In the history of wisdom-seeking, some have been made to travel on unspeakably arduous journeys and over ridiculously long distances in order to obtain some valuable one-on-one time with a master of a craft. Luckily, it’s the 21st century. I don’t have to scale any mountains. All I have to do to glean wisdom from musical legend and household name, Busta Rhymes, is log onto Zoom.

Safe to say that since his initial bow, Busta’s been on the genre’s Mount Rushmore. It seems like he’s always been around, with an avalanche of smash solo hits (think: “Dangerous,” “Touch It,” “Break Ya Neck”) alongside an impressive array of features. (Yes, that was him adding his personal fire to the Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha”). He also gave Mariah Carey a bevy of memorable verses on “I Know What You Want.” He also served as one of the inspirations for Hamilton, with Lin-Manuel Miranda recently shouting out the MC for being an early champion of the show. Busta’s ubiquitous in hip-hop.

Now 53, the New York native has defied the laws of longevity in a fickle business (and even fickler genre) to extend his reign as a cultural force. Case in point: his huge 2025. Last summer, Rhymes was honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (inducted by Chris Rock, LL Cool J, and Chuck D no less). By fall, Busta was bestowed with the first-ever Rock the Bells Visionary Award at the MTV Video Music Awards, where he delivered a memorable performance to accept the honor. Soon, he’ll be releasing a new album, Vengeance, which will be his 12th studio album since 1996.

His longevity seems like an apt place to begin our conversation, which quickly morphs into a litany of life lessons as only Busta can deliver. I’m ready to listen.

2026 marks the 30th anniversary of your debut, The Coming. It’s safe to say you’ve outlasted most of your musical peers around that time. What do you credit that to?
There really ain’t no secret. I just loved the shit out of hip-hop. That’s really what it starts with. How much you love it, and how much it has done for me. In addition to going out there and performing, being able to take care of my family and make sure that they don’t never gotta worry about shit.

What do you remember about crafting your debut?
It was exciting because I had this opportunity to do a solo project, but it was also nerve-wracking because I had never done a solo project. I also had my first and oldest child at the time—I have six now. But I had the pressure of having to find the means to provide for him. It was the responsibility of coming up with an album by myself and making sure that I kept people’s interests outside of what I was known for, which was just hot verses on collaborations. It’s a way different responsibility when you got a whole album of songs to do by yourself.

A lot of it just felt like a huge weight, because I remember I also had this feeling of, ‘What the fuck I’m gonna do if it don’t work?’ I still didn’t have any money. It was also challenging to be known, and to still have to put on a poker face when your reality is not what people perceive it to be. When I finally figured out what to do to that record, I definitely knew in my heart of hearts that I fucking pulled off some unbelievable shit.

What was it like for you to finally release it after all of that trepidation?
When the record went platinum in six weeks, that’s when I said, “Alright, this is a new drug for me that I’m addicted to, and I’m never gonna stop wanting to eat this steak. I’m gonna enjoy this motherfucking filet mignon that I’m tasting now, and I’m gonna constantly want to taste this shit right here. I’m gonna figure this shit out, come hell or high water, because I’m not trying to lose this feeling.” Failure just was never an option.

Let’s talk about more recent history. What was your 2025 like?
I think that 2025 was just continuing the evolution that keeps happening. This amazing turn of events for me started probably about three or four years ago. It’s just been getting better and better. I’m gonna continue to relish this shit and embrace it with grace. It’s been a long, incredible journey nonetheless. We are gonna stay right in this space of blessed energy, and we are just going to keep it growing. But you better believe you’re gonna probably be seeing this shit again for the next few years with the amazing things that are in the trajectory, short-term and long-term.

It reminds me of a quote a wise man (you!) writes every time you post on social media: “The blessings don’t stop, so we don’t stop.”
That’s a fact. I live by that mantra, and I’m trying to share that every single day so that people can understand: A lot of shit you could be complaining about, [you can] reevaluate to realize and appreciate how blessed you are, and hone in on that shit. You feel me? There ain’t nobody really listening to the complaints any motherfucking way. Nobody really wants to hear too much of that.

It might not be a coincidence that that’s your attitude when you look at your success. Do you believe in the idea of manifestation?
I agree 1,000%. And, for me, it’s about making sure that my faith is unwavering in what I value and what I hold in the highest for God. I don’t play with my family. I don’t play with my happiness, my peace of mind, my joy, my principles, my morals and respect, and I don’t play with my relationship with God.

I’ve prioritized that, especially over the last few years, which have not only made things start manifesting in an amazing way, but I’ve also been the happiest I’ve been in my life. So I like this shit. I like how it feels. I like how it looks on me. I like how it looks around me, and I like how it looks when other people are watching it and seeing it too. I love being an example that’s gonna be a productive one and a positive one—good, bad, or indifferent.

When you learn from the bullshit, and you make a conscious effort to make sure that your universe and your immediate space and who and what can affect you directly and indirectly are all aligned in a way where the good outweighs the bad and the bullshit and the fuckery, you are consciously changing the way things play themselves out, because you’re not letting the bullshit that used to be around continue to be around. You gotta remove shit. You just gotta get to the point where you make the decision of prioritizing you and your joy and your happiness first.

Some things manifest themselves earlier than other things. And you welcome the things that are gonna add to your universe productively. It’s give and take.

What made you first start thinking like this?
A lot of that came to a head during the pandemic. We had so much time to really be able to look at all of the shit that [we were] just tired of and didn’t like. I needed to start with me and I had some really good friends that I could actually have some real conversation with. You ain’t really gotta worry about them using your vulnerability against you, because then you can receive the guidance and the advice and have real conversation with people who really understand and appreciate you.

Las Vegas, December 31st. As revelers were getting ready to usher in a new year, Rhymes was saying goodbye to 2025 in an apt place: in front of America. As part of ABC’s annual bacchanal Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, Rhymes delivered what’s become his trademark anthem: the rapid-fire “Look at Me Now,” one of several songs that have become part of the cultural lexicon. Friends including DJ Cassidy, T.I., and Wyclef Jean joined him.

In today’s era where songs and faces speed by as fast as Busta’s rhymes themselves, he’s been a mainstay, a voice where the past and future of hip-hop collide. Take for instance his most recent album, 2023’s cleverly-titled Blockbusta. Showing their respect, names like Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, and Swizz Beatz all contributed to the production. Meanwhile, features included a cadre of global names and hot rappers: Young Thug, Burna Boy, and Quavo among them.

What is it like having classics like 2001’s “Break Ya Neck,” 2005’s “Don’t Cha,” 2011’s “Look at Me Now” under your belt? Do you know at the time when you’re recording a song that it will stand the test of time?
There’s nothing really better than being able to do what you love and the world receives it. In a way that you can’t really explain it. It is the most rewarding feeling out of everything.

I don’t know if there’s anything that could compare to the feeling that you get as an artist when you sit down and you hear a beat and you come up with something that feels good to you, but you don’t know how it’s gonna feel to anybody else. You play it for your immediate circle that might be around, and you get confirmation that it’s dope. I’ve had a lot of those moments, and then the song don’t do shit. When it does happen, it’s like, “Yo, what the fuck’s going on?” You don’t really know how that happens.

I’m listening to a beat, the fucking vibe hits me. I start saying the shit. I record the motherfucker. I get these opinions of confirmation that it’s the shit. I turn the shit in. We shoot a video, the song comes out. Then when the shit starts to continuously go, go, and go, and go and go. You start getting the rewards from the money, the shows, the touring, the response from the people and seeing all of these engagement on social media, you fucking go to all parts of the planet and you see people saying your shit and you know that this is just an idea that hit you. All you know is that the music inspired it, the moment inspired it.

What’s the secret to honing your skills?
You just figure the shit out. There really ain’t no science to the shit. It’s like you fucking playing a sport. You know how you gotta breathe so that you can play that sport. I don’t think you practice the breathing. You put your hundred thousand hours in, you’re eventually gonna do everything that it takes to be the best at that. That’s really all it was for me because I wasn’t working out in the gym and swimming and doing all of that shit when I was young. I just wanted to rap and be a dope MC. And I knew that if I stuck with this shit, I’m gonna get better.

***

As the old zen saying goes, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” Together, Busta and I reach the mountaintop. Today, I soak up his knowledge and receive his wisdom. Busta isn’t new to guiding one through journeys of the mind—he’s a giver through and through, including an annual charity event in his native Big Apple designed “to give back to the community that raised him” under that trademark “Blessings Don’t Stop” moniker.

Much of our conversation returns to longevity, with Rhymes looking out onto 2026 as his calendar continues to fill up. “There’s so much work left to do, so much more that I have in my heart and in my soul that I want to share,” he tells me as we’re saying our goodbyes. “I want to continue to be a part of this journey because I ain’t planning on stopping anytime soon.”

Photographed by Dean Bradshaw

Styled by Tiffani Williams 

Written by Rob LeDonne

Creative Director: Christopher Campbell

Groomer: Hector Sanchez

Set Designer: Milena Gorum

Photo Assistant: Greg Aune and Alex Lopes

Market Editor: Coral Finnie

Stylist Assistant: Elizabeth Fonseca