Questionably chosen as the lead-off single for Busta Rhymes' eighth studio effort, I'm Blessed, "We Made It" pairs the Flipmode-repping rap titan with Linkin Park for a commemoration of both acts' years of super success while spitting in the face of those that doubted them along the way. Yet the rap-rock bridging doesn't really teeter in Busta's favor, making one wonder why the roles weren't reversed and this wasn't released as a Linkin Park (or Fort Minor) record featuring Rhymes.

Busta's out-sized personality and rapid-fire delivery has always sounded better when backed by beats that are deliriously wacky or madcap to the infinite power, so it would have been exhilarating hearing his ferocious rhyming display over some headbangin' metal noise. Instead we get a tamer Bust, awkwardly tackling a relatively straightforward performance over a rock track that bears little of the extreme excitement we would expect.

"We Made It" might not be so complimenting from Busta's end, but it provides a cool Linkin Park moment, with Chester Bennington pulling off another likable anthem of a hook and the blocky, White boy flow additions of Mike Shinoda (holding down a decent middle verse) reminding us why Fort Minor turned out to be such a surprising listen.

The move for some pop attention is understood (and we should appreciate the fact that he didn't go the obvious route and call up Chris Martin), but "We Made It" is nowhere near the Busta of '08 jump-off that's desired. For that flavor, bypass this and soak in the fiery monster that is "Don't Touch Me". Now that's the type of Busta we know and love.



DL: "We Made It" (YFH)