Six rappers, eight minutes and ten seconds, and not a single chorus. “Flipmode Squad Meets Def Squad,” the ninth track on Busta Rhymes’ 1996 debut The Coming, is back in rotation this week as a fan-favorite post in a popular hip-hop forum on Reddit, and it still sounds like a cipher somebody forgot to stop recording.
The lineup is a who’s who of mid-’90s New York and New Jersey energy. On one side, Busta with his Flipmode Squad partners Rampage and Lord Have Mercy. On the other, the Def Squad trio of Jamal, Redman and Keith Murray. Producer The Vibe Chemist Backspin laid the beat, and the six MCs simply take turns.
Built as a posse-cut statement
The track was Busta’s attempt to match the posse records that made his name, chiefly “Scenario,” the A Tribe Called Quest posse cut that featured his old group Leaders of the New School. It also nods to “Headbanger,” a cut by the Hit Squad, the crew that Def Squad grew out of. And it served as the formal introduction of Flipmode Squad to a national audience. Busta’s link to Tribe ran deep; the group’s Midnight Marauders era overlapped with his own rise.
Redman’s presence is felt even in the writing credits. The song interpolates his own “Rated ‘R’,” and the songwriting credit lists all six rappers plus the producer.
Where it sits on The Coming
The Coming landed on March 26, 1996, through Flipmode, Violator and Elektra, Busta’s first solo album after Leaders of the New School split in 1994. He had spent the gap stealing scenes on other people’s records. “I was like the first artist to really start rhyming on everyone else’s record,” he later said, explaining that guest verses were a quick way to support his young son.
The album reached No. 6 on the US albums chart, topped the R&B and hip-hop albums list, and was certified Platinum on January 13, 1999. Lead single “Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check” hit No. 8 on the Hot 100 and earned his first Grammy nomination.
Who was in the room
- Flipmode Squad: Busta Rhymes, Rampage (his cousin) and Lord Have Mercy.
- Def Squad: Redman, Keith Murray and Jamal.
- Behind the board: The Vibe Chemist Backspin, who also produced “Hot Fudge.”
At 8:10, it is the longest song on the 13-track album, more than a minute longer than the next-longest cut, “Keep It Movin'” at 7:32, which brought back the Leaders of the New School crew.
What happened to the crews
Flipmode Squad’s own group album, The Imperial, followed in 1998, and Lord Have Mercy left in 2000. Rampage stayed until 2006. Busta revived the collective in March 2024, announcing the reunion on Instagram with Rah Digga and Spliff Star. Five years before that track, Busta had shared another legendary credit, covered in our look at Big Daddy Kane’s Prince of Darkness at 35.
The Coming turns 31 on March 26, 2027.
Further reading
Image: Lipstar & Frederic Lippe (Fred Production), CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
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