Busta Rhymes Reflects On Losing High School Rap Battle To Jay-Z

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Busta Rhymes explains how Jay-Z "got the best of the battle" during their high school days.

While plenty of rappers have challenged to go head-to-head on Verzuz, Busta Rhymes can rightfully brag that he went bar-for-bar against the GOAT during a lunchtime battle. The story's been told countless times but still, it's a moment of reflection on how far the two have come from battling in the lunchroom in high school to carving a path to bring hip-hop to the place it is today.

Bussa Buss joined the crew at 85 South Show where he dove into a lot of history from hip-hop's roots in dancehall to the art of fast rapping that he, Tech N9ne, and plenty of others mastered. Jay's early records showcase that flow more often than we'll ever hear now. 

"At the time, I never heard no rappers do it. No MCs wasn't doin' it. I have to say the only people that was fucking with it on some rap shit was the originators. And the originators was the crew that Hov was down with after Jaz-O. After they did the 'Hawaiian Sophie' joint... Hov was on that shit really early," Busta said. "I don't think he was actually one of the originators. They just all fucked with each other just being [from] Brooklyn."

From there, Busta got into his high school history with Jay-Z and Biggie. Busta recounted that he was still trying to find his flow at that time while Jay had the chopper flow in the bag. Then, they battled.

"Ultimately, Hov got the best of the battle in that moment. I was just starting to figure out how to master my fascination with the speed rap. He was already on it," Busta explained. "He was doin' it at an incredible level of skillset. And was displayin' that shit like -- water spillin' all over the place. Just takin' shape and form whatever way he felt like it 'cause he had been on his shit with it," he continued. 

"Me, at that point, with my competitive ass. You know, I always wanted to have my rematch, you know what I'm sayin'? It didn't happen which was fine because I ended up getting my skillset developed to the point where I don't think nobody want to fuck with a n***a now," Busta said. 

Busta Rhymes has been ramping up his efforts in anticipation of his forthcoming album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God which was announced with some help from Chris Rock. 

Check out the full interview with Busta Rhymes below. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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