Joe Budden, your not-so-friendly rapper-turned-podcast host cannot stay away from beef — regardless of his intentions.
Whether it’s by his own actions or another rapper’s instigation, Budden has found himself in headlines as much for his battles as his bars. He allegedly pissed off Eminem with his comments about Revival’s contents, and it wasn’t long before Bizarre and 50 Cent got in on the hoopla. While we wait to see what Joe’s next move will be, here is a (lengthy) rundown of the Slaughterhouse MC’s most notable beefs.
Vs. Cam’ron
If you blinked, you missed this spat between Cam and Joe. Last year, Joe covered the feud between Jim Jones and Cam’ron on his then titled I’ll Name This Later podcast, and noted that Cam had copyrighted the name “ByrdGang” without talking to Jones about it. Budden said that had he been in that situation, he’d have “fucked (Cam) up, immediately.” Cam’s gut reaction was to fire back, and it went down in the DM when Cam messaged Joe on Twitter: “U can try and fuck me up now if you want.. where u at?” And yet, all it took was a simple phone call for Cam to admit he jumped the gun, and the two stifled their problem before it grew cancerous.
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Vs. Chance the Rapper
Mouse went right into troll mode here. Following Chance’s performance of the Daniel Caesar-assisted “First World Problems” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last fall, Joe lambasted him on Complex’s Everyday Struggle for creating “polk music” that is “too positive.” Chance responded in a slyly amicable manner in an interview with Robyn Neal, and Joe responded by saying Chance’s real motives were in response to his claims that Chance isn’t really an independent artist. Chano threw a jab Joey’s way by rapping “I might fire Joe Budden” during a freestyle at a concert in October, but that was still relatively tame. Thankfully, the feud faded, because who really wants to see Chancellor Bennett battle somebody?
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Vs. Consequence
Reality TV is all about creating conflict, but behind the scenes Con and Joe took real issue with one another when they were on Love & Hip Hop NY. Tensions spilled over at a reunion taping of the show in 2013, when Consequence smacked Joe in the head and Joe’s then-girlfriend Tahiry Jose punched Con. Nothing more came of it on or off wax, and the two made up a year later at Starlet’s Gentlemen’s Club in New York.
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Vs. Drake
This “beef” was one-sided as hell. Joe, an apparent fan of Drizzy, dedicated an entire episode of his podcast to his disappointment with Drake’s Views in 2016. Drake responded subliminally on “4 PM in Calabasas” with rhymes like “they whole demeanor spells envy” a reference to Fat Joe’s J.O.E. (Jealous Ones Envy) and French Montana’s “No Shopping.” Budden actually was impressed with the former song, calling Aubrey “inspired.” However, he spent the next few months dropping diss track after diss track, practically begging for a full-on battle with Drake. Yet, as he does with anyone not named Meek Mill, the 6 God stuck to subliminals, and the beef ended as anticlimactically as the release of Views.
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Vs. G-Unit/The Game
Joe and 50 Cent are two of the most prolific beefers in the history of Hip Hop, so it was only a matter of time before these paragons of pettiness stepped into the arena. Joe threw the first punch when he dissed G-Unit member Lloyd Banks, rapping “We keep money under the mattress, fuck Banks” on 2002’s “Blood Pressure.” Banks fired back in an interview by calling him “Pink Buttons” and stating the beef originated when Joe looked for disses that weren’t there. The Game got involved when Mouse likened the Unit to “gangsta actors” on a DJ Clue cut, “Cross Country.”
Unbeknownst to The Game, Clue put one of his verses on the same track. After 50 Cent asked his then-protégé about this, Jayceon Taylor fired back with the diss track “Buddens.” Never to be outdone, Joey came back hard with “Game Over.” However, after Game was dropped from G-Unit, the two joined forces at a show in New York in 2008 and subsequently collaborated on the albeit terrible record, “The Future.” Budden told MTV News that his issue had been with G-Unit, and said his beef with Game “wasn’t anything personal.” Joey also made up with Lloyd Banks when the two collaborated on “Transitions” from Banks’ All Or Nothing: Live It Up mixtape in 2016. 50 Cent, however, had other ideas…
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Vs. JAY-Z
Expectations were Dizzy Wright-high when Joey released his self-titled debut on Def Jam in 2003, but the album failed to garner a Gold plaque. To add insult to injury, Jigga hopped on the beat to Joe’s single “Pump It Up” with a freestyle that many considered superior to Budden’s version. Hov started it off with “Gimme that beat fool, it’s a full-time jack move” before calling himself the “Mike Jordan of mic recording” and likening his competition to Shawn Bradley. Hip Hop gossiped like junior high kids at lunchtime that Jay’s target was Joe. Just months later S. Carter became President of Def Jam, and after Budden’s sophomore album sat on the shelf for years, he pointed the finger at his boss. Joe eventually was dropped from Def Jam after the label disagreed with the creative direction of his sophomore effort, then titled The Growth.
The beef culminated in 2007 with “Talk 2 Em,” on which Budden ridicules Jay for being an old-man rapper: “The new generation won’t forget you we promise/We’ll always pay homage/But let’s get one thing understood son/Every ‘encore’ ain’t a good one.” Years passed and the cow patty simmered, and now appears to be over.
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Last year, Jay tweeted a list of rappers who inspired him and even included Joe Budden. Respect.
Vs. Lil B
The BasedGod is a very, erm, eccentric rapper, and thus has been a lightning rod for bullying by other MCs. Joe Budden was, of course, one of them. Lil B, a fan of Budden’s, was hurt by Mouse’s mocking of his positive sentiments on Twitter in 2010. The two traded barbs on Twitter before Lil B went to the lab and came back with a diss titled “T-Shirts and Buddens,” on which he raps “Joe Budden, Joe Booty, what the fuck is your name?” Not long after, Lil B completely changed his tune, tweeting to Joe: “ur the true legend and for me coming out at u for no reason was a ho move reguardless (sic) if it was for the rap and fun…” Well then.
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Vs. Meek Mill
Meek got too sensitive in 2015 when Joe teased him on his podcast about his lovey-dovey relationship with Nicki Minaj. Mill went off on Twitter about Joe’s “rap money slow(ing) up” and ridiculed him for his time on Love & Hip Hop. Joe tweeted back that Meek took his words out of context, and apologized for his words in his next podcast. A year later, though, Budden was embroiled in his beef with Drake, who was feuding with Meek at the time. Joey made it clear in his song “Making of a Murderer, Part 1” that he and Meek’s mutual enemy didn’t make them friends. “No alliance with Meek, it’s still fuck him too,” Budden spit. Meek responded with an Instagram post that stated, “He’s been dead since 2003, it’s evident. We don’t talk to dead people unless they presidents.” Joe responded by telling him to take a seat and watch him “do what (Meek) couldn’t.” Though the two probably still have animosity toward each other, the e-beefing ended there.
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Vs. Migos
This one started on the red carpet, of all places. Everyday Struggle hosts Joe and DJ Akademiks were interviewing Migos’ three members – Quavo, Offset and Takeover – at the 2017 BET Awards last summer. Akademiks joked about Takeover not having a verse on the group’s biggest hit, “Bad and Boujee.” Takeover got heated and Budden abruptly ended the interview with a literal mic drop. All three members of Migos stood up, and people had to get in between them and Mouse to stop the fists from flying. It looked like that was it, but in December, Quavo called Joe a “pussy” on the track “Ice Tray.” Budden was seemingly caught off guard, as he responded on Twitter with head-shaking amusement. A month later, Migos stated that they have no issue with Budden anymore. It’s all in the game.
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Vs. Mobb Deep’s Prodigy
Another Budden “beef” that never made it to records created unceremonious records. Prodigy started this one when he said on a WorldStar clip in ‘08 that lot of New York rappers should quit rap and paint houses. He dubbed Budden the very worst out of NYC, to which Mouse replied in an interview with WorldStar by likening Prodigy to Bobby Brown. “Isn’t he going to jail?” he asked, referencing P’s then-upcoming bid on a weapons charge. After the Mobb Deep legend died last year, Joey revealed they had squashed their beef before he left this earth.
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Vs. Ransom
In 2008, Joe put erstwhile A-Team associates Ransom and Hitchcock on a track dubbed “Family Reunion” without permission, and things got heated with a number of diss tracks, namely Joe’s “Heart of the City” and Ransom’s “Kid Brother.” Ransom hit below the belt when he talked trash on video about Joe’s then-girlfriend Tahiry Jose. Words turned to wounds when Budden brought his entourage to Ransom’s ‘hood and the two engaged in fisticuffs. Ransom brought his own people to the doorstep of Budden’s friend and slapped him. It never progressed from hands to handguns, though, and in 2014 they finally made peace.
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Vs. Royce Da 5’9
These two rivals-turned-rap mates briefly had an issue when, for whatever reason, Joe decided to diss Royce over a battle he didn’t even witness. On an early version of “Thou Shall Not Fall” in 2007, Joe rapped about Royce losing to Mistah F.A.B. in a battle. He amended the track, but not before Nickel Nine heard it and came back with “I’m Nice” on which he spit: “Listen to Joe Budden say, I fell the fuck off/But he ain’t never fell on, I’m just gonna ignore him/Make a nigga extra famous after I warn him.” The feud was deaded and the two joined forces with Joell Ortiz and KXNG Crooked to form Slaughterhouse. Joe and Royce disagreed early in 2017 after Joey said that the next Slaughterhouse album will never come out, with Royce tweeting that it is in fact, coming and that Budden was “being a dick, per usual.” However, nothing escalated from there, even though the album has still not seen the light of day.
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Vs. Saigon
Sai-giddy Tha Yardfather apparently wasn’t in history class much. Budden rapped on 2008’s “Roll Call” that “Soon as my wife gone they jump on the python/But she don’t know I’m out to hit and run like Saigon.” While Joe was clearly referencing the hit-and-run tactics of the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, Saigon heard his name and his knee jerked. For the next few years, the two made a habit of releasing vicious disses and then saying they were done, only to start back up again. Notable diss tracks from the beef include Sai’s “Pushing Buddens” over the Wu-Tang Clan’s classic “Protect Ya Neck” instrumental, and Joey’s “Pain in His Life,” which mocks Saigon’s “Pain in My Life.” Budden’s Slaughterhouse mate Royce Da 5’9” got involved when he blasted Saigon on a freestyle over 50 Cent’s “Flight 187” in 2010, but the beef has been dormant since then.
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Vs. Wu-Tang Clan
Back in ‘09 March Madness-style Hip Hop brackets were all the rage. Joe took issue with one Vibe did, dissing a number of rappers – including Method Man – for being too highly seeded. The Wu took exception to his comments, so much so that a member of Raekwon’s entourage put his fist in Joe’s eye during the Wu’s ‘09 Rock the Bells tour. The Chef later told VladTV that Budden was caught off guard by the confrontation and that Rae himself felt caught in the middle of the beef because he was cool with Joe’s Slaughterhouse mates. The beef has since been resolved, with Raekwon calling it “nothing” and “bird shit.”
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Vs. 2 Chainz
This is perhaps Joey’s weakest beef. It started in 2011 when Budden needled the artist formerly known as Tity Boi for his lyrics on “Spend It”: “I should have sex in the coffin ‘cause I’m killin’ these hoes.” He then questioned Jadakiss for even collaborating with 2 Chainz, and the former Playaz Circle rhymer responded by calling Budden a “diehard battle rappn (sic) ass nigga” who was mad because he was “prospering” with Jada on a track. Their spat never made it to music, though, and the two laughed it off on an episode of Everyday Struggle last summer. All’s well that ends well.
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Vs. 50 Cent/Bizarre/Eminem
Right after Eminem’s Revival tracklist came out, the hosts of Everyday Struggle debated the album’s pop-heavy tracklist. “…From what I know, Em, it sounds trash,” Joe said of the tracklist. “Even though it didn’t come with audio, we’re looking at it, and the common folk are saying, ‘This looks trash.’” Em fired back at critics with “Chloraseptic Remix,” and dropped a few lines that seem to be aimed at Budden: “Y’all saw the tracklist and had a fit ‘fore you heard it/So you formed your verdict/While you sat with your arms crossed/Did your little reaction videos and talked over songs (chill!)/Nah, dog, y’all sayin’ I lost it, your fuckin’ marbles are gone.”
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Bizarre, Eminem’s former group-mate of the defunct D12, tweeted at Joe in response to the remix. “Never bite the hand feed u.. I never like to do anyway chump,” he said, before calling him a “fucking clown.” Joe responded by tweeting a physical threat, and then 50 Cent took to Instagram to tell Budden, “That was a bad idea, look you got a little ass whooping coming. It’s not a big deal, you’ll get over it.” For his part, Joe didn’t believe Shady was dissing him. He took to his podcast to say, “I don’t think Em was talking about me, number one. But boy, did he kill that verse.”
Budden got his answer when Shady responded on “Fall” from his surprise album Kamikaze: “Somebody tell Budden before I snap, he better fasten it/ Or have his body baggage zipped/The closest thing he’s had to hits is smackin’ bitches.”
Joe, who is “retired” from rap, responded fiercly on Twitter.
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“Newsflash Em,” he said. “I heard the album and because I think you don’t really know all the members in the group, I don’t really think you know our history. Let me tell you what Joe Budden has thought this entire time. ‘I’ve been better than you this entire fucking decade!’
“Huh? Can’t say that back then. Can’t say that back then. But, in my rapper brain, I’m a content nigga. You gotta say something. You have not said anything for the better part of a whole fucking decade. You have rhymed a bunch of words.”
He added a caption that read, “We’ll talk in the morning … 8am sharp.”
No word yet on what happened at 8 a.m. sharp, but neither Marshall nor Joe are ones to let this die quietly. While Eminem may have his hands full responding to Machine Gun Kelly, he’ll make sure to say something about his former Shady Records signee.
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The question remains: Is a beef with Eminem enough to lure Joe Budden out of retirement?
We shall see.
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