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Busta Rhymes on Working With ‘Super Diva’ Mariah Carey: ‘She Really Is the Homey’ (Exclusive)

The perfect partnership! Busta Rhymes couldn’t help but rave about working with Mariah Carey.

Rhymes (real name Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr.) recently sat down with Us Weekly to dish on his most memorable collaborations.

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“My most fun was with Mariah because she’s the homey in the studio and the competition isn’t the same,” said the 11-time Grammy nominee. “So I don’t have to be on pins and needles with her and the excitement and the anxiety and the same as it is with Radega, but that’s a different type of fun ‘cause I enjoy that experience as well. But with Mariah, it’s a little more easy because she really is the homey, like, the super diva to the world.”

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The rapper and Carey joined forces on the 2002 track “I Know What You Want.” Rhymes gushed about hitting the studio with the “We Belong Together” songstress and what she brings to a collaboration.

‘When she’s able to loosen up, you get to really see the home girl and being in that space with her is relieving because that’s the balance that allows the magic to happen with the music,” he explained, “because she’s willing to embrace all sorts of inspiration as long as it feels right.”

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Rhymes also spoke fondly about working with Janet Jackson during his chat with Us. “It was so magical for me because I am in love with the whole Jackson legacy,” he said. “Her and Michael was my favorite.”

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