Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 15, 1998 | |||
Recorded | 1998 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 70:28 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
| |||
Busta Rhymes chronology | ||||
| ||||
Busta Rhymes solo chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event):The Final World Front | ||||
|
Extinction Level Event:The Final World Front is the third studio album by American rapper and record producer Busta Rhymes. It was released on December 15,1998,by Flipmode and Elektra Records in North America. The album follows the apocalyptic theme explored by Rhymes' first two albums, The Coming (1996) and When Disaster Strikes (1997). The album comprises East Coast,West Coast,horrorcore,and hardcore hip hop music.
Widely praised by critics,the album earned three Grammy Award nominations:Best Rap Album,Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 42nd Grammy Awards. It also spawned three Billboard chart hits,including the Janet Jackson-featuring "What's It Gonna Be?!",which became Busta's 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.
"I'd had success with two albums, and I felt like I didn't have to prove anything to other people anymore. But I had to prove something to myself. I did things that nobody had been able to do before, such as having Janet Jackson and Ozzy Osbourne on the same album. I caught [producer] J Dilla at the best time. Nobody else got him as good as me." – Busta Rhymes [1]
The album received generally favorable reviews. 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. [2]
In August 2020, Busta Rhymes announced a sequel to the album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God , which was released on October 30, 2020. [3] [4]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | [6] |
Entertainment Weekly | B [7] |
Mixmag | [8] |
NME | [9] |
RapReviews | 8/10 [10] |
Rolling Stone | [11] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
The Source | [13] |
Urban Latino | [8] |
The album debuted at number twelve on the official US Billboard 200 album chart, remaining on the chart for thirty-two weeks. [14] 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. [15] In the United Kingdom, E.L.E. entered at number fifty-four on the official UK Albums Chart, charting for seven weeks. [16] On January 8, 1999, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping 1,000,000 copies. [17]
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 that the cover was inspired by the disaster movie Deep Impact, showing his image of an asteroid hitting New York City. [18]
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [19]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "There's Only One Year Left!!!" (Intro) |
| 2:39 | |
2. | "Everybody Rise" |
| 3:02 | |
3. | "Where We Are About to Take It" | 3:08 | ||
4. | "Extinction Level Event (The Song of Salvation)" |
| 3:36 | |
5. | "Tear da Roof Off" | 3:38 | ||
6. | "Against All Odds" (featuring Flipmode Squad) | 4:20 | ||
7. | "Just Give It to Me Raw" | 3:03 | ||
8. | "Do It to Death" | 3:29 | ||
9. | "Keepin' It Tight" |
|
| 4:29 |
10. | "Gimme Some More" | 2:41 | ||
11. | "Iz They Wildin wit Us & Gettin' Rowdy wit Us" (featuring Mystikal) |
|
| 3:41 |
12. | "Party Is Goin' on Over Here" | 2:34 | ||
13. | "Do the Bus a Bus" |
| 5:00 | |
14. | "Take It Off" |
| 3:09 | |
15. | "What's It Gonna Be?!" (featuring Janet Jackson) |
|
| 5:26 |
16. | "Hot Shit Makin' Ya Bounce" |
|
| 3:34 |
17. | "What the Fuck You Want!!" | 3:17 | ||
18. | "This Means War!!" (featuring Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath) |
| 5:04 | |
19. | "The Burial Song" (Outro) | 5:04 | ||
Total length: | 70:28 |
Chart (1998) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [20] | 34 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [21] | 45 |
UK Albums (OCC) [22] | 54 |
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [23] | 7 |
US Billboard 200 [24] | 12 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [25] | 2 |
Chart (1999) | Position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 [26] | 49 |
US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [27] | 14 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [28] | Gold | 100,000* |
United States (RIAA) [29] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Trevor George Smith Jr., known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes. He has received 12 Grammy Award nominations for his work, making him one of the most-nominated artists without winning.
George Spivey, known professionally as DJ Scratch, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from Brooklyn, New York.
"What's It Gonna Be?!" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes featuring American singer Janet Jackson. It was released as the fourth and last single from Rhymes' third studio album Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front on March 9, 1999, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records. The song was written by Rhymes, Antoinette Roberson and its producer Darrell "Delite" Allamby. 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 the American rapper and record producer Busta Rhymes. It was released on March 26, 1996, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records. The album contains contributions by the Def Squad members Redman, Keith Murray, and Jamal; as well as Q-Tip, Zhané, Leaders of the New School, and several Flipmode Squad members. It was produced by DJ Scratch, Easy Mo Bee, and the Ummah, among others. It serves as Rhymes's first solo album after the breakup of Leaders of the New School two years prior, and his 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.
Genesis is the fifth studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes. The album was released on November 27, 2001, by Flipmode Records and J Records. The fourth single from the album, "Pass the Courvoisier Part II", peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100. It was included at the end of the album on some later pressings. The album debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 185,000 copies. It later sold one million domestic copies and certified Platinum by RIAA.
When Disaster Strikes... is the second studio album by American rapper and record producer Busta Rhymes, released by Elektra on September 16, 1997. The album follows the same theme as The Coming, the apocalypse. The album, upon its release, received mostly positive reviews, debuted at number three on the official US Billboard 200 album chart, and peaked at the top spot on the Top R&B Albums chart.
Anarchy is the fourth studio album by American rapper and record producer Busta Rhymes, released on June 20, 2000, by Flipmode Records and Elektra Records. It comes after the release of The Coming, When Disaster Strikes and Extinction Level Event . The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 164,000 copies. The album would later be certified Platinum by the RIAA. This was Busta's final album with Elektra Records.
It Ain't Safe No More... is the sixth studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes, released on November 26, 2002, by Flipmode Records and J Records. It served as his final album for J. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Swizz Beatz, J Dilla, DJ Scratch, The Neptunes and Rick Rock among others. The album also features guest appearances by Mariah Carey, Sean Paul, Carl Thomas, Spliff Star and many more.
The Conglomerate Entertainment is a record label founded by Busta Rhymes. The label was established in 1994 as Flipmode, the name Conglomerate was later adopted in 2010.
"Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released as the lead single from his second studio album When Disaster Strikes... on August 12, 1997, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records. The song was written by Rhymes and its main producers Shamello and Buddah. The song was co-produced by Epitome and contains additional vocals by Fabulouz Fabz, who was Rhymes' road manager at the time.
"Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released on January 7, 1996, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records as his debut solo single and the lead single from his debut studio album, The Coming (1996). The song was both written and produced by Rhymes and Rashad Smith. It contains additional vocals by Flipmode Squad member and Rhymes' cousin Rampage, credited as Rampage the Last Boy Scout. A critical and commercial success, the song peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, and also peaked at the same position in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. In the United States, the song was released with several remixes of the song and "Everything Remains Raw", also appearing on The Coming, as its B-side. The single received a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 39th Grammy Awards, losing to "Hey Lover" by LL Cool J. In addition, its music video, directed by Hype Williams, received a nomination for Breakthrough Video at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards.
"Gimme Some More" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released as the second single from his third studio album Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front on October 26, 1998, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records. The song was written by Rhymes and its producer DJ Scratch. The violin riffs that accompany the main beat are sampled from the opening theme to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho, composed by Bernard Herrmann. It is often considered to be the very summit of Busta's complex, breathless, high-speed rhyming delivery most prominent in his early work.
"Dangerous" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released as the second single from his second studio album When Disaster Strikes... on November 18, 1997, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records. The song was written by Rhymes and its producer Rashad Smith. Since the song contains a sample of the Extra T's 1982 song "E.T. Boogie", two of the song's writers, Henry Stone and Freddy Stonewall, are also credited as songwriters on "Dangerous".
"Thank You" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released on November 7, 2013 by Cash Money Records and Republic Records as the intended second single from his tenth studio album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God. The album, released October 30, 2020 by Conglomerate and Empire, excluded both "Thank You" and "#Twerkit", the album's intended lead singles.
Haas G is a Staten Island-based hip hop musician. Haas G was part of the 1990s rap duo the U.M.C.'s, and as Carlos Evans, he is credited as producer of the hit "Magic Stick".
"Flava in Ya Ear" is a song by American rapper Craig Mack. It was released as the lead single from his debut studio album Project: Funk da World on July 2, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. It was remixed with the addition of rappers The Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes.
"ATM" is a single by American rapper J. Cole, released on April 20, 2018 from his fifth studio album, KOD, and was produced solely by himself. "ATM" was sent to US rhythmic contemporary radio on July 31, 2018, as the album's second single. The track debuted at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God is the tenth studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes, published on October 30, 2020. The album features guest appearances from Eminem, 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.
"Party Is Goin' on Over Here" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released as the third single from his third studio album Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front in late 1998, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records. The song was written by Rhymes and its producer DJ Scratch, who worked with Rhymes several times, including on the album's first single, "Gimme Some More". The song was released with the songs "Everybody Rise" and "Tear da Roof Off", both appearing on Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front and the latter released as the lead single from the album, as its B-side. It peaked at number 72 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
"Tear da Roof Off" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released as the lead single from his third studio album Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front on October 21, 1998, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records. The song was written by Rhymes and its producer Swizz Beatz. The song was released with the second single from the album "Gimme Some More" as its A-side. It was also included as the B-side on the second single release, "What's It Gonna Be?!" featuring Janet Jackson, and on the third single release of the album, "Party Is Goin' on Over Here". The song peaked at number 75 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)