Watch Busta Rhymes And Janet Jackson Perform “What’s It Gonna Be?” Live Together For The First Time
In 1998, Busta Rhymes and Janet Jackson teamed up for “What’s It Gonna Be?,” a single from Busta’s album Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front. The song was an MTV mainstay and reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 — Busta’s highest-charting hit as a lead artist. (He later made it to #2 as a guest on the Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha.”) Despite the success, Busta and Janet never performed “What’s It Gonna Be?” live together onstage.
That changed Tuesday. Jackson’s tour rolled through Madison Square Garden, and Busta was present. Janet started working “What’s It Gonna Be?” into her live show in 2018 and 2019, but this was the first time he was there to stroll onstage and rap his lyrics alongside her. “Tonight was one for EVERY HISTORY BOOK!!” he wrote on Instagram. “FIRST TIME EVER THE WORLD GOT TO WITNESS THE BEAUTIFUL QUEEN @janetjackson & Myself perform ‘WHAT’S IT GONNA BE’ IN 25YRS SINCE THE CREATION OF THE SONG FROM THE ‘EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT’ ALBUM At @thegarden 🤯🤯🤯🤯 Thank you Queen for having me tonight and being apart of this Dream Coming true. I’m forever Grateful and I love you sooooo much. Happy Early Bday Queen and Happy Mother’s Day and Happy 25yr Anniversary to our Classic.”
Below, watch footage of the performance, the original music video, and a Drink Champs segment in which Busta describes the making of the song.
