You wouldn’t typically associate Busta Rhymes with music down South. But the beautiful thing about the Dungeon Family is that they were inviting to any and everyone, not just their fellow Atlanta natives. Everyone from Pimp C to Curtis Mayfield could make magic with artists like Outkast, Goodie Mob, Sleepy Brown, and Rico Wade. So when Busta Rhymes joined the crew one night in the studio, it wasn’t that out of the ordinary.
However, one moment from Busta actually played a pivotal role in one of the greatest rap songs to ever come from the South. In a 2023 interview with POW Magazine, Sleepy Brown recalled meeting Busta at legendary producer Dallas Austin’s studio. At the time, he was reading Behold a Pale Horse by Milton William Cooper. Excitedly, Busta Rhymes hyped up the book and insisted everyone read it.
Some did, and it became particularly scary and reflective of the world they knew. Naturally, the book, and Busta by association, became the topic of conversation when making Goodie Mob’s “Cell Therapy”.
Sleepy Brown Recalls How a Busta Rhymes Book Recommendation Became the Inspiration for ‘Cell Therapy’
“To me, ‘Cell Therapy’ is like a rock record, like a classic rock record,” Sleepy Brown explained. “That sh*t’s so wicked and so beautifully thought, it’s so educated on what’s going on and what’s going to happen, what you’re seeing right now is exactly what they talked about on that record. The thing about us, we always wanted to teach our people but we didn’t wanna bang them over the head. We wanna make it cool, like when we’re saying something, you be like, ‘Okay, yeah, you right.’”
As far as how those themes immediately translated, Sleepy pointed his fingers at Goodie Mob. How they took in the Busta Rhymes recommendation was all applied in the rappers’ writing.
“I was just along for the ride. They kept it gutter, they kept it exactly-what-they-were-going-through. They didn’t make it sound pretty, they didn’t make it seem like they had something going on, they were really just spent. It was some sh*t they caught on to. They were like, ‘Look, this is what’s really goin’ on, bruh.’ Those teachers, you love to hear ‘em do it,” Brown added.
Busta Rhymes has been pivotal to his fellow rappers in a variety of different ways. Back in August 2025, Raekwon credited the Brooklyn MC for “saving [his] life.” “You saved my life, n***a, you was in it first. You was in it first. We hold a certain merit in New York City that’s most valuable,” The Chef said.
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