Anthony gets first position for Alicia Myers as gospel…
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[5.71]
Anthony Easton: Diminishing returns here, significant problems with message, and though the flow is strong, not much is being said. This is mostly redeemed by the gospel sample.
[4]
Patrick St. Michel: This instantly loses a few points for the misleading “featuring Kanye West.” He couldn’t even show up for two choruses, just one! The Lil Wayne feature is more of a mulligan — he just introduces the song, but maybe that’s enough. So yeah… this is Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip rapping over a decent beat, one that peaks with the hook but whatever. Both of them sound fine, but this isn’t quite the meeting-of-generations the title promises.
[6]
Alfred Soto: Q-Tip’s murmuring joke-infused Linden Boulevard polysyllabics will never date or feel redundant — a law as immutable as Murphy’s. The latter often explains why hydra-headed collaborations like this often fail. This isn’t great because neither Kanye nor Wayne sound acquainted with the backing track, much less each other, but Busta and Tip kick it like it’s 1991. “Keep the faculty close,” Busta growls, a toss-off that has personal resonance to this adjunct.
[6]
Brad Shoup: The key is what happens when the right-hand piano drops out. Q-Tip handles the stasis with aplomb; Busta, more often than not, is in a holding pattern. The sample provides an antiseptic coat, but effortless flow is never sterile, and listening to these two passing a chalice in the jet is a total treat.
[8]
Crystal Leww: Busta Rhymes has always seemed to be the lesser of the two famous fast-talking rappers with Twista taking the crown for technical expertise and creativity in raps. He relies on a steady fast pace to generate woahs, praying that his rapid rate will keep the listener entertained and wowed over the same monotonous riff and seriously mediocre lines. He does change it up from time to time, with the same accent from “Twerk It” coming back, but it soon fades and there is no Nicki Minaj to pick up the slack. Q-Tip is fine, just here, and the cynic in me presumes that he’s just here to generate buzz for his latest album. And what is the point of Lil Wayne or Kanye West on this other than to add their names to generate buzz? Their parts are superfluous. This is a silly cut & pasted mess.
[3]
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Here we are: no forced Chris Brown collaborations, no behind-the-scenes bad vibe reunion shows, just a staccato Alicia Myers jack and two old-heads engaging in syllabic pirouettes. The actual words zoom right past you on first listen, but with Bus and the Abstract, temptation always lies in those grandiose timbres. Weezy and Kanye nod along at the sidelines, trying to not get too excited that these fellas are their pals.
[8]
Andy Hutchins: Busta is Busta, Q-Tip is rapping well, the beat is barely there and still more present than Wayne or Yeezy, who say about 25 words between them. “This is a thing that exists” is the proper reaction to this, in every way.
[5]