Busta Rhymes made waves when they dropped their latest single, “Look Over Your Shoulder”. Not only is the track built on the classic Jackson 5 model, but it also features the first home of the year from Kendrick Lamar. During a recent interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Busta explained how the song came together.
Busta began by remembering that he was stuck at Quad Studio in New York City during a snowstorm while trying to put the song together.
“The amazing combination of that record was a real magical experience. It started once when I was stuck in a studio, at Quad Studio, in Manhattan New York. I got a bunch of tunes from Nottz, who produced this track, and was important in a lot of production for all My solo albums. ” “ But it gave me that burst of tones probably five or six months before I actually listened to it because I get so many beats from Nottz that sometimes I just don’t move to hear all of it. I didn’t really realize I was sitting in my hard drive. Because I downloaded it and put it to my hard drive, but I never heard it. “
Busta went on to explain that he was so interested in the creative process that he actually ignored a citywide curfew. “Finally, we are in a snowstorm in New York and they declared it a national emergency and imposed a curfew on everyone,” he added. “I refused to accept the curfew, so I stayed in the studio. So I stayed in the studio, and they shut down Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge, and they shut down the Midtown Tunnel, so I couldn’t leave town anyway once it passed 11 am, so I said, ‘Okay. I’ll be staying in the studio tonight. ”I stumbled into the rhythm. When I looked at the date I received the rhythm from Nottz, I couldn’t believe I had been suffering from this shit the whole time. So I ended up putting a verse on it. I sent it to Kendrick. Kendrick made the verse come back and put it back.”
Busta went to thank Kendrick and the entire TDE family. “And I came up with the big Kendrick company, and I got a big Top Dog, the entire TDE family. I have to thank all the people who have been involved in removing this shit for me and giving me their blessing for being able to do so,” Busta said. May I be blessed with this gift. “
He also talked about the process behind using the sample in the Jackson 5 classic “I’ll Be There.”
And the crazy thing is, he explained, “I ended up putting my hand on the original 16-track tape reel that was two inches in diameter” I’d be there “by Michael Jackson and Jackson Fife.” “He was really going to explore many different options. It dawned on me one day that I wanted to start pushing the envelope and go deeper than just sh * t sampling. I came from the era, to this day, I have two inches, 24-track tape reels , 2 inches in diameter, it’s kept in temperature-controlled storage facilities. Right? Well, I’m like, all artists like me and kissing have had to do the same. One of these facilities is to send 2 inch tape reels to me so I can digitize them for transfer to Pro sessions Tools, so why wouldn’t I be able to do the same with a Jackson Five reel? ”
Like most of his upcoming album, Extinction Level 2 event: God’s WrathBusta Rhymes has been working on “Look over your shoulder” for years. He told Lowe that he’s been working on the racetrack since 2017. He’s done so so he can put together a collection of works that will stand the test of time.
“I’m saying this just to say that patience in the process and during this journey to record this album is probably one of my greatest weapons because these songs wouldn’t be all in the same project if I were to put together an album every year or even every two years.”
After years of mastering the album, Busta Extinction Level 2 event: God’s Wrath It will finally arrive in streaming services on Friday.
