Busta Rhymes is undoubtedly one of the best and most distinctive rappers of the '90s. He's also one of the most prolific;
Anarchy, released in the summer of 2000, is his fourth album since 1996. Each one has been jammed full of material and also a little erratic, packed not only with great singles and tongue-twisting performances but also filler that gets by mostly on
Busta's personality. Clocking in at around 78 minutes,
Anarchy is no exception to the rule. Its best moments are as brilliant as ever, but there are also signs that
Busta's winning formula is starting to show a little wear and tear. "C'Mon All My Niggaz, C'Mon All My Bitches" has the insanely rapid-fire delivery of E.L.E.'s "Gimme Some More," which sums up the difficulty of
Anarchy in a nutshell: no matter how incredible it is, we've heard much of this from
Busta before. Of course, the converse is also true: a lot of it is still incredible, no matter how familiar, and there are a few intriguing production touches. But, perhaps for the first time,
Busta's singular yet now familiar style isn't quite enough to carry the weaker material, which often feels too tossed off. It doesn't help, either, that
Anarchy follows the same sort of millennial-apocalypse concept that enlivened E.L.E. (and, to a certain extent,
When Disaster Strikes); it's a little disappointing to hear such an inventive rapper retreading familiar territory. It seems almost impossible that
Busta could produce a true failure, but by this point, a growing number of fans may not salivate over a new album nearly as much as the inevitable best-of collection. ~ Steve Huey