Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God

Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God
Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God
Studio album by Busta Rhymes
Released	October 30, 2020
Recorded	2013–2020
Genre	Hip hop
Length	77:36
Label	Conglomerate; Empire;
Producer	Busta Rhymes (exec.); Nottz; Avenue Beatz; J Dilla; Swizz Beatz; Pete Rock; Rockwilder; Dready; Focus...; DJ Scratch; DJ Premier; Hi-Tek; Terrace Martin; Anderson .Paak; Schife; 9th Wonder; Rick Rock; Navi Beats; Murda Beatz; Jahlil Beats; M1onthebeat; Scoop DeVille; Sha Recka; Mini Boom;
Busta Rhymes chronology
Singles from Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God
	"Calm Down"; Released: July 1, 2014; "The Don and the Boss"; Released: August 21, 2020; "Yuuuu"; Released: September 18, 2020; "Look Over Your Shoulder"; Released: October 29, 2020; "Where I Belong"; Released: April 7, 2021;

Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God is the tenth studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes, published on October 30, 2020.^[1] The album features guest appearances from Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mariah Carey, Anderson .Paak, Q-Tip, Rick Ross, Mary J. Blige, Rapsody, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Rakim, Pete Rock, Vybz Kartel, Bell Biv DeVoe, M.O.P., Nikki Grier, Chris Rock, and Louis Farrakhan. It is a sequel to 1998's E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front, and his first studio album since 2012's Year of the Dragon.

Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God was met with generally favorable reviews and debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 38,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.^[2]

Background

Busta Rhymes first announced the album in 2013.^[3] Over the course of 2014, Busta Rhymes continued to do interviews promoting the album,^[4] and released the singles "Twerk It" featuring Nicki Minaj, "Thank You" featuring Q-Tip, Lil Wayne and Kanye West, and "Calm Down" featuring Eminem. Despite the heavy promotion around this time, promotion for the album ceased completely in July 2014, when it was announced that Rhymes had amicably departed Cash Money Records.^{[citation needed]}

The album was announced once again on August 17, 2020, via a YouTube video starring Chris Rock. It released officially on October 30, 2020. The "Reloaded" version of the album released on November 2, 2020, featuring three brand new tracks and the previously-released 2014 single "Calm Down" with Eminem. An official deluxe edition was also released later that month on November 27, 2020, not only featuring the bonus tracks from the Reloaded reissue, but also four more extra tracks, including a remix of "Czar" with new verses by M.O.P. and rapper CJ.^{[citation needed]}

Singles

The album's lead single "The Don and the Boss", featuring Vybz Kartel and J-Doe, was released on August 21, 2020.^[5] The album's second single "YUUUU" featuring Anderson .Paak was released on September 18, 2020. "Where I Belong" featuring Mariah Carey was released as the album's third single on April 7, 2021,^[6] and is set to be released to American rhythmic contemporary radio stations on April 13.^[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100^[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Albumism	^[9]
AllMusic	^[10]
Clash	4/10^[11]
HipHopDX	4.0/5^[12]
Joe Boothby	8/10^[13]
The Musical Hype	^[14]
Music Connection	9/10^[15]
NME	^[16]
Riff Magazine	7/10^[17]
Vinyl Chapters	2.5/5^[18]

Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God was met with generally favorable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 71, based on six reviews.^[8]

Commercial performance

Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 38,000 album-equivalent units (including 17,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week.^[2] This became Busta Rhymes' seventh US top-ten album.^[2] The album also accumulated a total of 27.78 million on-demand streams of the album's songs that week.^[2]

Track listing

*Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"E.L.E. 2 Intro" (with Chris Rock, Rakim, and Pete Rock)	Trevor Smith Christopher Rock William Griffin, Jr. Peter Phillips Dominick Lamb Anita Ward Chuck Holmes Jimmy Lowe N. Jones	Busta Rhymes Nottz	7:12
2.	"The Purge"	T. Smith Kasseem Dean Avery "Avenue" Chambliss	Swizz Beatz Avenue	1:10
3.	"Strap Yourself Down"	T. Smith James Yancey Phillips	J Dilla Pete Rock	2:57
4.	"Czar" (with M.O.P.)	T. Smith Jamal Grinnage Eric Murray Dana Stinson Darryl Pittman	Rockwilder	3:01
5.	"Outta My Mind" (featuring Bell Biv DeVoe)	T. Smith Ricky Bell Michael Bivins Ronnie DeVoe Karl "Dready" Daniel Elliot Straite	Busta Rhymes Dready	3:20
6.	"E.L.E. 2 The Wrath of God" (featuring Minister Louis Farrakhan)	T. Smith Louis Farrakhan D. Lamb	Busta Rhymes Nottz	4:43
7.	"Slow Flow" (with Ol' Dirty Bastard)	T. Smith Russell Jones D. Lamb O. Harris	Nottz	3:12
8.	"Don't Go" (with Q-Tip)	T. Smith Kamaal Fareed Bernard "Focus the A.R.M" Edwards, Jr.	Focus the A.R.M	3:49
9.	"Boomp!"	T. Smith George Spivey	DJ Scratch	3:01
10.	"True Indeed"	T. Smith Christopher Martin	DJ Premier	1:53
11.	"Master Fard Muhammad" (with Rick Ross)	T. Smith William Roberts II Tony Cottrell Terrace Martin	Hi-Tek T. Martin	3:59
12.	"YUUUU" (with Anderson .Paak)	T. Smith Brandon Anderson	Anderson .Paak	3:30
13.	"Oh No"	T. Smith Daniel	Dready	3:26
14.	"The Don & the Boss" (with Vybz Kartel)	T. Smith Adidja Palmer Ian "Schife" Lewis	Schife	3:42
15.	"Best I Can" (with Rapsody)	T. Smith Marlanna Evans Patrick Douthit R. Arrington C. Tyson	9th Wonder	3:39
16.	"Where I Belong" (featuring Mariah Carey)	T. Smith Mariah Carey Ricardo Thomas Michel Sotolongo J. J Doe Smith	Rick Rock Navi Beats	4:12
17.	"Deep Thought"	T. Smith Dale Warren	Busta Rhymes	3:10
18.	"The Young God Speaks"	Berry Gordy Bob West Willie Hutchison Hal Davis Warren		0:40
19.	"Look Over Your Shoulder" (featuring Kendrick Lamar)	T. Smith Kendrick Duckworth D. Lamb Gordy West Hutchison Davis B. Bennett	Nottz	4:08
20.	"You Will Never Find Another Me" (featuring Mary J. Blige)	T. Smith Mary J. Blige Nikki Grier Roy Hawkins Rick Darnell	Busta Rhymes	3:50
21.	"Freedom?" (featuring Nikki Grier)	T. Smith Grier D. Lamb Robert Kral	Nottz	3:48
22.	"Satanic"	T. Smith Stinson	Rockwilder	5:14

Reloaded bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
23.	"Blowing the Speakers"	T. Smith Shane Lindstrom	Murda Beatz	3:18
24.	"Who Are You"	T. Smith Orlando Tucker	Jahlil Beats	3:54
25.	"Hope Your Dreams Come True"	T. Smith	M1onthebeat	3:29
26.	"Calm Down" (featuring Eminem)	T. Smith Marshall Mathers Elijah Molina Christopher Wallace Osten Harvey Jr. Gordy West Hutchison Davis Earl Nelson Bobby Relf Lawrence Muggerud Eric Schrody	Scoop DeVille	5:55

Deluxe bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
27.	"Czar (Remix)" (with M.O.P. and CJ)	T. Smith Grinnage Murray Christopher Soriano Stinson	Rockwilder	3:39
28.	"Follow the Wave" (featuring Flipmode Squad)	T. Smith Roger "Rampage" McNair Rashia "Rah Digga" Fisher William "Spliff Star" Lewis D. Lamb	Nottz	6:43
29.	"Blow a Million Racks"	T. Smith Thaddaeus Birkett	Sha Recka	3:28
30.	"Hey You" (featuring Trillian)	T. Smith Trillian Wood-Smith Douglas	Mini Boom	3:48

Charts

Chart performance for *Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God*
Chart (2020)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[19]	26
French Albums (SNEP)^[20]	144
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[21]	32
UK Albums (OCC)^[22]	99
UK R&B Albums (OCC)^[23]	4
US Billboard 200^[24]	7
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[25]	4