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It Ain't Safe No More...

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It Ain't Safe No More...
Studio album by
Busta Rhymes
ReleasedNovember 26, 2002 (2002-11-26)[1][2][3]
StudioBuzz Sundworks (New York, NY)
D.N.A.B. Studios (Detroit, Michigan)
Soundtrack Studios (New York, NY)
Studio A Recordings (Dearborn Heights, Michigan)
The Enterprise Studios (Burbank, California)
Length73:33
Label
Producer
Busta Rhymes chronology
Genesis
(2001) 		It Ain't Safe No More...
(2002) 		The Big Bang
(2006)
Singles from It Ain't Safe No More...
  1. "Make It Clap"
    Released: October 14, 2002[4]
  2. "I Know What You Want"
    Released: February 24, 2003[5]

It Ain't Safe No More... is the sixth studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released on November 26, 2002,[1][2][3] by Flipmode Records and J Records.[6] It served as his final album for J. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Swizz Beatz, J Dilla, DJ Scratch, The Neptunes and Rick Rock among others. The album also features guest appearances by Mariah Carey, Sean Paul, Carl Thomas, Spliff Star and many more.

It Ain't Safe No More... was supported by two singles: "Make It Clap" and "I Know What You Want". The album received positive reviews from most music critics and received slow commercial success. The album debuted at number at number 43 on the US Billboard 200, selling 63,000 copies in its first week.[7] But despite that, was eventually certified gold by the RIAA on January 6, 2003.[8]

Singles

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The original version of "Make It Clap" (which features Spliff Star) was released to urban contemporary radio on October 14, 2002.[4] The remix version (which features another guest, Sean Paul) was later sent to radio as the album's official lead single on January 13, 2003.[9]

"I Know What You Want" (which features Mariah Carey and Flipmode Squad) was released as the album's second single on February 24 of that same year.[5] It peaked at number 3 in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Rhymes' previous single, "Make It Clap," had failed to reach the top forty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. "I Know What You Want" stayed in the top forty for twenty-one weeks, and was ranked 17 on the Hot 100 2003 year-end chart. For Carey, it was a return to form after a string of unsuccessful singles, and it became one of her biggest hits in years. Columbia Records later included it on her first remix album The Remixes (2003) and the British and Japanese reissues of Carey's ninth studio album Charmbracelet (2002).

The plot line for the video for "I Know What You Want" was continued in the video for the 2021 single "Where I Belong", in which Rhymes collaborated again with Carey.[10]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Blender[12]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(dud)[13]
Entertainment WeeklyC−[14]
The Guardian[15]
Q[16]
RapReviews8.0/10[17]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[18]
Uncut[19]
Vibe

It Ain't Safe No More... received positive reviews from most music critics.[11] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65, based on eight reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[11] AllMusic John Bush found that the album "continues in the vein of loose-cannon classics like 1997's When Disaster Strikes and 2001's Genesis. And when he's on, he's better than ever, too [...] Except for a few overblown performances and quasi-epic productions, It Ain't Safe No More finds Busta Rhymes with the same sure grip on his distinctive personality."[3] Joseph Patel from Blender felt that Rhymes's "animated antics border on sensory overload, but this is some of Busta’s best work, making him perhaps the greatest show in Rap."[12]

Caroline Sullivan, writing for The Guardian, felt that "as ever, Rhymes's attentions are divided between dire apocaplyptic predictions and an irrepressible need to play the fool, and he has included the usual complement of tongue-in-cheek japery [...] So it's Bustaness as usual, and the spectacle of him in full rasping flow is still something to behold."[15] Less impressed, Malcolm Venable from Entertainment Weekly called It Ain't Safe No More... "a tragically mediocre album full of lackluster arrangements and inexplicably short songs. His superb cadence and lyrics are overpowered by forgettable melodies and beats that don’t matter. Even guests Mariah Carey and the Neptunes provoke shoulder shrugs. Four of 18 tracks are almost good, but the rest is hopelessly ill suited for the radio, dance hall, or any other booty-shaking venue."[14]

Commercial performance

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It Ain't Safe No More... debuted and peaked at number 43 on the US Billboard 200, selling 63,000 copies in its first week.[7] It marked Rhymes's lowest opening sales up to then and was a considerable decline from his previous effort Genesis (2001), which had moved three times that many units and bowed in seventh in its first week out.[20] On January 6, 2003, It Ain't Safe No More... was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[8] By March 2014, the album had sold 678,000 copies in the United States.[21]

Track listing

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It Ain't Safe No More... track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"Trevor SmithBusta Rhymes1:46
2."It Ain't Safe No More..." (featuring Meka)
J Dilla3:40
3."What Do You Do When You're Branded"
DJ Scratch3:44
4."Call the Ambulance" (featuring Rampage)
The Neptunes3:50
5."We Goin' to Do It to Ya"
Megahertz2:57
6."What Up"
  • Smith
  • Yancey
J Dilla2:54
7."Turn Me Up Some"
  • Smith
  • Yancey
J Dilla3:29
8."Make It Clap" (featuring Spliff Star)
Rick Rock3:40
9."Take It Off (Part 2)" (featuring Meka)
Mario Winans4:29
10."Taste It"
  • Smith
  • V. Edmund
  • R. Jones
Tetamus3:46
11."Hey Ladies"
Wildstyle3:19
12."I Know What You Want" (featuring Mariah Carey and The Flipmode Squad)
  • Smith
  • Rah Digga
  • Rampage
  • Rick Rock
  • Spliff Star
  • L. Jones
Rick Rock5:24
13."Riot"
Mr. Porter3:11
14."Hop"
  • Smith
  • T.J. Green
Mr. Fingaz3:48
15."Together" (featuring Rah Digga)
Swizz Beatz5:33
16."Struttin' Like a G.O.D."
  • Smith
  • Ricky Lewis
Ric Rude4:13
17."The Struggle Will Be Lost" (featuring Carl Thomas)
  • Smith
  • Carl Thomas
  • R. Thomas
Rick Rock4:43
18."Till It's Gone"
  • Smith
  • Kenny Gamble
  • D. Harris
True Master4:54
19."Make It Clap (Remix)" (featuring Sean Paul and Spliff Star) (Hidden track)
Rick Rock4:03

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications and sales for It Ain't Safe No More...
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Silver 60,000*
United States (RIAA)[8] Gold 678,000[21]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Billboard". google.com. December 14, 2002. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "It Ain't Safe No More... by Busta Rhymes". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d John Bush (November 26, 2002). "It Ain't Safe No More – Busta Rhymes". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. October 11, 2002. p. 36. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 8, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. February 21, 2003. p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 31, 2023.
  6. ^ "It Ain't Safe No More...: Busta Rhymes: Music". Amazon. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Oppelaar, Justin (December 4, 2002). "Twain reigns again". Variety.com. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "American album certifications – Busta Rhymes – It Ain't Safe No More". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  9. ^ "Busta Rhymes – Make It Clap CD Single". cduniverse.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  10. ^ "Busta Rhymes & Mariah Carey Continue 2003 Plotline For 'Where I Belong' Video". HipHopDX.com. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  11. ^ a b c "Reviews for It Ain't Safe No More by Busta Rhymes". Metacritic. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Patel, Joseph. "Review". Blender. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  13. ^ "CG: busta rhymes". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  14. ^ a b Venable, Malcolm (December 13, 2002). "It Ain't Safe No More Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline (January 24, 2003). "Busta Rhymes: It Ain't Safe No More". The Guardian. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  16. ^ When it works, it's exhilarating, but elsewhere the poor lamb sounds a touch jaded. [Feb 2003, p.96]
  17. ^ "Busta Rhymes :: It Ain't Safe No More... :: J Records". Rapreviews.com. 2002-11-29. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  18. ^ The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. 2004. p. 123. ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved 2014-06-30 – via Internet Archive. rolling stone busta rhymes album guide.
  19. ^ As unoriginal as his previous five, yet still entertaining. [Mar 2003, p.106]
  20. ^ "Twain Remains 'Up' Top On Billboard Chart". Variety.com. December 4, 2002. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Baker, Soren. "50 Cent Leaves Interscope: How Nas, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah & Mos Def Fared After Leaving Their Longtime Label Homes". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  22. ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. December 5, 2002. Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  23. ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. December 19, 2002. Archived from the original on December 26, 2002. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  24. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Busta Rhymes – It Ain't Safe No More..." (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  25. ^ "Lescharts.com – Busta Rhymes – It Ain't Safe No More...". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Busta Rhymes – It Ain't Safe No More..." (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  27. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Busta Rhymes – It Ain't Safe No More...". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  28. ^ "Busta Rhymes | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  29. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  30. ^ "Busta Rhymes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  31. ^ "Busta Rhymes Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  32. ^ "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2001". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  33. ^ "Top 100 rap albums of 2002 in Canada". Jam!. Archived from the original on October 12, 2003. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  34. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  35. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  36. ^ "British album certifications – Busta Rhymes – It Ain't Safe No More". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
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