Busta Rhymes wants everyone to know that his mantra “the blessings don’t stop, so we won’t ever stop” still rings true after some people misconstrued a moment that he shared with ESSENCE Fest attendees.
The “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See” rapper was the opening act for several performances that took place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Friday (July 5). Early on in his set, Busta took a few moments to address the crowd’s energy as people made their way inside. Various media reports described the banter as the Hip Hop heavyweight angrily cursing out attendees.
In the video of his remarks, Busta encouraged the audience members to get on his frequency. “New Orleans, y’all look like y’all tired. You motherf**kas ain’t ready…Everybody that’s in here, get the f**k up,” the artist says in the clip. “Ay yo, f ** k them camera phones too. Let’s get back to interacting like humans. Put them weird a ** devices down. I ain't from that era. Them s**ts don’t control a soul. F**k your phone,” Busta continued, pointing out crowd members who had not followed his guidance.
He went on to explain what the performance meant to him. “Thirty-three years of doing this s**t, I ain’t used to n**gas sittin’ down at my show…The reason there will be zero tolerance for bulls**t energy in here is because this is my first time in New Orleans at the f**king 30-year anniversary of the ESSENCE Festival…Make me feel like we home!,” Busta exalted, which ultimately earned an eruption of applause from the crowd.
On Saturday (July 6), he hit back at the negative spin spread in the media with a lengthy post on Instagram, expressing his gratitude for the opportunity to rock the stage at the iconic cultural event. “When the truth is undisputed, you don’t gotta ever be concerned with the s**t talk and the false narratives!! We are blessed to be mad about anything that we love to do!! Every platform, we appreciate [and] love y’all but when you talk, make sure you know what you talking about, or silence is the better option,” the rapper exclaimed before setting the record straight about his intentions during the widely circulated snippet.
“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!! Thank y’all so much and we love y’all!! That’s the difference between us and them!!” he added.
ESSENCE Festival is just one of many chances fans have to celebrate the discography of the 12-time Grammy-nominated rapper live and direct. Busta, along with Missy Elliott, Ciara, and special guest Timbaland, are circling North America all summer with their “Out of This World Tour.” The intergalactic-themed show will make stops in Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, and several more cities before wrapping up with three shows in Canada in late August.