Busta Rhymes received the 2,818th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a star-studded ceremony that featured LL Cool J, Chuck D, Chris Rock, and Big Daddy Kane.
LL Cool J and Chuck D opened the celebration on Aug. 1 with heartfelt tributes highlighting Busta’s incredible influence.
“When I think about Busta Rhymes, it’s awe-inspiring power, commitment to his craft, and commitment to excellence as an artist and performer,” LL said. “Busta was born to do something universal.”
Chuck D followed by praising Busta’s originality. “You can try to imitate Busta, but you can’t duplicate him,” the Public Enemy legend said.
When Busta Rhymes stepped up to the podium, emotions ran high as he reflected on what the moment truly meant — the reward for decades of dedication and grind.
“I worked so hard and I never asked for a shortcut, I never asked for a cheat code,” Busta said, tears in his eyes.
“I was never raised by a support system that made it seem okay to try to go around honestly earning your rite to passage,” he continued. “I want to thank those people.”
Busta also looked back on pivotal moments in his journey, including how Chuck D gave him the iconic rap name the world knows today — a nod to NFL player George “Buster” Rhymes from the ’80s.
“I want to thank you Chuck for giving me my first shot and being one of the first to believe in me. I say you gave me the name, even though you say you presented it,” Busta said. “If you didn’t present it, it probably wouldn’t have been one of the greatest gifts in my life because my name before Busta Rhymes was Chill-O-Skee.”
He went on to thank countless people, from Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone to his children, but reserved the highest praise for his mother.
“My mom is my greatest superhero,” Busta said. “My father, too, but the reason why I’m leaning so much on my moms is ’cause my mother and my father had two different approaches in how they wanted to do whatever they could to secure the win for me.”
Busta wrapped up his speech by signaling the start of a new chapter.
“I feel complete today,” he declared. “As we completed this chapter and started giving birth to a new one. I’m no longer Daniel-San in this shit, I’m Mr. Miyagi now.”
