The Grammys honored 50 years of hip-hop on Sunday with a medley from dozens of stars past and present, ranging from Grandmaster Flash to Lil Uzi Vert. But it was a 50-year-old, Brooklyn's Busta Rhymes, who stole the show.
About two-thirds of the way through the 13-minute medley, Rhymes, dressed in a fire-engine-red pea coat, roared into his hook from the 1997 MTV staple "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See," then vaulted into a torrent of bars from his part on Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now." Rapping at the speed of sound, Rhymes looked to be in a trance; Jay-Z and other Grammys attendees leaped to their feet.
It was one of the evening's most memorable moments, in a performance that just about did the impossible — showcased a whole genre from its birth to the present. Rhymes, who released a new EP, "The Fuse Is Lit," in November, spoke to The Times by phone from L.A. the afternoon after his Grammys triumph.
