E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 15, 1998 | |||
Recorded | 1998 | |||
Studio | Larrabee North Sound Studios (Los Angeles, California) No Limit Studios (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) Quad Studios (New York, NY) Soundtrack Studios (New York, NY) | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 70:28 | |||
Label | Flipmode, Elektra | |||
Producer |
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Busta Rhymes chronology | ||||
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Singles from E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front | ||||
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E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front is the third studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes. The album was released on December 15, 1998 by Flipmode and Elektra Records in North America. The album follows the apocalypse theme that was explored by Rhymes in his first two studio albums, The Coming (1996) and When Disaster Strikes (1997). Musically, the album is composed of East Coast, West Coast, horrorcore, and hardcore hip hop music.
Based on the "end of the world" motif and apocalypse themes that was displayed in Rhymes earlier albums The Coming (1996) and When Disaster Strikes (1997), the album was widely praised by critics and received three Grammy Award nominations for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 42nd Grammy Awards. E.L.E. also spawned three singles that attained Billboard chart success, including the Janet Jackson-featuring "What's It Gonna Be?!", which became Rhymes' highest-charting single on the US Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist, reaching number three. In early 1999, E.L.E. was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over one million copies.
The album received generally favorable reviews from most music critics. At the 42nd Grammy Awards, the album earned three nominations, one for the album itself in the category of Best Rap Album, a Best Rap Solo Performance nomination for "Gimme Some More" and a Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group nomination for "What's It Gonna Be?!" with Janet Jackson. [1]
In August 2020, Busta Rhymes announced a sequel to the album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God , scheduled to be released on October 30, 2020. [2] [3]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B [5] |
Mixmag | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 7/10 [7] |
The New York Times | favorable [8] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Source | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Urban Latino | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Village Voice | mixed [12] |
The album debuted at number twelve on the official US Billboard 200 album chart, remaining on the chart for thirty-two weeks. [13] E.L.E. peaked at the number two spot on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, peaking inside the top fifty for thirty-five weeks. [14] In the United Kingdom, E.L.E. entered at number fifty-four on the official UK Albums Chart, charting for seven weeks. [15] On January 8, 1999, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping 1,000,000 copies. [16]
The album, and cover were influenced by popular disaster movies around the time of the album's release in 1998, primarily Armageddon and Deep Impact . Busta Rhymes explained in an interview that the cover was inspired by the disaster movie Deep Impact, showing his image of an asteroid hitting New York City. [17]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "There's Only One Year Left (Intro)" | DJ Mr. Stanneke | 2:39 | |
2. | "Everybody Rise" | Trevor Smith Jr., Dominick Lamb | Nottz | 3:02 |
3. | "Where We Are About to Take It" | Smith, Lamb | Nottz | 3:08 |
4. | "Extinction Level Event (The Song of Salvation)" | Smith, Lamb | Nottz | 3:36 |
5. | "Tear da Roof Off" | Smith, Kasseem Dean | Swizz Beatz | 3:38 |
6. | "Against All Odds" (featuring The Flipmode Squad) | Smith, Rashia Fisher, W. Michael Lewis, Roger McNair, L. Jones | Jamal | 4:20 |
7. | "Just Give It to Me Raw" | Smith, Dean | Swizz Beatz | 3:03 |
8. | "Do It to Death" | Smith, Dana Stinson | Rockwilder | 3:29 |
9. | "Keepin' It Tight" | Smith, Manu Dibango, Rashad Smith | Rashad Smith, Armando Colon | 4:29 |
10. | "Gimme Some More" | Smith, George Spivey | DJ Scratch | 2:41 |
11. | "Iz They Wildin Wit Us & Gettin' Rowdy Wit Us?" (featuring Mystikal) | Smith, Darrell Allamby, Michael Tyler | Darrell "Delite" Allamby, Kenny "Flav" Dickerson | 3:41 |
12. | "Party Is Goin' on Over Here" | Smith, Spivey | DJ Scratch | 2:34 |
13. | "Do the Bus a Bus" | Smith, Russell Simmons, Lawrence Smith, Jimmy Spicer, Spivey | DJ Scratch | 5:00 |
14. | "Take It Off" | Smith, Carlos Evans | Haas G | 3:09 |
15. | "What's It Gonna Be?!" (featuring Janet Jackson) | Smith, Allamby, Antoinette Roberson | Darrell "Delite" Allamby | 5:26 |
16. | "Hot Shit Makin' Ya Bounce" | Smith, Deric Angelettie | D-Dot, Nashiem Myrick | 3:34 |
17. | "What the Fuck You Want!!" | Smith | Diamond D | 3:17 |
18. | "This Means War!!" (featuring Ozzy Osbourne) | Smith, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, A. McLeer | Busta Rhymes | 4:38 |
19. | "The Burial Song (Outro)" | Smith, Spivey | DJ Scratch | 5:04 |
• "Everybody Rise" contains a sample of "If Tomorrow Never Comes" by The Controllers.
Chart (1998) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 200 [18] | 12 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [19] | 2 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [20] | 45 |
UK Albums (OCC) [21] | 54 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [22] | 34 |
Chart (1999) | Position |
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US Billboard 200 [23] | 49 |
US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [24] | 14 |
Country | Certification (sales thresholds) |
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United States | Platinum (RIAA) [16] |
United Kingdom | Gold (BPI) [25] |
Trevor George Smith Jr., known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is a Jamaican-American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and record executive. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes. He has received 11 Grammy Award nominations for his work.
Greatest Hits is a posthumous double-disc greatest hits album by American rapper 2Pac, released by Amaru Entertainment, Death Row Records, and Interscope Records on November 13, 1998.
George Spivey, professionally known as DJ Scratch, is an American three-time Grammy-nominated hip hop disc jockey (DJ) and multi-platinum record producer from Brooklyn, New York.
"What's It Gonna Be?!" is the second single released by American rapper Busta Rhymes from his third studio album E.L.E. : The Final World Front (1999), featuring guest vocals from American singer Janet Jackson. The song was a commercial and critical success, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top ten of various countries. It also hit number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks charts, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2000 Grammy Awards.
The Coming is the debut studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released on March 26, 1996, by Elektra Records. The album features Def Squad members Redman and Keith Murray, Q-Tip, Zhané, Leaders of the New School and several Flipmode Squad members. Production was handled by DJ Scratch, Easy Mo Bee and The Ummah, among others. It serves as Rhymes' first solo album after the break up of former group Leaders of the New School three years prior and Rhymes' first full-length project after numerous guest appearances on other songs with artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, The Notorious B.I.G., Heavy D and the Boyz and Mary J. Blige.
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Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God is the tenth studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes. The album features guest appearances from Kendrick Lamar, Mariah Carey, Anderson .Paak, Q-Tip, Rick Ross, Mary J. Blige, Rapsody, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Rakim, Pete Rock, Vybz Kartel, Bell Biv DeVoe, M.O.P., Nikki Grier, Chris Rock, and Louis Farrakhan. It is a sequel to 1998's E.L.E. : The Final World Front, and his first studio album since 2012's Year of the Dragon.