Rating:
Genre: Rap
Release Date: 09/22/1998

Busta Rhymes' rap posse Flipmode Squad (which includes newcomers Rampage, Lord Have Mercy, Spliff Star, Rah Digga and Baby Sham, as well as Busta himself) bust out the jams on this audacious debut, which mixes Busta's typically tight beats and surrealistic words with a wise-ass street savvy usually reserved for his best singles. The Imperial Album fills its 73 minutes with partial track ideas (including the prerequisite between-song skits) and lyric and melodic fragments that seem to have no beginning or end -- unsurprisingly, it's not unlike Busta's solo work. Still, Busta has always dropped some decent cuts per album, and The Imperial is no exception: "Everybody on the Line Outside" (a sort-of sequel to Busta's own "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"), "Cha Cha Cha" and "Everything" are lightning-quick attacks of hip-hop aptitude.

~Michael Gallucci, All Music Guide

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Busta Rhymes - Performer
Andre Debourg - Engineer
Rick Posada - Executive Producer
Tom Coyne - Mastering
Dominick Barbera - Mixing
Amy Guip - Photography
Rampage - Group Member
Gregory Burke - Art Direction
Gregory Burke - Design
Vinny Nicoletti - Engineer
Vinny Nicoletti - Mixing
Tom Passetti - Assistant Engineer
Rich Tapper - Mixing Assistant
Flipmode Squad - Main Performer
Lord Have Mercy - Performer
Rah Digga - Performer
Spliff Star - Performer
Sheldon Guide - Assistant Engineer
Robert Burnette - Engineer
Robert Burnette - Mixing
Baby Sham - Performer
Serious - Group Member

No Way Out
    Puff Daddy & the Family / CD / 1997
When Disaster Strikes
    Busta Rhymes / CD / 1997
Hoo-Bangin': The Mix Tape, Vol. 1
    Mack 10 / CD / 1999
H.N.I.C.
    Prodigy / CD / 2000
Hell Hath No Fury
    Clipse / CD / 2006
Real Talk
    Fabolous / CD / 2004
Duets: The Final Chapter
    The Notorious B.I.G. / CD / 2005

Release Date: 09/22/1998
Genre: rap