Try to make sense of this -- hip-hop superstar Busta Rhymes is performing Thursday on the Gateway Clipper.

Has there ever been a more bizarre, inexplicable -- yet sort of awesome -- combination of performer and venue in Pittsburgh• It's almost like, say, Kiss performing in the North Shore Connector tunnel, or AC/DC playing at the top of the Cathedral of Learning.

"I've never performed on a boat, but I've hosted parties on boats," says Busta Rhymes, on the phone from a tour stop on the West Coast. "I've had release parties on boats. I look forward to it. It's going to be hot, definitely."

The Brooklyn-born Rhymes has had an extraordinarily long career for a hip-hop artist, beginning with the group Leaders of the New School in 1991. He broke out as a solo artist in 1996 with "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check." Love him or hate him, he has perhaps the most distinctive voice in hip-hop -- a complex, fast, frenetic, frequently humorous flow that dances wildly around the beat.

"I describe it as the Busta Rhymes style," Rhymes says. "It's the thing I've been able to do most comfortably. My inspiration comes from reggae artists, primarily. I'm directly of Jamaican descent. That rhythm, that timing, that energy with the live performance -- the whole exuberant nature, are all characteristics of reggae artists. They do things a certain way. There's just something about the raw edginess of the performance of a dance hall (reggae) artist -- something that's so dynamic and compelling. I thought, if I could master that, I'd be dangerous."

Whatever he did, it worked. His eighth solo album, "Back on My BS," comes out May 19 on Universal/Motown.

Hip-hop is constantly evolving, leaving many of its erstwhile stars standing around with empty pockets, wondering where it all went. There just aren't many hip-hop artists who have stayed this successful, for this long.

Curiously, Rhymes doesn't think the game has changed much since he got started, long before Myspace, file-sharing and iPods.

"I don't think it's any different to stay on top," Rhymes says. "It's always about the rhyme, the work ethic. It's always about the song. I think the difference now is that life has become reality TV. There was a time in hip-hop where you was still able to have a value for your private life, a constitutional right to privacy. Now, that's out the window. (They) hit you with a cameraphone, and feel they have the right to push that in your face. It allows the consumer to get that much more personal with you, but I think there's a line that still needs to be drawn."

His latest songs reflect relief more than anything else. The past few years have been challenging, professionally and personally. Although he's never tried to cultivate an image as a tough-guy rapper, he's had several run-ins with the law, and one of his bodyguards was shot to death during a music video shoot. He also had some problems with previous record labels.

"Back on My BS" addresses these problems, and attempts to move on. The cut "We Made It," which features rock band Linkin Park, is kind of an anthem about beating the odds.

"This is a reflection of the current space I'm in as a man and a professional, and an artist," Rhymes says. "Between the last album in '06, 'The Big Bang', a lot has transpired. But I'm in one of the greatest phases of my life right now, and am back to giving people that feel-good energy."

"New label, new money, new excitement, new album, new motivation, new inspiration. That, in itself, is a big weight off my shoulders. I've defeated all my legal obstacles that I was dealing with at the time. I'm back to flying high. I'm giving people a direct reflection, through the music, of just feeling good -- being the Busta Rhymes that people have grown to know and love."

Additional Information:

Busta Rhymes

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Admission: $30

Where: Gateway Clipper, Station Square

Details: 412-355-7980

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