A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Friday honoring Busta Rhymes for a hip-hop career where he has sold more than 20 million albums and received 12 Grammy nominations.
Chris Rock, LL Cool J and Chuck D were among those joining Rhymes at the ceremony in front of the Eastown apartments at 6201 Hollywood Blvd. Radio show host “Big Boy” was the emcee.
The ceremony came the same day as the release of the film comedy, “The Naked Gun,” in which Rhymes portrays a bank robber.
“I’ve really worked, I’ve worked so hard, and I never asked for a shortcut,” and emotional Rhymes said as he accepted the honor. “I never asked for a cheat code. And I never was raised by people or artists or a support system that made it seem OK to try to go around honestly earning your right to passage. And I want to thank those people right now.”
The star is the 2,818th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.
Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez called Rhymes “one of hip-hop’s most enduring and electrifying voices.”
“His talent and influence are undeniable,” Martinez said in a statement. “His star on the Walk of Fame will stand as a testament to his lasting impact on hip-hop music and how important it is to the American culture”
Born Trevor George Smith Jr. on May 20, 1972, in the East Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, Smith was 12 years old when he moved with his family to Uniondale, New York in Nassau County.
In 1986, Smith, his cousin Sheldon Scott, Bryan Higgins and James Jackson formed a hip-hop group that would become known as Leaders of the New School. A late-1980s performance for fellow Long Island-based hip-hop group Public Enemy got Smith his stage name from frontman Chuck D, inspired by Minnesota Vikings receiver Buster Rhymes.
The group was discovered by Dante Ross, an artists and repertoire representative with Elektra Records, which signed the group in 1990.
The group released its first album, “A Future Without a Past…” in 1991, which reached 53rd on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop chart and 128th on the Billboard 200. Its second and final album, “T.I.M.E.” released in 1993, reached 15th on the R&B/hip-hop chart and 66th on the Billboard 200.
The group split in 1994.
Rhymes released the first of his 11 solo albums, “The Coming,” in 1996. It sold 797,000 copies, was certified as platinum by the trade organization, Recording Industry Association of America, topped the R&B/hip-hop chart and rose to sixth in the Billboard 200.
“The Coming” included “Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check” which got Rhymes his first Grammy nomination, for best rap solo performance. LL Cool J won in the category for “Hey Lover.”
Rhymes received at least one Grammy nomination each of the next four years — best rap solo performance in 1998 for “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See” ; best rap solo performance in 1999 for “Dangerous”; in 2000 for best rap solo performance for “Gimme Some More,” for best rap performance by a duo or group for “What’s It Gonna Be?!” and for best rap album, “Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front”; and in 2001 for best short form music video for “Fire.”
Rhymes’ other Grammy nominations were for best rap performance best rap performance by a duo or group in 2003 for “Pass the Courvoisier, Part II”; best rap solo performance in 2006 for “Touch It”; for album of the year in 2008 for “Tha Carter III,” which he was among the producers; and in 2011 for best rap performance and best rap song, both for “Look at Me Now.”