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Creativity Quote by Busta Rhymes

"I wanted to make something that reminded people of the way albums used to feel. I wanted something as good as the stuff put out by the Bomb Squad, or Dr. Dre and his production crew, or 'A Tribe Called Quest.' I miss albums like those"

About this Quote

Nostalgia is doing real work here, but it is not soft nostalgia. Busta is talking about albums as engineered experiences: loud, coherent, world-building objects that hit like a movie, not a playlist. When he name-checks the Bomb Squad, Dre’s camp, and A Tribe Called Quest, he’s mapping three different gold standards of rap craft - maximalist chaos with politics in the wiring, cinematic West Coast polish, and jazz-schooled groove with conversational intelligence. That range is the point. He’s not begging for a return to “the 90s”; he’s demanding an ecosystem where ambition and sonic identity are non-negotiable.

The subtext is a critique of the streaming era without saying “streaming.” “The way albums used to feel” isn’t just about warmth or memory; it’s about stakes. Classic rap albums sounded expensive in time and attention: layered samples, deliberate sequencing, interludes, recurring motifs, a mix that rewarded repeat listens. They also came from crews, not just individuals, and Busta’s phrasing (“production crew”) emphasizes that lost infrastructure - the collaborative machine behind the myth.

Context matters: Busta is a veteran whose brand has always been kinetic and theatrical, built for big speakers and full-length immersion. Saying “I miss albums like those” doubles as a personal craving and a market provocation. He’s positioning his work as resistance to content-churn: fewer disposable singles, more authored worlds. It’s a flex, but it’s also an anxiety - a recognition that the culture no longer reliably pays for the kind of patience those albums required.

Quote Details

TopicMusic
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Rhymes, Busta. (n.d.). I wanted to make something that reminded people of the way albums used to feel. I wanted something as good as the stuff put out by the Bomb Squad, or Dr. Dre and his production crew, or 'A Tribe Called Quest.' I miss albums like those. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wanted-to-make-something-that-reminded-people-43775/

Chicago Style
Rhymes, Busta. "I wanted to make something that reminded people of the way albums used to feel. I wanted something as good as the stuff put out by the Bomb Squad, or Dr. Dre and his production crew, or 'A Tribe Called Quest.' I miss albums like those." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wanted-to-make-something-that-reminded-people-43775/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I wanted to make something that reminded people of the way albums used to feel. I wanted something as good as the stuff put out by the Bomb Squad, or Dr. Dre and his production crew, or 'A Tribe Called Quest.' I miss albums like those." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wanted-to-make-something-that-reminded-people-43775/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

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Busta Rhymes (born May 20, 1972) is a Musician from USA.

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