''Year of the Dragon'' is the ninth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American hip hop recording artist

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

, it was released by Google Play as a free release on August 21, 2012. The album features guest appearances from Anthony Hamilton,

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" ...

, Robin Thicke, Maino, Vybz Kartel, J-Doe, Reek da Villian,

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

, Gucci Mane, Trey Songz and Lil Wayne.

Background

The album's title (inspired by the Chinese zodiac) and

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...

were revealed on July 9, 2012. The official track list was released on August 8, 2012. It was released on August 21, 2012 for free download via Google Play.

Singles

The album's lead single "King Tut", featuring Reek da Villian and J-Doe, was released on May 22, 2012. The music video for "King Tut", featuring Reek da Villian and J-Doe, was released on July 25, 2012. The album's second single "Doin' It Again" featuring Reek da Villian and Chanel Nicole was released on August 1, 2012. The music video for "Doin' It Again" featuring Reek da Villian and Chanel Nicole was released on September 12, 2012. The music video for "Movie" featuring J-Doe was released on October 16, 2012.

Critical response

''Year of the Dragon'' was met with generally mixed reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s. Slava Kuperstein of '' HipHopDX'' gave the album three out of five stars, saying "The problem is the same one that’s plagued just about every single Busta Rhymes album: the Dungeon Dragon cannot decide on a direction for the project. It’s not cohesive in production, styles, or subject matter. Busta’s all over the place, and does nothing to improve his reputation as one of the greatest emcees to not have a great album to his name. Here's to hoping the real album will be better."

Track listing

Sample notes * "I'm Talking to You" contains a sample of " Shout", performed by Tears for Fears. * "Make It Look Easy" contains a sample of "Blues and Pants", performed by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

. * "Love-Heat" contains a sample of "Baby I Don't Like You", performed by The Moments. * "Grind Real Slow" contains elements of " I Like It", written by Eldra DeBarge, William DeBarge, and Jordan Etterlene. * "Doin It Again" contains a sample of "Round and Round", performed by Hi-Tek.

References

{{Authority control 2012 albums Albums produced by Bink (record producer) Albums produced by Boi-1da Albums produced by Mr. Porter Albums produced by Focus... Busta Rhymes albums Albums produced by Jahlil Beats Albums free for download by copyright owner