Busta Rhymes was sent to Morecambe as a kid because it’s safer than Brooklyn

Here’s something you probably didn’t expect to read on a Friday: Busta Rhymes has all the love in the world for Blackpool.

The superstar rapper, 51, who hails from Brooklyn in New York City, made his name in hip-hop and is one of the most recognisable faces in music.

With five platinum-selling albums, more than a handful of platinum and gold-selling singles, his sound is unmistakable and his legacy is preserved.

So how on Earth did Busta, real name Trevor Smith Jr., end up not just visiting but living on the Lancashire coast for a while, and how did he come to fall in love with Blackpool?

Well, would you believe that the Don’t Cha rapper spent two long summers in the 1980s living in Morecambe with his maternal aunt, taking trips to the seaside.

And he looks back on his time on the Golden Mile with fondness: ‘I learned how to smoke cigarettes here. I never seen a white person and Black person go together until I came here.’

Busta was sent to Lancashire to ‘connect’ with his family in the 1980s (Picture: BBC)

‘When I was 11 years old – that’s the first time I saw [mixed-race couples] in my life. In Lancashire, in Morecambe, in Preston, in Blackpool,’ he told Radio 1Xtra.

‘My mum would always send me to different countries where our families were so we wouldn’t be in the ‘hood finding mischief in Brooklyn,’ he added.

‘It was a culture shock for me but in an incredible way.’

Speaking to 1Xtra host Nadia Jae, Busta also discussed his Jamaican family roots before explaining how he spent two summers living the seaside town.

From Brooklyn to Blackpool, Busta has seen it all (Picture: Backgrid)

Busta is best known to UK audiences these days for his performance on Don’t Cha with the Pussycat Dolls (Picture: A&M Records)

‘She sent us to England one summer, then Jamaica another summer, then she sent us to Canada – where the family was, so we could connect with [them],’ he said.

In a November 2020 chat, the rapper told GQ: ‘My mother’s sister lived in Morecambe, England at the time – we went down there to spend two summers.’

One person who will no doubt be pleased to hear of Busta’s love of Morecambe is its current most famous resident, boxing champ Tyson Fury, whose extravagant mansion in the town featured heavily in his family’s Netflix series At Home With the Furys.

He’s revealed he learned to smoke on the Lancashire coast (Picture: AP)

Earlier this year, Busta revealed that a ‘breathing issue’ during an intimate moment with his ex encouraged him to start an intense weight loss journey.

‘I was having a really difficult time breathing, so I got up and I walked out of the bedroom so [my ex-girlfriend] wouldn’t panic seeing me trying to keep myself calm.’

His partner at the time said: ‘You gotta lose this weight. This breathing is scaring me. When I met you, you wasn’t like a muscle-head, but you was slim, you was cut, you had your s**t right.’

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From Brooklyn to Blackpool, he’s seen it all!