Now this review is a little late as Rage and the Machine dropped on October 21st, but I feel that it is worth reviewing as a distraction from what is going on in politics. Distractions aren't bad sometimes.
My first exposure to Joe Budden was when Eminem signed Slaughterhouse to Shady Records. This was around the time I was seeing Amy. It would always drive her up a wall whenever I listened to Eminem. On the deluxe version of the Recovery album, the last song, Session One, featured Slaughterhouse. The last line was Crooked I saying "Cuz to us it's so easy/ where's Jumpoff Joe Beezy?" yet Joe did not have a verse on that song. Curious, I scanned YouTube for some of Joe Budden's music to get a sense of what he sounded like. I found his work with Slaughterhouse and his Mood Muzik mixtape series. I read about the history of how Jay Z prevented him from putting out his second album The Growth, which to this day remains shelved. He is pretty different from the average rapper. He is the most in his creative element when he goes in the booth and records an 8 minute song about the ups and downs of his life that is intelligent and introspective. Among my favorites are Secrets, Just to Be Different, All of Me, State of You, Black Cloud, Inseperable, Dumb Out, Three Sides to a Story, Invisible Man, Ten Minutes, Walk With Me, Follow Your Lead, his verses on Goodbye and Move On and so many others.
Recently, Joe Budden has been on reality shows such as Love and Hip Hop and Couples Therapy while putting out a number of albums where he chronicled going through a number of turbulent relationships while trying to commercialize his sound. Much like the solo work of former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters, Joe Budden's work gradually became stuck on the same topics to even the dismay of his own fans.
In a recent collaborative effort with Dipset producer AraabMuzik, Joe Budden has finally struck a balance between commercialism and staying true to himself. Even at 36, it's never too late. Coming fresh from a one- sided beef with Drake (which Joe won in his first 8 bars of "Making a Murderer"), Budden and Araab got together over the summer and vibed at Joe's apartment in New Jersey and recorded some music.
The album starts off strong with the song "Three", which is an interesting piece as Joe Budden does not rap on the second verse and lets AraabMuzik show off his production skills on the MPC. Joe then comes in with another verse heavily borrowing from his song Hiatus off of Mood Muzik 3. There sounds as if there may have also been an uncredited Eminem feature on this as well.
The album continues with the song Uncle Joe, where Joe Budden brags about knowing DJ Khaled and Kenneth McGriff before they were big names in the industry, as well as expressing unapologetic disdain for the current scene. On the next one, a song entitled Serious, he trades bars back and forth with fellow Slaughterhouse member Joell Ortiz. Next up is By Law, expounding upon the unapologetic individualism and creativity of Uncle Joe. What follows is the single Flex, featuring the newcomer Tory Lanez and old friend and collaborator from Joe's DJ Clue and Desert Storm days Fabolous. What follows is a brief interlude called Forget, where Joe Budden waxes reminiscent of how the rap he used to listen to used to inspired him. I Gotta Ask had some lyrical nods to Jay Z's Hard Knock Life.
Time For Work is one of many songs with frequent R & B collaborator Emmany where they delve into their usual topic of women- in the middle of the song, Joe Budden even pretends to be a DJ at a party as a nod to his frequent social media posts of parties he throws with Emmany. It is a continued celebration of his age. Next up is Wrong One, which is an ominous and menacing reminder that even at 36, Joe Budden is still a force to be reckoned with.
One song of note, my most favorite on the album, is the song I Wanna Know. In interviews, he says it's about the regret he feels about past relationships in general, yet I think there are more blatant references (in the first verse) to his wishing that things were better with his child's mother; along with the support and advice that his mother continues to give him through his work, relationship, and mental health issues. In the second verse, he talks about finally being able to see his kid for the first time since Trey was little and encouraging his son along in pursuing rap as a career. In that, Joe Budden feels a fulfillment that makes him realize that his search for and appreciation of women was an empty search.
The album closes with Idols, where Joe ruminates about how the past rappers have inspired him; as well as his concerns and his hope for the future. The first half of the song even sounds like it samples Space Oddity to boot. This is one of his shorter albums and definitely worth the listen if you are into rap or just want to hear something different.
