Busta Rhymes had a few words for the crowd recently attending his Essence Fest performance.
Busta Rhymes Goes OFF On Essence Fest Crowd
The rapper popped out for a performance at Essence Fest on Friday, July 5.
Then, on Saturday, July 6, footage of the rapper’s set surfaced. However, instead of going viral for his rapping, Busta is going viral for going off on the crowd.
“Ayo, f**k those camera phones too, let’s get back to interacting as humans,” the rapper told the crowd. “Put those weird a** devices down! I ain’t from that era… F**k your phone!”
The rapper went on to speak directly to one “gentleman” who was on his device before letting the crowd know that he would call every person out for their behavior.
“Thirty-three years of doing this I ain’t used to n****s sitting down… at my shows! I don’t give a f**k! All age groups, get your a** up now!” Busta continued.
The rapper ultimately explained to the crowd why “there would be zero tolerance” for “bull**** energy.”
Social Media Weighs In
Social media users reacted to Busta’s words for the crowd in The Shade Room’s comment section.
Instagram user @_suckafreesi wrote, “When the substitute teacher brings the seasoned security guard in to put the class in check LMFAO”
While Instagram user @teflondawn added, “Ppl dont know how to live in the moment anymore”
Instagram user @meiy.lani wrote, “Pay to see people in person, still seeing them through the phone. Take a pic, and put the phone away. Life is right now.”
While Instagram user @ciaraxshante added, “wouldve did whatever he said bc his tone got a little threat in it ”
Instagram user @byrdsosweet_ wrote, “Im sorry Im not going to a concert to be yelled at like youre my parent ”
While Instagram user @leroge added, “This is how it looks and feels trying to motivate high school students to get off their phones, and do some assignments in class.”
Instagram user @bvngs wrote, “Hes right and wrong Im conflicted lmfao”
While Instagram user @chanelpicasso511 added, “Long as I’m getting paid they can laydown if they want ”
Instagram user @msmelissanicole wrote, “His delivery was harsh, but hes right”
Currently, neither Busta nor Essence Fest have publicly addressed the viral incident.
The Rapper Recently Made Headlines
As The Shade Room previously reported, Busta recently made headlines in February. At the time, the rapper and his entourage were recorded seemingly getting into a tussle with a fellow rapper named Nizzle Man at French Montana’s album release party.
Neither rapper spoke out about the altercation.
Jadriena SolomonJadriena “Jade” Solomon is a journalist and editor, specializing in beauty, fashion, entertainment, and culture. A graduate of CUNY Brooklyn College’s Journalism and Media Studies program, she began her career in 2015, publishing independent op-ed articles, and has since built a strong digital media portfolio across reporting, editing, and hosting for major media companies. As The Shade Room’s Senior Editor, Jadriena helps lead editorial direction, manages writers and editors, and has contributed more than 2,600 stories with over 45M page views since her start in 2022. Her past roles include contributing and staff positions at HelloBeautiful, Blavity News, 21Ninety, and Bronze Magazine. She has interviewed talents such as Tamron Hall, Eboni K. Williams, Tia Mowry, LeToya Luckett, Salt-N-Pepa, and more.
