• May 20, 1972
• Busta's real name is Trevor Smith. Public Enemy leader Chuck D gave him his nickname. Chuck lifted the name from All-American University of Oklahoma football star George "Buster" Rhymes.
• He got his start with the high-energy rap group Leaders Of The New School, which were mentored by Public Enemy and released their first album in 1991. In 1992 they appeared on the Tribe Called Quest classic "Scenario," where Busta busts his famous "dungeon dragon" verse. He became the breakout star of the group, and when they broke up in 1995, their label, Elektra Records, gave Busta a solo deal. His first album, The Coming, was released in 1996.
• He has been in the movies Finding Forrester, Higher Learning, Shaft 2000, The Narc and Halloween 8.
• Busta was born in Brooklyn, but his parents are from Jamaica.
• Busta raps so fast it's hard to process all the words. Try turning the captions on during one of his music videos or performances and you'll see transcription chaos.
• Among the backstage requests in Busta's 2010 tour rider: six bottles of Moet champagne, herbal tea, a jar of mayonnaise and a box of condoms.
• Busta has done some high-profile collaborations across a range of genres. Highlights include:
  
  "This Means War!" with Ozzy Osbourne
  "Look at Me Now" with Chris Brown
  "Grow Up" with Cher Lloyd
• Busta Rhymes voiced Reptar Wagon in 1998's The Rugrats Movie.
• Busta makes very eye-catching videos where he often looks like a video game character. At the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards he was honored with the inaugural Rock The Bells Visionary Award, presented by the host, LL Cool J. He performed a medley of his hits at the show.

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