# Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front

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"Extinction Level Event" redirects here. Not to be confused with [Extinction event](/source/Extinction_event) or [Extinction Level Event (Dark Angel album)](/source/Extinction_Level_Event_(Dark_Angel_album)).

***Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front*** is the third studio album by American rapper and record producer [Busta Rhymes](/source/Busta_Rhymes). It was released on December 15, 1998, by [Flipmode](/source/Flipmode_Records) and [Elektra Records](/source/Elektra_Records) in [North America](/source/North_America). The album follows the [apocalyptic](/source/Apocalypse) theme explored by Rhymes' first two albums, *[The Coming](/source/The_Coming)* (1996) and *[When Disaster Strikes...](/source/When_Disaster_Strikes...)* (1997). The album comprises [East Coast](/source/East_Coast_hip-hop), [West Coast](/source/West_Coast_hip-hop), [horrorcore](/source/Horrorcore), and [hardcore hip hop](/source/Hardcore_hip-hop) music.

Widely praised by critics, the album earned three [Grammy Award](/source/Grammy_Award) nominations: [Best Rap Album](/source/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Rap_Album), [Best Rap Solo Performance](/source/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Rap_Solo_Performance) and [Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group](/source/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Rap_Performance_by_a_Duo_or_Group) at the [42nd Grammy Awards](/source/42nd_Grammy_Awards). It also spawned three *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))* chart hits, including the [Janet Jackson](/source/Janet_Jackson)-featuring "[What's It Gonna Be?!](/source/What's_It_Gonna_Be%3F!)", which became Busta's highest-charting single on the [US *Billboard* Hot 100](/source/Billboard_Hot_100) as a lead artist, reaching number three. In early 1999, *E.L.E.* was certified [Platinum](/source/Platinum_record) by the [Recording Industry Association of America](/source/Recording_Industry_Association_of_America) (RIAA) for selling over one million copies.

"I'd had success with two albums, and I felt like I didn't have to prove anything to other people anymore. But I had to prove something to myself. I did things that nobody had been able to do before, such as having Janet Jackson and [Ozzy Osbourne](/source/Ozzy_Osbourne) on the same album. I caught *[producer]* [J Dilla](/source/J_Dilla) at the best time. Nobody else got him as good as me." – [Busta Rhymes](/source/Busta_Rhymes)[1]

## Reception

The album received generally favorable reviews. At the [42nd Grammy Awards](/source/42nd_Grammy_Awards), the album earned three nominations, one for the album itself in the category of [Best Rap Album](/source/Best_Rap_Album), a [Best Rap Solo Performance](/source/Best_Rap_Solo_Performance) nomination for "Gimme Some More" and a [Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group](/source/Best_Rap_Performance_by_a_Duo_or_Group) nomination for "What's It Gonna Be?!" with [Janet Jackson](/source/Janet_Jackson).[2]

In August 2020, Busta Rhymes announced a sequel to the album, *[Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God](/source/Extinction_Level_Event_2:_The_Wrath_of_God)*, which was released on October 30, 2020.[3][4]

### Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 12 on the official [US *Billboard* 200](/source/Billboard_200) album chart, remaining on the chart for 32 weeks.[5] *E.L.E.* peaked at the number two spot on the [R&B/Hip-Hop Albums](/source/R%26B/Hip-Hop_Albums) chart, peaking inside the top 50 for 35 weeks.[6] In the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom), *E.L.E.* entered at number 54 on the [UK Albums Chart](/source/UK_Albums_Chart), charting for seven weeks.[7] On January 8, 1999, the album was certified [Platinum](/source/Platinum_record) by the [Recording Industry Association of America](/source/Recording_Industry_Association_of_America) (RIAA) for shipping 1,000,000 copies.[8]

### Album cover

The album, and cover were influenced by popular disaster movies around the time of the album's release in 1998, primarily *[Armageddon](/source/Armageddon_(1998_film))* and *[Deep Impact](/source/Deep_Impact_(film))*. Busta Rhymes explained that the cover was inspired by the disaster movie *Deep Impact*, showing his image of an asteroid hitting New York City.[9]

## Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[10]

### Notes

- signifies a co-producer

## Charts

Chart (1998) Peak position

### Year-end charts

Chart (1999) Position US Billboard 200[11] 49 US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[12] 14

## References

1. Batey, Angus (October 2009). "My record collection – Busta Rhymes". *[Q](/source/Q_(magazine))*. p. 46.

1. ["Awards Nominations & Winners"](http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=&title=&year=1999&genre=All). 30 April 2017.

1. Torres, Eric (2020-10-08). ["Watch Chris Rock Announce Busta Rhymes' New Album"](https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-chris-rock-announce-busta-rhymes-new-album/). *Pitchfork*. Retrieved 2020-10-08.

1. Grant, Shawn (2020-10-08). ["Busta Rhymes Announces 'Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God' for Oct. 30"](https://thesource.com/2020/10/08/busta-rhymes-announces-extinction-level-event-2-the-wrath-of-god-for-oct-30/). *The Source*. Retrieved 2020-10-08.

1. ["Busta Rhymes - Chart history"](https://www.billboard.com/artist/298558/busta-rhymes/chart?f=305). Billboard. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

1. ["Busta Rhymes - Chart history"](https://www.billboard.com/artist/298558/busta-rhymes/chart?f=333). Billboard. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

1. ["Busta Rhymes | Artist"](http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/busta%20rhymes/). Official Charts. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

1. ["Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - June 30, 2014"](http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database). RIAA. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

1. Interview in radio program *P3 Soul* in [Sveriges Radio P3](/source/Sveriges_Radio_P3) on 2008-09-07

1. *Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front* (booklet). [Flipmode](/source/Conglomerate_(record_label)), [Elektra](/source/Elektra_Records). 1998.

1. ["Busta Rhymes - Chart history"](https://www.billboard.com/artist/298558/busta-rhymes/chart?f=412). Billboard. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

1. ["Busta Rhymes - Chart history"](https://www.billboard.com/artist/298558/busta-rhymes/chart?f=415). Billboard. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_Level_Event%3A_The_Final_World_Front) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_Level_Event%3A_The_Final_World_Front?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.