Last night at the Prudential Center, Hot 97 and The Conglomerate presented the Busta Rhymes & Friends – Hot For The Holidays concert. Promotion for the event made it clear that Busta Rhymes has a lot of friends.
Puff Daddy, French Montana, Mary J. Blige, Lil Wayne, and Sean Paul were the first of the artists announced to join Bussa Bus in Newark. Then, more names were added. Names like Jeremih, then New Jersey’s own Fetty Wap, then The Lox. Then the promotion shifted into second gear. Rick Ross was announced. Then Mariah Carey, then after a couple of weeks passed, Lil’ Kim was announced. Then it was Raekwon, then Redman, then Method Man, and before you knew it, this concert was clearly defining itself as the concert of the year.
At one point, during Fetty Wap’s performance, I looked in the back of the arena and caught a glimpse of Jarobi, one-fourth of one of Hip Hop’s favorite groups of all time, A Tribe Called Quest, dancing and singing every word of the hit Trap Queen. But this is exactly the presentation that we should have expected from a Hip Hop legend 25 years in the making, especially one who’s timeless classics like “Woo Hah” and 21st century offerings like “Thank You” are still keeping us dancing.
On top of the music and seemingly endless list of friends, Busta Rhymes and Spliff Star must have gone through at least a dozen wardrobe changes last night. Opening the show, DJ Bobby Trends, DJ Enuff, and Funkmaster Flex got the crowd’s heart rate right where it needed to be. Then, in homage to the Eddie Murphy classic “Coming To America”, Busta appeared on stage as a 5-star general, preluded by an African tribal dance ensemble. Busta Rhymes is the glue between the golden era of Hip Hop and the present day. And he is unapologetic about that, constantly saluting his friends on stage including the relatively newer acts throughout the night. And as fans of Hip Hop culture, style, and music, we all salute Busta Rhymes.
