Busta Rhymes Blasts Fans for Using Their Phones During Essence Festival Performance: ‘F–k Your Phone’

Busta Rhymes is gonna bust anyone who uses their phones during his concerts.

The “Make It Clap” rapper, 52, took the stage at the Essence Festival in New Orleans on Friday, July 7, and got frustrated with fans who paid more attention to their cellular devices than to him.

“F—k them camera phones. Let’s get back to interacting like humans. Put them weird ass devices down. I ain’t from that era. Them s—ts don’t control us all. F—k your phone,” Rhymes yelled to the crowd, according to one social media video .

“I’m gon’ point every last one of y’all out until y’all asses is up,” he continued.

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“33 years of this s—t. I ain’t used to n—as sitting down at my show. I don’t give a f—k. All age groups, get your ass up, now,” the “Touch It” hitmaker blasted on.

Rhymes added, “Get y’all big head asses up. [I have] zero tolerance for bulls—t energy.”

“This is my first time in New Orleans at the f—king 30 year anniversary of the Essence Festival. Make me feel like we home,” Rhymes said.

Essence Fest was established in 1994 and is an annual festival celebrating Black culture.

Once clips of Rhymes’ outburst made the rounds on social media, fans took to X to agree with the Brooklyn native over his actions.

“So #BustaRhymes went off at the crowd while performing,” a fan wrote. “I love THIS energy and he had every right to call them out!! Like he said, he’s not USED to people sitting still in their seats and watching purely through their phones. I’m glad someone said it!!”

Another user chimed in, “Ppl don’t know how to live in the moment anymore.”

However, not everyone was cool with Rhymes’ attitude. “Busta is a legendary MC but that dont give you the right to talk to people like that, especially after they paid for tickets. Bad take man,” someone commented.

One interjected: “I’m sorry I’m not going to a concert to be yelled at like you’re my parent.”

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Rhymes is fresh off of his 100-pound weight loss , having dropped a hefty amount of those lbs in the last couple of years.

The musician told Men’s Health in 2023 how he had trouble breathing — especially during intimate moments with his ex-partner — and how it helped him make the decision to lose weight.

“I’m doing two-a-day workouts, everything: weights, circuits, sauna, cryotherapy,” he said of his exercise routine. “[I adhere to] healthy diet regimen, significant water intake, getting your sleep so your body can repair itself when you beat it up and you tear that muscle from the workouts.”