Name: Trevor Tamerri Smith, Jr.
Birth Date: 05/20/1972
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Trevor Smith, Jr., better known as Busta Rhymes (born May 20, 1972), is a Grammy-nominated American rapper, songwriter, and actor of Jamaican origin. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the name Busta Rhymes (from former NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes) after watching him perform.
Busta Rhymes was a member of Leaders of the New School and released two albums with the group before breaking out with a 1996 solo hit single, "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check" from his platinum record album The Coming.
The follow-up, When Disaster Strikes was successful in the US and sold well overseas. The album produced two hugely popular singles and videos in America, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and "Dangerous". The third single "Turn It Up/Fire It Up" reached as high as number 2 on the UK singles chart and number 10 in the U.S. The next year he released The Imperial Album as part of the Flipmode Squad, a collaborative project with rappers Rampage, Lord Have Mercy, Spliff Star, Rah Digga, and Baby Sham. It, like its predecessor, sold well and went gold.
In 1998, Smith recorded Extinction Level Event (Final World Front), the theme of which was an assertion that the world would end in the year 2000. Its single, "Gimme Some More" – which sampled Bernard Herrmann's theme from Psycho – reached number 5 in the UK singles chart in January 1999. Smith enjoyed further transatlantic success in April when the single "What's It Gonna Be?!", featuring Janet Jackson, reached the US and UK Top 10. The album received prominent notice for featuring the fastest rapping Busta has yet done, on a song called "Iz They Wildin Wit Us & Gettin' Rowdy Wit Us?", featuring a guest appearance by Mystikal.
1999 was a challenging year for Smith. He paid a visit to a courthouse regarding confusion involving child support. Police at one point pulled over his car and found an unregistered gun, which he received 5 years of probation for. Elektra- not fond of bad publicty- increasingly began to shut him down, offering less studio time and promotion for his forthcoming album "Anarchy". Busta didn't like that and transferred Flipmode Squad to J Records after fufilling his contract with Elektra.
After defecting from Elektra, Smith signed to J Records, a label started by the then recently ousted Arista Records chief and founder Clive Davis. In 2001 he released a greatest hits collection alongside a new album of original work.
Continuing the Biblical theme of his previous albums, he titled his record Genesis. The album featured collaborations with Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, Kelis, and others. Genesis was powered by the hit single with Kelis, "What It Is," and his solo single released in November 2001, "Break Ya Neck." The final single was the summer smash "Pass The Courvoisier Part 2," which featured Pharrell and P. Diddy. Despite the two powerful singles, this album did not sell as well as previous releases.
In 2002, Smith released his sixth studio album It Ain't Safe No More. The album was moderately successful, with a hit song featuring Mariah Carey and the Flipmode Squad called "I Know What You Want." Another hit song was "Make It Clap", featuring Spliff Starr. The remix of "Make It Clap" featured Sean Paul. After its release, he left J Records. In 2004, he signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.
In November 2005, Smith cut off his trademark dreadlocks during a photo shoot in a New York barbershop owned by producer Cory Rooney. The shop is featured on an MTV show titled The Shop. "I started growing [my hair] in December '89. I was 17," he said. "I signed my [record] deal and said I ain't combing my hair no more. I don't have to." He says the haircut was symbolic of a change in his music and the new record deal.[citation needed]
His seventh studio album, The Big Bang, became the first #1 album of his career. The CD sold over 209,000 copies in its first week to earn the top spot on The Billboard Top 200. The album also became his highest charting album in the UK, peaking at #19. Some of the album was leaked on the Internet, and as a result several songs were left off the album and new ones added. The Big Bang featured more production by Dr. Dre than Smith's previous releases, as well as appearances by Raekwon and Nas. The singles that have been released from the album are, "Touch It," "I Love My Chick," featuring Kelis and Will.I.Am, "New York Shit," and "In The Ghetto." Smith also had a stint opening for Mariah Carey's The Adventures of Mimi Tour. Also, Smith performed with Eminem on "Touch It Remix Part 5". Others such as Jae Millz and Ne-Yo appeared as well.
On July 17, 2008, Rhymes left Interscope/Aftermath due to a creative clash with Interscope head Jimmy Iovine. It was later revealed that Rhymes inked a deal with Universal Motown, who will be releasing his 8th studio album Back on My B.S. on March 24, 2009.
Sources: Wikipedia.
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