LOS ANGELES — X3 Expo organizers have announced Busta Rhymes as the headline musical act for day two of the "ultimate fan expo” this weekend. The award-winning artist will appear onstage at the world-famous Hollywood Palladium for the inaugural X3 grand finale on Saturday, Jan. 8.
The rapper Rolling Stone magazine called “a hip-hop titan” will perform hits from his storied career, from first solo single “Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check” through his latest release, the star-studded 2020 concept album “Extinction Level 2: The Wrath of God.”
Front-and-center will be that unmistakable voice, which The Roots’ Questlove has called “mind-blowing.”
“I’m talking about where you have to stop what you’re doing and look at the speaker,” he told GQ.
The East Coast rapper’s catalog is festooned with mega-hits such as “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See,” “Dangerous,” ”Gimme Some More,” “What's It Gonna Be?!” (featuring Janet Jackson), “Pass the Courvoisier, Part II” (with P Diddy and Pharrell), “I Know What You Want” (with Mariah Carey) and "Touch It,” among others.
“Busta Rhymes is swagger personified,” screenwriter and hip hop historian Cheo Hodari Coker wrote. “His roar has a soothing burn, like Appleton rum: It smells like Jamaica, but mixes with anything.”
“When I was born I sounded like a little dinosaur!” the rapper has said about his signature vocal stylings. “My father had a deep voice. The attitude, the charisma, the showmanship and the animation — that always was a part of who I was. I'm of Jamaican descent, so reggae and dancehall culture is what was what I was raised on. Even watching rock bands, back in the days, the way them dudes would perform, jumping off of shit and laying down on the stage? I always wanted to be a part of those big, over-the-top moments. That's just a part of my personality.”
Rhymes, arguably the world’s best known "speed rapper," has been a part of "almost every major trend and twist in hip hop, all with his own quirky style and uptempo, rapid-fire delivery,” wrote HipHopDX’s Andre Grant. “In a lot of ways, he helped push forward the narrative of hip hop.”
The opening day of X3 Expo tonight will feature West Coast hip hop pioneer Too $hort.
For event information, visit X3.show.
