Back on My B.S. BUSTA RHYMES   Label: Geffen / Universal / Motown Released: May 19, 2009 Reviewer: DJ Z Expectations for each and every album released by Bussa-Bus are always high. Could it be because he hits us with relentless anthems and awe-inspiring guest appearances between each release, or could it be the electrifying live performances and larger-than-life personality that was so evident right from the outset of his 18-year on-wax career? Either way, the end result has often been the same (albeit at differing levels); disappointment. Busta has become synonymous with a certain strain of great hip hop artists; those who have delivered countless hits and street bangers, are hailed as some of the best to ever grace the mic, but haven't ever made an undisputed classic album. In Busta's case, and in recent years, this has been heightened by the fact certain singles have made waves but failed to make the finished album. Prior to his last album (the chart-topping The Big Bang), he dropped Where's Your Money with ODB and I'll Hurt You (which even had Eminem on a remix), neither of which made the cut. Prior to this album we were treated to jewels like the raucous Don't Touch Me Now and its all-star remix, the controversial but infectious Arab Money and the rock track We Made It, with Linkin Park - yet, again, none of these appear on the final album. Instead, Back on My B.S. is another let-down, despite a huge array of featured superstar guest artists and A-list producers. After a brief bit of opera, proving Busta has clearly lost none of his comical charms, we're taken on a 15-track journey through average and frankly disappointing material, with no stand-out moments. Considering the positive place the 37-year-old's head seems to be at and supportive people he has been surrounding himself with (read our interview here), this is even more of a shame than normal. The better cuts include Respect My Conglomerate, with Lil' Wayne and Jadakiss, and a beat from Focus highly reminiscent of the Neptunes-produced gem What It Is from the Violator album earlier this decade; the amped-up Don't Believe 'Em with T.I. and Akon, one of the few cuts where we hear Busta on top form; and the laid-back R&B track Decision, which features Common, Mary J. Blige, John Legend and Jamie Foxx, its luxurious neo-soul sheen perhaps more suited to Com than Busta. The mediocre joints include Shoot for the Stars (produced by Timbo's right-hand man and recent Britney cohort Danja), with its plodding beat and relatively un-interesting flow and hook from Busta. Then there's the barely memorable Ty Fyffe-produced lead single Hustler's Anthem '09, featuring T-Pain, the patois-infused lyricism of Kill Dem slathered over Pharrell's beat (which nods to the Wu's Shame on a N----), and I'm A Go & Get My..., where Busta's storyline is let down by an overly repetitive beat from EPMD legend DJ Scratch and the absence of a decent chorus. Ron Browz rolls out another of his attempts at an autotune hook for the poor We Want In, while the dour Sugar really needs a lot more sweetening up to live up to its name - singer Jelly Roll failing to lift an uber-slow cut to the usual standard (Busta in his mellow 'speak-rap' mode - as heard on his hits What's It Gonna Be or I Know What You Want). World Go Round features a painful '80s electronic beat from Jelly Roll, made worse by an awful pop hook where Estelle does her best Rihanna impression. And things are allowed to end on a low point, too, with the nondescript raw beats and rhymes of the Jesse West collaboration, How You Really Want It. Sadly, then, it's another set from the Dungeon Dragon that isn't going to break his series of album misses. For someone with so much talent and energy to consistently keep missing the mark is bizarre. Is it that he doesn't have the right A&R, management or label support? Whatever the reason, it's probably reached that time when we should just let go, and presume we're just never going to get that classic full-length. Yet when they do an official retrospective compilation of Busta Rhymes' career, it'll be one of the best greatest hits albums of all time.