The rap legend headlines a five-day New York gathering in June that bills itself as the world's largest songwriting festival

Busta Rhymes classics from “Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check” to “Gimme Some More” are showcases for one of the nimblest, most slyly melodic, and most gloriously eccentric rappers of all time, but they’re also triumphs of songwriting. The annual New York City songwriting event Anti Social Camp will celebrate that aspect of Busta’s artistry next month, presenting him with their annual ICON Award.

The rap legend will receive his prize and sit for a live interview on the art of songwriting at the event’s June 8 kickoff, the one-day iHeartRadio Anti Social Music Conference. The interview will take place at NYU Steinhardt’s Frederick Loewe Theater, free to members of the public who register as part of New York Music Month. Anti Social Camp will continue with recording sessions, panels, and public events spread around the city, through June 12.

“I am so honored to receive this ICON Award from Anti Social Camp,” Busta said in a statement. “Songwriting is such an important part of this business and of how we, as artists, express what we are feeling and the messages we hope to share with listeners. What I’ve learned about Anti Social Camp is that it creates a safe and inspiring space for songwriters to do exactly that.”

Joining Busta on this year’s line-up of speakers, panelists, and songwriting-camp participants are the experimental R&B vocalist serpentwithfeet, Flatbush Zombies‘ Erick the Architect, and Brooklyn indie act Pom Pom Squad, plus 200 or so other writers, producers, and performers. 

Songwriter Danny Ross launched Anti Social Camp in 2021, building on a New York producers’ collective formed during the pandemic. “The brilliant people behind our favorite songs need a sense of community as much as anyone,” Ross said in a statement. “Anti Social Camp was built by artists, for artists…. I’m so thrilled to see it grow across the globe.”  A London edition launched last fall with Jamie Cullum and Billy Bragg among its headliners, and a second U.K. run is set for mid-November.

Songwriters and artists who have participated in previous editions include Nile Rodgers, PinkPantheress, Jacob Collier, Glass Animals, Moby, Linda Perry, Cigarettes After Sex, Cash Cobain, JP Saxe, and Ava Max. This year’s camp is backed by partners including TIDAL, TikTok, the AI-music platform Suno, Jack Daniel’s, BMI, ASCAP, UnitedMasters, and the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, which is folding the camp into its annual New York Music Month programming.

Sessions will run out of Chelsea Studios, Berklee NYC’s Power Station, Flux Studiosm and other studios, with public events at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Public Records. A full schedule, including 10 larger-scale public events, is set to be announced next week.