The ‘Boom Bap’ sub-genre of rap saw its newest evolution today in one of the most well-rounded and topical classic hip hop albums of 2020. “Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God” is the sequel to Busta Rhymes’ 1998 project “Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front” and, for the most part, it follows the same format and theme of its predecessor.
Similarly to other projects that have come out in 2020, much of Busta’s ELE2 is a response to the turmoil that he has seen in this country. Songs like ‘The Purge‘ and ‘Satanic‘ display his views on current racial tensions in America. To put it in the best light, he is intelligently pissed off at the world. Busta has been patient and has listened to the facts, but now he has offered his take on a lot of issues.
In terms of the music, ELE2 is a classic Busta Rhymes album with more of a conscious vibe. Lyricism plays a huge role on the project, but the focus is on the message of the lyrics rather than the word play. It contains politically oriented tracks, some bangers, and a couple of love/emotional songs, really showing the versatility of the hip hop genre. However, one thing that seems to be missing from it as a whole is Busta Rhyme’s patented speed in his flow. It is definitely not slow rap, even the song titled ‘Slow Flow‘ still has some quickness to it, but Busta is regarded as one of the fasted rappers alive and he decided not to use it on this project. Many believe it is because he wanted his powerful words to be heard clearly.
Busta Rhymes also stepped it up with his feature game. From Rakim to Wu-Tang’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard, the album features a number of legends in the hip hop community, like many of his other works, but the most notable appearance on it is Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick shows up late in the album on the track ‘Look Over Your Shoulder‘. The song unfortunately suffered from leaks and was already well known, but its dreamy beat, nostalgic chorus sample, and introspective verses from the two veterans are kind of hard to get tired of.
