Busta Rhymes Drops New Album With J Dilla, DILLAGENCE II
Busta Rhymes has returned with one of the most unexpected hip-hop releases of 2026: DILLAGENCE II, a new collaborative album built around unreleased production from the late J Dilla.
Released on August 31, 2026, DILLAGENCE II brings together Busta Rhymes’ unmistakable delivery with production created by one of hip-hop’s most influential beatmakers. The 19-track project is more than another album release — it continues a musical relationship that stretches back decades and gives fans another opportunity to hear J Dilla’s production in a new context.
The project arrives as the long-awaited follow-up to Dillagence, the 2007 mixtape that saw Busta Rhymes rhyme over unreleased J Dilla beats.
What is Busta Rhymes’ new album?
Busta Rhymes’ new album is called DILLAGENCE II.
The project is officially credited to Busta Rhymes and J Dilla and contains 19 tracks, with a runtime of roughly an hour. It is built around unreleased J Dilla production that Busta had retained following the producer’s death in 2006.
Rather than presenting Dilla as simply a historical figure, the album places his production directly alongside a veteran rapper who understood his sound and working style.
That distinction is important.
DILLAGENCE II isn’t a collection of newly recorded J Dilla material. Dilla died in 2006, so the project draws from his archival production while Busta Rhymes supplies the new vocal performances and helps shape the album into a contemporary release.
Why Busta Rhymes and J Dilla have such a deep connection
The relationship between Busta Rhymes and J Dilla goes back to the 1990s.
Dilla became an important part of Busta’s musical world, contributing production and remixes during a period when Busta was developing some of his most adventurous work. Their connection continued across projects including Anarchy, Genesis and The Big Bang.
Their chemistry eventually produced Dillagence in 2007, a project built around Busta Rhymes rapping over Dilla’s unreleased beats.
Almost two decades later, DILLAGENCE II extends that idea.
J Dilla reportedly left Busta Rhymes more than 300 beats
One of the biggest stories behind DILLAGENCE II is the enormous archive of music Busta Rhymes received from J Dilla.
Busta has previously said that Dilla left him more than 300 beats before his death. The rapper subsequently became one of the people responsible for preserving and continuing the legacy of those recordings.
That makes the new album particularly significant.
There is potentially a much larger archive behind what listeners are hearing on DILLAGENCE II, meaning this project doesn’t necessarily represent the end of the Busta-Dilla story.
It also explains why the album feels different from a standard posthumous release. Busta isn’t simply adding vocals to a handful of unused beats discovered years later. He has had a long-standing creative relationship with Dilla’s music and has been discussing these unreleased recordings for years.
Who features on DILLAGENCE II?
The album has an impressive guest list that crosses generations of hip-hop and R&B.
The project includes appearances from:
- Lil Wayne
- D’Angelo
- Common
- Anderson .Paak
- Big Sean
- Ludacris
- Talib Kweli
- T3 of Slum Village
- Jon Batiste
- La Reezy
- C.S. Armstrong
- Honey Bxby
- Trillian
- Watch The Duck
- CIE
The combination is one of the album’s biggest strengths. Instead of relying entirely on Busta Rhymes’ legacy, DILLAGENCE II brings different generations and styles into Dilla’s production world.
D’Angelo appears on “This Woman”
One of the most intriguing songs on the album is “This Woman,” featuring D’Angelo.
The track carries additional historical weight because D’Angelo’s contribution comes from an unfinished recording connected to a much earlier period of Dilla’s career. The result is effectively a meeting between three major figures whose musical histories overlap: Busta Rhymes, J Dilla and D’Angelo.
For fans of Dilla’s production, that makes the track particularly interesting beyond its place on the album.
Lil Wayne joins Busta Rhymes on “Talk Ya Shit”
Another major collaboration is “Talk Ya Shit,” featuring Lil Wayne.
The pairing makes sense from a purely rap perspective: both Busta and Wayne are known for dense wordplay, unusual flows and highly individual deliveries.
Putting them over Dilla production creates another bridge between different generations of technically adventurous MCs.
The track had already generated attention before the album arrived, making it one of the project’s most anticipated collaborations.
DILLAGENCE II tracklist
The 19-track album opens with “Ma Dukes Speak Again” and moves through a mixture of solo Busta performances and collaborations.
The tracklist is:
- Ma Dukes Speak Again
- How The Boss Will Deliver
- Entry feat. La Reezy
- SPAZZZ
- Back Pain, Chest Pain, Head Pain
- Royalty feat. CIE, Trillian
- This Woman feat. D’Angelo
- Shoo
- Drugs feat. C.S. Armstrong
- The Story Of The Old Man
- Run Em Down feat. Watch The Duck
- Lay Down feat. T3 of Slum Village
- Wait 4 U feat. Big Sean, Honey Bxby
- Kingpin (Knock Ya Head Off) feat. Anderson .Paak, Ludacris
- How You Want It
- Love & War feat. C.S. Armstrong, Talib Kweli
- Talk Ya Shit feat. Lil Wayne
- “What We Got in Common” (featuring Common and Jon Batiste)
- “Ma Dukes & J Dilla Closing Word”
The official streaming listings confirm the project as a 19-song release.
What makes DILLAGENCE II different?
The biggest attraction is the production.
J Dilla developed a distinctive approach to rhythm that became enormously influential in hip-hop. His beats could feel slightly off-centre, loose and unpredictable while still maintaining a deep groove.
That approach became associated with what is often described as “Dilla Time” — a rhythmic sensibility that continues to influence producers decades after his death.
Busta Rhymes is an unusually good match for that style.
His flow has always been elastic. He can accelerate, pause, stretch syllables and change his cadence within the same verse. Dilla’s unconventional rhythms give him plenty of space to play with that delivery.
That chemistry is one reason the original Dillagence remains important to fans.
DILLAGENCE II continues the legacy of the original Dillagence
The first Dillagence arrived in 2007, after Dilla’s death, as Busta Rhymes’ tribute to his late collaborator.
The sequel takes the concept much further.
Instead of simply revisiting the original mixtape, Busta has assembled a new album around a deeper archive of Dilla’s production and invited artists from different corners of hip-hop and R&B into the project.
That gives DILLAGENCE II a dual identity.
It works as a new Busta Rhymes album, but it also functions as another chapter in the preservation of J Dilla’s musical legacy.
Why J Dilla’s music still matters in 2026
J Dilla’s influence has never really disappeared.
The Detroit producer’s work with groups and artists including Slum Village, Common, Erykah Badu, The Roots and Busta Rhymes helped establish a production style that continues to be studied and sampled.
His 2006 album Donuts, released just days before his death, became particularly influential among producers and instrumental hip-hop fans.
Dilla died on February 10, 2006, aged 32.
Twenty years later, his production is still being released, discussed and discovered by new generations of listeners.
That makes DILLAGENCE II more than nostalgia.
It demonstrates how unfinished musical archives can continue to influence contemporary hip-hop when handled carefully.
Is DILLAGENCE II a posthumous J Dilla album?
Not in the conventional sense.
Dilla died in 2006, meaning the production used on DILLAGENCE II comes from his existing archive rather than newly created music.
The album is better understood as a Busta Rhymes project built around unreleased J Dilla production.
That distinction matters because Busta is not simply presenting an old collection of recordings. He is creating new performances around Dilla’s previously unreleased work and bringing other artists into the process.
Where can you listen to DILLAGENCE II?
DILLAGENCE II is available on major streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify.
The official Apple Music listing credits the project to Busta Rhymes and J Dilla and lists 19 tracks, while Spotify also lists the album as a 2026 release with a runtime of approximately one hour.
Is DILLAGENCE II worth listening to?
If you’re a fan of Busta Rhymes, J Dilla or classic hip-hop production, the album is an easy recommendation.
The appeal isn’t simply hearing a veteran rapper release another project.
It’s hearing what happens when Busta Rhymes returns to a production style connected to one of the most important collaborators of his career.
The guest appearances also prevent the album from becoming a purely retrospective exercise. Lil Wayne, D’Angelo, Common, Anderson .Paak, Big Sean, Ludacris and the rest of the guest list give the project different textures while keeping Dilla’s production at its centre.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Busta Rhymes’ new album called?
Busta Rhymes’ new album is DILLAGENCE II, a collaborative project with the late producer J Dilla.
When did DILLAGENCE II come out?
DILLAGENCE II was released on August 25, 2026.
How many songs are on DILLAGENCE II?
The album contains 19 tracks.
Is J Dilla on the new Busta Rhymes album?
Yes. DILLAGENCE II is built around previously unreleased J Dilla production. Dilla died in 2006, so the album uses recordings from his archive rather than newly produced beats.
Who features on DILLAGENCE II?
The album features artists including Lil Wayne, D’Angelo, Common, Anderson .Paak, Big Sean, Ludacris, Talib Kweli and T3 of Slum Village, among others.
Did J Dilla leave Busta Rhymes unreleased beats?
Yes. Busta Rhymes has previously said that Dilla left him more than 300 beats before his death.
Is DILLAGENCE II a sequel to Dillagence?
Yes. It follows Busta Rhymes’ 2007 Dillagence project, which was built around unreleased J Dilla production.
The Bottom Line
DILLAGENCE II is one of 2026’s more meaningful hip-hop releases because it connects three different eras of the culture.
Busta Rhymes brings the voice and energy that made him one of rap’s most recognizable MCs. J Dilla supplies the production that continues to influence beatmakers two decades after his death. And the guest list shows just how far that influence reaches.
The result is not simply another posthumous project.
It’s Busta Rhymes returning to a musical relationship that helped shape part of his career — and using J Dilla’s unreleased work to create something new.
For longtime fans, DILLAGENCE II is a continuation of unfinished business.
For younger listeners discovering Dilla for the first time, it is another entry point into one of hip-hop’s most influential production legacies.
