Long Island's Busta Rhymes honored with star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Long Island hip-hop luminaries joined forces Friday as their own Busta Rhymes received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

After Long Island legends LL Cool J and Chuck D plus Brooklyn native Big Daddy Kane touted Rhymes’ dedication to his craft and his children, the honoree took to the podium and told the crowd gathered he was “fighting back tears” before wiping his nose with a black handkerchief. As he closed his remarks, Rhymes noted the recognition coincided with the release of two films Friday in which he had a hand: “The Naked Gun,” in which he appears, and “Bad Guys 2,” to which he contributed the original song “Taking Everything.”

“I feel born again today, I feel complete today,” Rhymes said. “As we completed this chapter, we’re starting giving birth to a new one, because I’m no longer Daniel-San,” he added, referring to Huntington native Ralph Macchio’s “The Karate Kid” character. “I’m Mr. Miyagi now.”

Before the ceremony’s end, the rapper known for his breakneck lyricism thanked his parents, his children and others who helped him throughout his career.

“I never asked for a short cut; I never asked for a cheat code,” Rhymes said. “I never was raised by people or artists or a support system that made it seem okay to try to go around honestly earning your right to passage.”  

Long Island influences

Born Trevor George Smith Jr. in Brooklyn, Rhymes moved to Uniondale at age 12. Listening to Bay Shore-born LL Cool J’s “Bad” "BAD" (Bigger and Deffer) album, Rhymes said he took the icon’s “flow pattern” and wrote his own rhymes to face off against fellow rapper Charlie Brown at Uniondale High School, from which he graduated in 1991. On Friday, the first artist Rhymes said he “wanted to look like” and “wanted to rhyme like” honored him before his new Walk of Fame star was revealed.

“I stand here proudly to declare that my brother Busta Rhymes is one of the true greats in hip-hop culture, a truly unique talent, a good father … a survivor, a thriver,” LL Cool J said. “The brother’s career is magic, and I watched him come in the game as a young artist and grow to become an OG who never ever allowed himself to be disconnected from the youth.”

Rhymes and Brown were part of a group on Long Island that met Chuck D at “at the headquarters for Public Enemy” in Hempstead, where Rhymes said the rapper tasked them with learning to “play these instruments that could play samples and tap dance at the same time” to beat another crew hoping to score the name Chuck D conjured: Leaders of the New School.

During the ceremony Friday, Chuck D recalled telling Rhymes he and his peers had to “be difficult” and inimitable to stand out, especially since they were “a little bit far from the city … on Long Island.” While he provided Rhymes with his solo moniker and took his former group on tour with Public Enemy, Chuck D said it was Rhymes who ran his name and its legacy “into the end zone.” 

Among his various distinctions and accolades, from 12 Grammy nominations to seven top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, his 2001 hit “Break Ya Neck” earned him the Guinness World Record for most words in a single.

“Busta Rhymes is the epitome rapper, MC, where you could try all you want to imitate him, you ain’t duplicating this dude,” Chuck D said. “This guy right here,” he added, pointing to Rhymes, “he learned at an early age that he’s going to be outstanding. And that’s why we’re here today.”