When Disaster Strikes...

When Disaster Strikes...
Studio album by Busta Rhymes
Released	September 23, 1997
Recorded	1996-1997
Genre	East Coast hip hop, Hip hop
Length	72:56
Label	Flipmode Records/Elektra Records
Producer	Busta Rhymes (co-exec.), Rick Posada (co-exec.), DJ Scratch, Rashad Smith, Smamello & Buddah, The Ummah, Rockwilder, Easy Mo Bee, Sean "Puffy" Combs, 8 Off
Busta Rhymes chronology
The Coming (1996) When Disaster Strikes... (1997) E.L.E. (1998)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Billboard	(favorable)
Entertainment Weekly	(B)
NME	(7/10)
Pitchfork Media	(8.2/10)
RapReviews	(9/10)
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
The Source
Yahoo! Music	(unfavorable)

When Disaster Strikes... is the 2nd studio album by Busta Rhymes, released on September 23, 1997. The album follows the same theme as The Coming, the apocalypse. The album was a commercial success, sporting the hit singles "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and "Dangerous". It is sometimes seen as a noteworthy, or "classic" because it is considered one of Busta's best albums, and one of the albums that brought East Coast Hip Hop back into the mainstream, after years of fading sales at the hands of West Coast artists. Steve Heuy (of allmusic.com) claimed that it is "arguably Rhymes' definitive original album". The album was certified platinum by the RIAA. It's Busta Rhymes' best selling album, with 1.67 million copies sold.

The album also spawned an unorthodox 12" only release of "Turn it Up", released as Fire it Up, which sampled the theme tune from the 1982 television series Knight Rider. This replaces track 3, "Survival Hungry", on newer editions of the album.

Track listing

#	Title	Producer(s)	Performer(s)	Sample(s)
1	"Intro"
2	"The Whole World Lookin' at Me"	DJ Scratch	Busta Rhymes
3	"Survival Hungry"	DJ Scratch	Busta Rhymes
4	"When Disaster Strikes"	DJ Scratch	Busta Rhymes
5	"So Hardcore"	The Ummah	Busta Rhymes	"Go To Hail" (Black Sheep)
6	"Get High Tonight"	DJ Scratch	Busta Rhymes	"Get Down Tonight" (KC & the Sunshine Band)
7	"Turn it Up"	Busta Rhymes	Busta Rhymes	"Love and Happiness" (Al Green)
8	"Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"	Shamello, Buddah *Epitome (co)	Busta Rhymes	"Sweet Green Fields" (Seals & Crofts)
9	"It's All Good"¹	Latief, M.Bolden	Busta Rhymes	"The Windows of the World" (David T. Walker)
10	"There's Not a Problem My Squad Can't Fix"	Busta Rhymes	Busta Rhymes *Jamal	"Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" (Indeep)
11	"We Could Take it Outside"	DJ Scratch	Busta Rhymes *The Flipmode Squad	"The Windmills of Your Mind" (Henry Mancini)
12	"Rhymes Galore"	Rashad Smith	Busta Rhymes	"Do the Funky Penguin" (Rufus Thomas)
13	"Things We Be Doin' for Money (Part 1)"	Easy Mo Bee	Busta Rhymes
14	"Things We Be Doin' for Money (Part 2)"	8-Off Agallah *Clarence Dorsey (co)	Busta Rhymes *Rampage *Anthony Hamilton *The Chosen Generation
15	"One"	Rockwilder	Busta Rhymes *Erykah Badu	"Love's in Need of Love Today" (Stevie Wonder)
16	"Dangerous"	Rashad Smith	Busta Rhymes	"E.T.'s Boogie" (Extra T's)
17	"The Body Rock"	Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen	Busta Rhymes f.Rampage f.Sean "Puffy" Combs f.Mase
18	"Get Off My Block	DJ Scratch	Busta Rhymes *Lord Have Mercy
19	"Outro (Preparation for the Final World Front)"

• Second pressing includes "Turn it Up/Fire it Up" in place of "Survival Hungry"

¹ Banned in the U.S. due to sexual contents.
² International bonus track.

Second Pressing Track listing

1. "Intro"
2. "The Whole World Lookin' at Me" (Produced by DJ Scratch)
3. "Turn It Up/Fire It Up(Remix)" (Produced by Busta Rhymes, co-produced by Spliff Star)
4. "When Disaster Strikes" (Produced by DJ Scratch)
5. "So Hardcore" (Produced by The Ummah)
6. "Get High Tonight" (Produced by DJ Scratch)
7. "Turn It Up" (Produced by Busta Rhymes)
8. "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" (Produced by Shamello & Buddah, co-produced by Epitome)
9. "There's Not A Problem My Squad Can't Fix" (featuring Jamal) (Produced by Busta Rhymes)
10. "We Could Take It Outside" (featuring The Flipmode Squad: Rampage, Serious, Spliff Star, Lord Have Mercy, Rah Digga & Baby Sham) (Produced by DJ Scratch)
11. "Rhymes Galore" (Produced by Rashad Smith)
12. "Things We Be Doin' For Money-Pt.1" (Produced by Easy Mo Bee)
13. "Things We Be Doin' For Money-Pt.2" (featuring Rampage, Anthony Hamilton & The Chosen Generation) (Produced by 8 Off, co-produced by Clarence Dorsey)
14. "One" (featuring Erykah Badu) (Produced by Rockwilder)
15. "Dangerous" (Produced by Rashad Smith)
16. "The Body Rock" (featuring Rampage, Sean "Puffy" Combs & Mase) (Produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen)
17. "Get Off My Block" (featuring Lord Have Mercy) (Produced by DJ Scratch)
18. "Outro (Preparation For The Final World Front)"

Singles

• "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"
• "Dangerous" - Gold
• "Turn It Up/Fire It Up(Remix)" - Gold
• "One"

Charts

Album – Billboard (U.S.)

Year	Chart	Position
1997	The Billboard 200	3
1997	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	1

Singles Chart Positions

Year	Song	Chart positions
		Billboard Hot 100	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	Hot Rap Singles	Rhythmic Top 40	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	UK Singles Chart
1997	"Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"	#11	#2	—	#16	—	#16
1997	"Dangerous"	#9	#4	#1	#31	#1	#32
1998	"'Turn It Up (Remix)/Fire It Up"	#10	#7	#1	#38	#2	#2
1998	"'One"	—	—	—	—	—	#23

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1997 (U.S.)