The album received generally favorable reviews. At the
42nd Grammy Awards, the album earned three nominations, one for the album itself in the category of
Best Rap Album, a
Best Rap Solo Performance nomination for "Gimme Some More" and a
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group nomination for "What's It Gonna Be?!" with
Janet Jackson. In August 2020, Busta Rhymes announced a sequel to the album,
Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God, which was released on October 30, 2020.
Commercial performance The album debuted at number 12 on the official
US Billboard 200 album chart, remaining on the chart for 32 weeks.
E.L.E. peaked at the number two spot on the
R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, peaking inside the top 50 for 35 weeks. In the
United Kingdom,
E.L.E. entered at number 54 on the
UK Albums Chart, charting for seven weeks. On January 8, 1999, the album was certified
Platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping 1,000,000 copies.
Album cover The album, and cover were influenced by popular disaster movies around the time of the album's release in 1998, primarily
Armageddon and
Deep Impact. Busta Rhymes explained that the cover was inspired by the disaster movie
Deep Impact, showing his image of an asteroid hitting New York City. ==Track listing==