Over the years, we’ve built a love/hate relationship with Joe Budden. Many would call the New Jersey rapper a numbskull. Others might say he epitomizes Hip-Hop culture. But after taking a closer look at his past beefs and baring witness to his uncalled for remarks concerning Vibe’s Greatest Rapper Alive bracket on his video blog—we begin to ask ourselves—is Joe Budden crazy or just suicidal?
To understand the rapper is to love him. But love can be a foolish belief. Reading Joey’s comments created torn emotions. On one side we’re saying, “Wow, this guy got some balls to call out these legends, I like his style,” but on the other hand we’re thinking, “Dude just signed his death wish.” What rapper you know back in the day would say, “Look at this list. These niggas is wack on this list…I’m better than most of the niggas on this list”? What rapper you know nowadays would speak such blasphemy, “Will Smith is 16…MC Hammer is 17…f*ck…Redman, 9, you can make an argument…Grandmaster Melle Mel, pioneer, can he rap?”
To pour more salt on the gushing wound, Joe Budden wouldn’t be Joe Budden if he didn’t plaster icing on the cake:
“Love Method Man to death…you mean to tell me if Method Man was standing in front of my face this second, and we had to rap, back and forth, that Method Man would be the victor? Against me?”
—Joe Budden
The industry never bothered to inform Joey about one of the 10 Hip-Hop Commandments—you don’t f*ck with M.O.P., Freddie Foxx AKA Bumpy Knuckles, and most certainly the Wu-Tang Clan. The Ticallion Stallion showed the poise of a skilled veteran, played it cool and kept it moving.
Come to think of it, the situation is identical to Kanye’s fiasco with Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV VMA’s. Think about it, really. Kanye picked the perfect person to bully in front of the entire world, ego-tripping and not carrying about the repercussions that the fiery gates of scrutiny would unleash upon him. Joe picked the one member out of a legendary rap entourage to point out, a well-respected rapper who doesn’t invite drama, never once thinking to himself that the more vocal members of the Wu wouldn’t come for his head. Inspetach Deck released the scathing diss track titled “House N*gga,” to which the verbal assassin exposed Budden’s previous failures, questioned his gangster tactics and how fans rather check for his former girl Tahiry’s voluptuous backside than his records. Raekwon expressed his anger and dealt with the situation hands-on, as one of his Ice Water goon’s clipped the Slaughterhouse rapper during the Rock the Bells tour. No peace treatie was going to protect Budden.
As Hip-Hop fans, you must give Joe Budden’s credit; dude has heart. He sparked a beef that actually kept people’s attention for more than a month, pretty much an entire summer. Seriously, when was the last time that really happened? It’s reality television. It’s awful, pretty much scripted horribly, but it’s a guilty pleasure, it’s entertaining. Now he lies trapped in a padded room with the rap industry watching through the looking glass. That’s Joey for you, never thinks before he reacts.
Written by Alejandro Bracetti