Busta Rhymes (born Trevor Tahiem Smith Jr on May 20, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American hip hop musician and actor. Busta Rhymes punningly took his name from former NFL football player George "Buster" Rhymes.
Rhymes is a rapper (and sometime actor) of Jamaican heritage. At the age of 12, his family moved to Uniondale, a suburb of New York City on Long Island, where he was raised and eventually met up with other MCs from the growing New York area hip hop community.
Busta Rhymes' musical career began as a member of the Hip Hop crew Leaders of the New School along with fellow Long Island, natives C. Brown, Dinco D, Cut Monitor Milo. They began recording in 1991 with the album A Future Without a Past ( Elektra Records) and soon gained limited fame and acclaim for their danceable beats and clever humorous lyrics on songs like " (Just Another) Case of The PTA" and " Sobb Story".
Busta made a boisterous debut on "Case of the P.T.A.", his first solo verse literally beginning with a roar: "Arrrrggh! Busta Rhymes the mighty infamous! Always misbehaving and mischievous..."
For many that roar became the first hint of the animated characteristics that would come to be synonymous with Busta Rhymes, since "Case of the P.T.A." was the first and most successful release of the album.
Many influential and successful Hip Hop crews of the early 90's with styles compatible to The Leaders of The New School were located in and around the border between the Queens borough of New York City and counties of Long Island. Soon after their debut The leaders of The New School became associated with the Native Tongues Posse which led to the group's collaboration with " A Tribe Called Quest" on the Hip Hop classic single " Scenario" released on "A Tribe Called Quest's" second album, " The Low End Theory".
