On this day, Dec. 15, in hip-hop history...

1998: Busta Rhymes delivers his third studio album with E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front exactly 20 years ago.

The 19-track project features production from Swizz Beatz, Nottz, DJ Scratch, Diamond D and more. E.L.E. also had a bunch of notable guest appearances with contributions from Janet Jackson, Busta's crew, Flipmode Squad and Ozzy Ozbourne among others.

With Extinction Level Event, Busta continues with his apocalypse theme that he explored on his first two albums, The Coming and When Disaster Strikes.

On E.L.E, The Brooklyn MC perfects his warp-speed delivery, rapping faster than he ever had before. Busta's lightning-fast flow is as evident as ever on track No. 11, "Iz They Wildin' Wit Us & Getting Rowdy Wit Us?" featuring Mystikal, who just so happened to also drop his third studio album, Ghetto Fabulous, on the exact same day in 1998.

The album was a major success with favorable reviews from major publications across the board, and the album earning three Grammy nominations, one for the album itself in the category of Best Rap Album, a Best Rap Solo Performance nod for "Gimme Some More" and a Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group nomination for "What's It Gonna Be?!" with Janet Jackson.

The platinum-selling album debuted at No. 12 on the official U.S. Billboard 200 album chart, and it remained on the chart for a whopping 32 weeks.

Flipmode/Elektra
Flipmode/Elektra
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