Busta Rhymes has suggested that hip-hop has changed a great deal since he first became famous in the 1990s with the Leaders of the New School.

The rapper, whose breakthrough solo hit was 1996 "s "Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check ", suggested to The Huffington Post that record companies have almost become obsolete with the success of mixtapes.

"These record companies are making it a lot easier for themselves to not be needed because they don "t develop artists anymore," Rhymes said.

"And if artists are left to have that responsibility to develop themselves on their own, when they become the s**t and they become the stars, would they need a record label? They already became the s**t without the record label."

He added: "Becoming the s**t on their own is what makes the label want to do business with them, but if they "re already the s**t, why do they need the label?

"That "s why the independent movement has become so powerful in the past five years. That "s the only thing I see that "s changed a lot, among other things."