E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front

E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front
Studio album by Busta Rhymes
Released	December 15, 1998
Recorded	1997–98
Studio	Soundtrack Studios (New York) Larrabee North Studios (Los Angeles)
Genre	Hip hop horrorcore hardcore hip hop
Length	69:51
Label	Flipmode, Elektra
Producer	DJ Mr. Stanneke Nottz Swizz Beatz Jamal Rockwilder Rashad Smith Darrell "Delite" Allamby Haas G D-Dot Diamond D Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes chronology
When Disaster Strikes (1997) E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front (1998) Anarchy (2000)
Singles from E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front
"Everybody Rise" Released: September 15, 1998 "Gimme Some More" Released: October 26, 1998 "What's It Gonna Be?!" Released: March 9, 1999

E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front is the third studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes. The album was released on December 15, 1998 by Flipmode and Elektra Records in North America. The album follows the apocalypse theme that was explored by Rhymes in his first two studio albums, The Coming (1996) and When Disaster Strikes (1997). Musically, the album is composed of East Coast, West Coast, horrorcore, and hardcore hip hop music.

Based on the "end of the world" motif and apocalypse themes that was displayed in Rhymes earlier albums The Coming (1996) and When Disaster Strikes (1997), the album was widely praised by critics and received three Grammy Award nominations for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 42nd Grammy Awards. E.L.E. also spawned three singles that attained Billboard chart success, including the Janet Jackson-featuring "What's It Gonna Be?!", which became Rhymes' highest-charting single on the US Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist, reaching number three. In early 1999, E.L.E. was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over one million copies.

Critical reception

The album received generally favorable reviews from most music critics. At the 42nd Grammy Awards, the album earned three nominations, one for the album itself in the category of Best Rap Album, a Best Rap Solo Performance nomination for "Gimme Some More" and a Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group nomination for "What's It Gonna Be?!" with Janet Jackson.^[1]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B[3]
Mixmag	[4]
NME	7/10[5]
The New York Times	favorable[6]
Robert Christgau	negative[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
The Source	[10]
Urban Latino	[4]
The Village Voice	mixed[11]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number twelve on the official US Billboard 200 album chart, remaining on the chart for thirty-two weeks.^[12] E.L.E. peaked at the number two spot on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, peaking inside the top fifty for thirty-five weeks.^[13] In the United Kingdom, E.L.E. entered at number fifty-four on the official UK Albums Chart, charting for seven weeks.^[14] On January 8, 1999, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping 1,000,000 copies.^[15]

Album cover

The album, and cover were influenced by popular disaster movies around the time of the album's release in 1998, primarily Armageddon and Deep Impact. Busta Rhymes explained in an interview that the cover was inspired by the disaster movie Deep Impact, showing his image of an asteroid hitting New York City.^[16]

Track listing

Samples

• "Everybody Rise" contains a sample from "If Tomorrow Never Comes" by The Controllers.
• "Where We Are About to Take It" contains a sample from "Topless Dancers of Corfu" by Dick Hyman.
• "Extinction Level Event (The Song of Salvation)" contains a sample from "Early in the Morning" by Vanity Fare.
• "Keepin' It Tight" contains a sample from "New Bell" by Manu Dibango.
• "Gimme Some More" contains a sample from the opening theme of Psycho by Bernard Herrmann.
• "Do the Bus a Bus" contains a sample from "Bubble Bunch" by Jimmy Spicer.
• "Take It Off" contains a sample from "Sunshower" by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band.
• "Hot Shit Makin' Ya Bounce" contains a sample from "Good Day for Lovin'" by Ann Peebles.
• "What the Fuck You Want!!" contains a sample from "Apache" by The Incredible Bongo Band.
• "This Means War!!" contains a sample from "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath.

Charts and certifications

Year-end charts

References