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Busta Rhymes and J Dilla's anticipated second joint album is finally here.
On Tuesday, August 25, the veteran MC debuted DILLAGENCE II via The Conglomerate, Inc. The album, which was made using over 300 Dilla beats, begins with a message from the late J Dilla's mother, Ma Dukes, who gives her blessing to the project. From there, Busta unloads braggadocio rhymes over the revered producer's beats alongside other major acts like Big Sean, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Anderson .Paak, La Reezy, T3 of Slum Village, Common, his son Trillian, singer Honey Bxby and more. The album also features a special collaboration with the late D'Angelo.
"I felt like this moment — I wanted it to be an isolated, standalone moment," Busta told The Breakfast Club earlier this week. "But I ain't gon' front, everybody just know when you hear this music, it's something that... It's not possible to do this unless you were being literally blessed with what I was gifted with: almost 300 beats."
Busta Rhymes and J Dilla had worked together extensively before the prolific producer died in 2006. They first connected in the 1990s on Busta's debut album The Coming. Dilla went on to contribute beats to six of Busta's first seven solo albums. One year after Dilla's death, Busta Rhymes released their first collaborative mixtape Dillagence hosted by DJ Mick Boogie. The 17-track project features collaborations with Rah Digga, Papoose, Cassidy, Q-Tip, Phonte, Talib Kweli, Raekwon, and M.O.P.
In 2020, Busta Rhymes told GQ that Dilla left him over 300 beats. Busta said he was very selective about who he gave Dilla's beats to. At the time, he had only provided one beat to Raekwon for his 2009 album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II. Now, fans will be able to hear a lot more from Dilla's vault on Busta's new LP.
Listen to Busta Rhymes and J Dilla's Dillagence II on iHeartRadio now and watch his entire Breakfast Club interview on Netflix. Check out more clips from the conversation below.