Entertainment

We Didn’t Know We Needed Busta Rhymes at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Until We Got Him

Busta Rhymes, Ninja Turtles, Ciara, Lil Jon, and Cynthia Erivo turned the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade into a hip-hop and R&B celebration.
By 
November 27, 2025
1 mins read
Busta Rhymes

Every year, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade gives us balloons, Broadway, marching bands, and moments designed to warm the holiday spirit. But this year, something different happened. Something chaotic, joyful, nostalgic, and unexpectedly hip-hop and R&B.

This year, New York reminded the world exactly who it is.

Because somewhere between Busta Rhymes and the Ninja Turtles turning a Manhattan street into a full-blown block party, America realized: Oh… we needed this.

The World of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Chocolate Factory float from Nickelodeon and Paramount rolled in looking like pure Saturday-morning nostalgia — and then Busta Rhymes stepped out with Spliff Star and DJ Scratchator like it was 1998 on a rooftop in Brooklyn. What followed was a medley that felt less like a parade performance and more like a cultural reset.

Pass the Courvoisier, Part II.
Break Ya Neck.
Look at Me Now.
Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See.

All delivered with Busta’s trademark charisma, while life-size Ninja Turtles hit choreography behind him like backup dancers at a hip-hop martial arts revue. It was chaotic. It was brilliant. And it was one of the most talked-about moments of the entire parade.

But that wasn’t the only vibe during the parade. Ciara performed Low.

Lil Jon, riding on the Toys “R” Us float with Geoffrey the Giraffe, literally vibing beside him as he yelled “TURN DOWN FOR WHAT?!” down 34th street. A sentence no one expected to write in 2025 — yet here we are.

Cynthia Erivo gave the crowd a soulful performance of Feeling Good.

We didn’t know we needed all this. But the parade made it clear: we absolutely did.

Photo Credit: DepositPhotos.com