Busta Rhymes pays tribute to D'Angelo with seven-minute track Magic

Busta Rhymes released a seven-minute tribute track titled "Magic" this week that honors his longtime friend and neosoul singer D'Angelo, rapping over the instrumental of D'Angelo's 2000 song "One Mo'gin." The song and accompanying remarks from Busta come in the wake of D'Angelo's death on Oct. 14 at age 51 following a private battle with pancreatic cancer.

"Magic" opens with Busta declaring, "D'Angelo that man is a godsend. He is truly a godsend," and proceeds as a personal eulogy over the haunting groove from Voodoo, D'Angelo's 2000 album. Across roughly seven minutes, Busta recounts their first meeting during a studio session around 1990 with members of A Tribe Called Quest and traces a 34-year friendship that he described as an "unbelievable experience." He emphasized that he regarded D'Angelo first as a friend and second as a creative force, saying, "That was my friend for 34 years. Acknowledging him as a friend first, as a genius second, and as one of the most significant contributors to this culture."

Busta frames his tribute around both personal memory and musical admiration. He praises D'Angelo's reserved offstage presence and contrasts that with the impact of his...