The way Janet Jackson and Busta Rhymes’ late ’90s single “What’s It Gonna Be?” is solidified in pop culture history, it’s hard to believe the pair never performed the hit onstage together — until now! More than two decades after the record-breaking track and music video was released, the duo finally got the chance to give fans the show of a lifetime.
Jackson, who is currently on her “Together Again Tour,” was in New York City last night (May 9) for her Madison Square Garden stop. Videos flooding social media show Busta walking onstage as the banger dropped. “You finally made a dream come true for me, queen. I waited 25 years to be able to share this stage with you and perform this song. And I am so grateful that I’m fighting tears of joy right now,” he said while still onstage after the track ended. Fans were shook. “They’ve never performed this? That’s crazy,” one person tweeted. Another wrote, “For the [first] time? [mind-blown emoji].”
When the “What’s It Gonna Be?” music video debuted, it was among the first of its kind. Both sensual and edgy, the futuristic recording featured the two artists in sleek costumes, morphing from liquids to solids, and reportedly cost a whopping $2.4 million to create. “To this day, our video is the most expensive hip hop video ever made in the history of hip hop culture. You cannot play with the royal empress. Please know that,” Busta said of his collab with Jackson during his lengthy onstage speech.
He also shared with the audience how the track came to be: “In 1998, 25 years ago, I’m on the Belt Parkway going from Long Island to Manhattan. I’m listening to Janet Jackson do an interview with Angie Martinez promoting The Velvet Rope album. Angie Martinez asked her, ‘What rapper have you never worked with before that you would like to work with?’ She said, ‘Busta Rhymes.’ Excuse my language, but I almost crashed my f**king car,” he recalled.
See additional reactions and clips below!