the tin, providing the essential soundtrack to one of the hip-hop’s most loved faces. Firing out of the blocks with a one-two combination of ‘Turn it Up/Fire it Up’ and ‘Woo-Haa! Got you all in check’, the pace of this record is relentless, providing everything you’d expect to be here and more. From the slick and smooth stylings of ‘What’s it gonna be?!’ to the quirky flavour of ‘Do My Thing’, the changes come thick and fast but the quality is always of the highest caliber. There's just so many different flavours on show here. Playground style simplicity ('Get Out'), 100% adrenaline-fuelled madness ('Gimme Some More') and soulfull grooves ('One') are all represented in a fashion that could only be Busta. Simply brilliant.
For all rap fans, there may be nothing new here but just to have so many massive joints on one CD is head spinning. Sticking out like a jester at a funeral, it’s time to pay homage to the clown prince of Hip-Hop for simply being the most innovative artist in the genre. Just a matter of weeks to wait until the next record (Genesis), prepare to be amazed one more time.
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8Terry Bezer's Score