Those who attended Janet Jackson’s May 9 leg of her tour at Madison Square Garden got to witness a special moment.
The “What Have You Done for Me Lately” singer performed “What’s It Gonna Be!?” with Busta Rhymes on stage. Toward the end of the performance, the “Touch It” rapper presented the 56-year-old with well-deserved flowers and a three-tier cake in honor of Mother’s Day and her birthday (May 16).
“Queen Janet. Queen, royal empress Janet Jackson. I said Queen Royal Empress Janet Jackson,” he said, causing the audience to cheer.
“Please understand something,” Busta told the audience. “I know she’s on schedule with her show. I don’t want to disrupt the program too much, but I brought some gifts for you, queen. I can’t take it.”
Busta had the flowers rolled out first.
“In 1998, 25 years ago, I’m on the Belt Parkway, going from Long Island to Manhattan. I’m listening to Janet Jackson do an interview with Angie Martinez when she was on Hot 97. Janet Jackson was doing an interview promoting the ‘Velvet Rope’ album. Angie Martinez asked her, ‘What rapper have you never worked with before that you would like to work with?’ She said, ‘Busta Rhymes.’ Excuse my language, but I almost crashed my f**king car.”
He then instructed the crowd to say “Happy Birthday, Janet Jackson,” to the queen, informing the audience of her upcoming birthday.
He then had the three-tier birthday cake rolled out. Each tier had photos of the two from the “What’s It Gonna Be!?” video.
“To this day, our video is the most expensive hip-hop video ever made in the history of Hip Hop culture,” he said. “You cannot play with the Royal Empress. Please know that.”
He called Janet “beautiful, the most gorgeous, one of the most incredible souls as a mother walking the face of the earth.”
“You finally made a dream come true for me, queen. I waited 25 years to be able to share this stage with you and perform this song. And I am so grateful that I’m fighting tears of joy right now. I just want you to know that I love you so much.”
The two performers gave each other a long embrace. Before Busta left the stage, he told the audience to “give it up for the incredible Janet Jackson.”
Busta Rhymes posted the tour moment on his Instagram.
He wrote a heartfelt message to the superstar singer and her legacy and also posted a photo of him inside Madison Square Garden.
“There is no words that can describe the feeling of how Colossal the Blessings are being Bestowed EVERDAY!! I told y’all to stay tuned, didn’t I!!! 🤣🤣🤣 Tonight was one for EVERY HISTORY BOOK!! FIRST TIME EVER, THE WORLD GOT TO WITNESS THE BEAUTIFUL QUEEN @janetjackson & Myself perform “WHAT’S IT GONNA BE” IN 25YRS SINCE THE CREATION OF THE SONG FROM THE ‘EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT’ ALBUM At @thegarden 🤯🤯🤯🤯.”
“Thank you, Queen, for having me tonight and being a part of this dream coming true. I’m forever grateful, and I love you sooooo much. Happy Early Bday, Queen and Happy Mother’s Day and Happy 25yr Anniversary to our Classic.”
