Busta Rhymes was an original member of Leaders of the New School, a group that attracted national attention when they opened on tour for Public Enemy.

Got You All in Check", "It's a Party", "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See", "Dangerous", "Turn It Up" (Remix)/"Fire It Up", "Gimme Some More", "What's It Gonna Be?!

[16] For a short while, Smith attended George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn with future rappers Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G."

Wallace and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter,[17] and attended Samuel J. Tilden High School with Edward "Special Ed" Archer and Roderick "Chip Fu" Roachford of Fu-Schnickens.

In 1986, Smith, alongside fellow Long Island natives Charlie Brown, Cut Monitor Milo, and Dinco D, formed the East Coast hip hop group Leaders of the New School.

Smith gained popularity from his advanced rhymes as well as his unique style that was not common of many New York rap artists at the time.

[33] In November 2008, when "Arab Money" was released as a single, DJ Dany Neville and the Iraqi rapper The Narcicyst responded by recording a reply.

[36] In September 2009, Busta Rhymes had announced that he was working on his ninth studio album, alongside Canadian producer Boi-1da, titled The Chemo.

[38] Busta Rhymes contributed to the 2011 Tech N9ne album All 6's and 7's, performing vocals on the single, "Worldwide Choppers", released on May 31.

Busta Rhymes was featured on Fat Joe's single "Pride & Joy" alongside Kanye West and Jadakiss.

The album features guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Trey Songz, Robin Thicke, Maino, Gucci Mane and more.

He also released a music video for the track "Doin' It Again" which features Reek da Villian and includes a tribute to his manager Chris Lighty, who committed suicide in 2012.

[46] On December 21, 2012, members of The Conglomerate Ent., Busta along with J. Doe and Reek da Villan released a mixtape titled Catastrophic, their first collective effort.

[47] Busta Rhymes collaborated with Pharrell Williams, who produced the first single off his Cash Money Records debut, "Twerk It", which was released on June 6, 2013.

On July 23, 2014, Busta Rhymes announced that he left Cash Money Records due to creative differences and he is no longer on Republic.

[50] In 2016, a movement to name a small, uninhabited lake island in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts after Busta Rhymes received viral publicity.

[52] Busta Rhymes was also a featured artist on The Hamilton Mixtape, singing a remix of "My Shot", along with Black Thought of The Roots and Joell Ortiz.

[59] Throughout late 2024, he made two major guest appearances on his idol, LL Cool J's "Huey in the Chair", a track from his fourteenth album, The FORCE, the pair's first collaboration in nearly 27 years since 1997's "Starsky and Hutch".

[69] In a later interview with MTV News, Rhymes expressed his support for Frank Ocean upon his coming out, as well as general cultural acceptance of homosexuality.

[70] In December 1998, Rhymes was arrested and charged with possession of an unregistered gun after being pulled over during a routine traffic stop in New York City.

[73] On October 24, 2006, Rhymes appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court as the district attorney's office attempted to amend previous charges against him to include weapons possession for a machete found in his car.

[74][75] On February 20, 2007, Rhymes refused a plea deal offered by the prosecutor's office for the assault of his former driver, Edward Hatchett.

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Becki Rowe offered Busta another option, pleading guilty to third-degree assault.

The conditions of the proposed sentence would include five days of community service, two weeks of youth lectures and six months of anger management classes, as well as three years of probation.

On March 18, 2008, a judge in New York City sentenced Rhymes to three years of probation, 10 days community service, $1250 in fines (plus court costs), and to enroll in a drunken driving program.

[80] On January 10, 2025, Rhymes was involved in assaulting one of his assistants, Dashiel Gables, after an argument due to a food delivery dispute near the corner of Jay and Front streets in Brooklyn's Dumbo neighborhood.

[85] He was creatively inspired by American singer and record producer George Clinton for "being over the top and outlandish and brave as far as his showmanship."

[22] Rhymes' work has influenced artists such as Eminem, Talib Kweli,[86] Ski Mask the Slump God,[87][88] Kendrick Lamar,[89] Tyler, the Creator,[90] Doja Cat,[91][92][93][94] and Ciara.

[95] Fellow American rapper Big Daddy Kane has stated that Rhymes has the best flow in hip hop, alluding to the original version of "Turn It Up".