Busta Rhymes spoke out after his performance at the 2024 ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans. The legendary rapper was caught on video addressing the crowd about their phone use during his performance. In the video, he said, “A-yo, f**k them camera phones, too. Let’s get back to interacting like humans. Put them weird a** devices down.”
Busta continued, “I ain’t from that era. Them sh*ts don’t control the soul. F**k your phone. I will put every one of y’all out until y’all a**es is up. Thirty-three years of doing this sh*t, I ain’t used to ni***s sitting down at my show. I don’t give a f**k!”
Busta Rhymes’ Explanation and Clarification
Following the viral clip, Busta took to Instagram to explain himself. He stated, “AS ALWAYS Y’ALL KNOW THE MANTRA, THE BLESSINGS DON’T STOP SO WE WON’T EVER STOP!!! WHEN THE TRUTH IS UNDISPUTED YOU DON’T GOTTA EVER BE CONCERNED WITH THE SH*T TALK AND THE FALSE NARRATIVES!!”
He added, “WE ARE TOO BLESSED TO BE MAD ABOUT ANYTHING THAT WE LOVE TO DO!! EVERY PLATFORM WE APPRECILOVE Y’ALL BUT WHEN YOU TALK MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT OR SILENCE IS THE BETTER OPTION. JUST FOR THE RECORD WHAT Y’ALL SAW THEM GIVING WITH THAT WRONG NARRATIVE ABOUT FRUSTRATION WITH THE CROWD NOT ROCKING WITH US IS CALLED ‘SHOWMANSHIP’ RESPECTFULLY!! FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD’S POINT OF VIEW IT LOOKS LIKE AND SOUNDS LIKE AND FEELS LIKE NEW ORLEANS WAS TURNT ALL THE WAY THE F**K UP AND WE ALL ENJOYED IT!!”
Busta emphasized his honor to be part of ESSENCE Fest’s 30th anniversary. He expressed his gratitude, stating, “NOW, NOT ONLY WAS IT TRULY AN HONOR TO BE AT THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE @essencefest BUT IT WAS EVEN MORE INCREDIBLE TO RECEIVE THE INCREDIBLE ENERGY FROM NEW ORLEANS AND EVERYONE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WHO FLEW OUT TO TURN UP WITH US!!”
The hip-hop icon concluded by expressing how good it felt to receive such positive energy from the audience. Despite the initial misunderstanding, Busta clarified that his rant was all part of his showmanship and love for live performance.