It Ain't Safe No More

1	Intro 1:46
2	It Ain't Safe No More 3:40
3	What Do You Do When You're Branded 3:54
4	Call the Ambulance / Chad Hugo 3:50
5	We Goin' to Do It to Ya 2:57
6	What Up 2:54
7	Turn Me Up Some 3:29
8	Make It Clap / Spliff Star 3:40
9	Take It Off, Pt. 2 4:29
10	Taste It 3:46
11	Hey Ladies 3:19
12	I Know What You Want / Flipmode Squad 5:24
13	Riot 3:11
14	Hop 3:48
15	Together / Rah Digga 5:33
16	Struttin' Like a G.O.D. 4:13
17	The Struggle Will Be Lost / Carl Thomas 4:43
18	Till It's Gone 4:54
19	Make It Clap Bonus Track / Remix 4:03

Barnes & Noble

Lurking beneath the surface of Busta Rhymes's hip-hop court-jester antics and daring fashion sense has always been an MC with an affinity for the dark side. Hits such as "Dangerous" and "Whoo Hah!! Got You All in Check" may have sounded like lighthearted rap fodder, but a closer listen reveals the flamboyant rapper's affection for apocalyptic theories. Mayhem-themed album titles such as When Disaster Strikes, Extinction Level Event, and Anarchy only make the case more evident. The culmination is 2002's ominous It Ain't Safe No More, which confirms that Busta's celebratory club anthem "Pass the Courvoisier" (from 2001's Genesis) was just a breather, and a brief one at that. Recorded post–September 11th, most of It Ain't Safe No More's 18 tracks feature a pessimistic and sex-obsessed Rhymes. The disc opens with a lullaby that warns "watch where you sleep, watch where you walk." Lyrically, Rhymes only approaches the playfulness of classics such as "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See" on a few tracks, including the dancehall reggae-splashed lead single "Make It Clap" (and he's not talking about your hands). On the other hand, his production has never sounded better. "I've got the best beats," he boasts on the Mario Winans–produced, bhangra-accented "Take It Off, Pt. 2," and he's not lying. While Rhymes's fifth solo disc may not be his friendliest, it is one of his most fervent. And perhaps it's about time we stop passing the Courvoisier long enough to hear the truth about our world's gloomy state. Tracy E. Hopkins

All Music Guide

No matter whether the title's a reference to the increased risk of terrorism in Busta's hometown circa 2002 ("sh*t is crazy!") or to the fact that rap's most volatile and unpredictable personality is back and bigger than ever, It Ain't Safe No More 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; the title track features a P-Funk singalong and a vivid, synth-heavy production over some of the tightest spitfire raps heard on any hip-hop LP of the new millennium. After a half-hearted melodrama called "What Do You Do When You're Branded," Busta returns to what he does best on "Call the Ambulance" -- incapacitating all comers with rhymes as hardcore as they are hilarious. "What Up" is half-Neptunes and half-Raymond Scott, and the single "Make It Clap" is just the latest classic Flipmode anthem. 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. John Bush

Vibe

1/2 On his sixth studio album, Busta sticks to the formula that has yielded sales for each of his previous solo efforts: a mixture of party starters, crossover collaborations, and would-be street anthems. Donnie Kwak