Genesis [UK-Import]

With his rough-hewn voice, edgy delivery, and hard-hitting lyrical scenarios, hip-hop icon Busta Rhymes has never been one to tread softly. GENESIS is no exception; on this album, Busta pretty much keeps to his strengths, spitting out tongue-twisting rhymes with an almost startling facility atop beats that are both texturally inviting and danceably funky. Despite his no-holds-barred style, though, there's more to Busta than thug-life/gangsta scenes. Anybody who can pull off a tune like "Pass the Courvosier" and make it a duet with P. Diddy no less, has obviously been living the high life long enough to know that hooks and accessibility are of equal import to the upfront style for which Rhymes is famous.