See you on January 1st!

Ever since you saw him wearing that crazy-ass black Santa suit in the video for "Woo-Ha! Got You All In Check" Busta Rhymes has been one of the most visible figures in hip hop today. Now, four years later he's doing something most rappers don't: Busta Rhymes is proving he has staying power. This time around, he's decided to play on our pre-millennial tensions and paranoia, and no one can doubt he has done a superb job in that respect. For a terrifying glimpse into his vision of the future look no farther than the first track on the album. Anyone wanting a raging address on the predicted revolution and the fight ahead, the chilling Outro will serve to incite you to riot. As far as the actual music goes, there can be no doubt concerning Busta's lyrical skills, though if you didn't like his delivery on the previous albums there will be nothing here to convert you. For the most part his music is creative, though there are some lapses. "Just Give It To Me Raw" loops a nifty little Japanese-sounding melody, but "They Wildin Wit Us & Gettin Rowdy Wit Us?" with Mystikal seems too self-indulgent. Much better is "This Means War!!" which teams Busta odd couple-style with Ozzy Osbourne. Raw and rough, Busta, it turns out, sounds really good with guitar behind him and a chorus that sounds like it came out of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas "Against All Odds" spotlights the Flipmode Squad, who are, to tell the truth more interesting than Janet Jackson is in "What's It Gonna Be?". The "Psycho"-like whines of "Gimme Some More" combined with Busta's mile-a-minute delivery make for another hit. All in all, Busta is still head and shoulders above the current crop of rappers.