After the underwhelming reception given to his last album Anarchy, Brooklyn-born rapper Bust a Rhymes returns to the fray with some catching up to do in the credibility stakes. Happily, Genesis sees the gruff-voiced one make a good fist of reclaiming his gangsta credentials, and even goes some way to proving that there's still room for rebellion in pop. Rhymes hasn't been short of help - the Neptunes make what must be roughly their millionth appearance on production and Dr Dre is also on hound with some fine, bouncy beats, while vocal contributions come from Kelis, Mary J Blige and a host of other luminaries. It's still very much Busta's show, however, and he's in fiery preacher mode throughout, dispensing his views on the world with an attractively hammy sense of bravado. At 20 tracks, Genesis is far too long - but the best bits are very good indeed and, most importantly, show that the old rogue has finally got his passion back. A very welcome return.
