First Coolio. Then Mystikal. Now Busta.

Flamboyantly vociferous rapper Busta Rhymes was arrested along with his business manager in New York City on Sunday night and charged with third degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor.

Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith, was taken into custody after police found a loaded, unregistered .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun in his Mercedes after first pulling Rhymes and business manager Gerald Odom over for driving erratically.

Odom was also cited for misdemeanor drug possession after police discovered a small amount of marijuana on Odom during the traffic stop. Busta and Odom were released on Monday and next face a January 28 court date in the case.

The incident is eerily similar to two other recent arrests involving rappers, drugs, weapons and cars. In September, Coolio was pulled over for driving on the wrong side of the road in Lawndale, California, and was subsequently arrested on various weapons

and narcotic charges (see [article id="1427475"]"Coolio Arrested On Weapons, Drug Charges"[/article]).

Just last week, No Limit rapper Mystikal was taken into custody in Kenner, Louisiana and charged with weapons and drug possession after officers spotted him allegedly smoking a joint in his car (see [article id="1432476"]"Mystikal Facing Pot, Gun Charges"[/article]).

The arrest mars what would have otherwise been an "up" end to Busta Rhymes' year, as the rapper's just-released album, "Extinction Level Event," debuted on last week's Billboard Album charts at number 13.