Self-branding well enough to become a cultural mainstay, Joe Budden has been many things to observers both rooting for him and disdainful of his presence. A once promising Def Jam rookie, he’s become a quarter of the Slaughterhouse squad, a reality television star multiple times over, and a beloved Twitter celebrity, battle rap combatant, podcaster and the envy of men for the arm candy he’s collected like trading cards. With respect owed to the many hats he wears, none of them would be made possible if not for his well-documented reputation for crafty wordplay and rhyming expertise. All Love Lost finds one of our most troubled acts coming to grips with his flawed persona, a concept well explored in his catalog by this point.
Clocking in at a hefty 78 minutes, All Love Lost is the latest chapter of Joe Budden’s fight or flight story that perpetually has his back against the wall. Remembered over time for tension with G-Unit and Wu-Tang cronies amongst others, his greatest enemy lies within as he still appears to be light years away from self-completion. The album’s intro immediately sets his melodramatic wheels in motion, as an extended rock guitar solo follows Budden handling topics including critical detractors and his ongoing battle with depression. A commonly recurring theme in his cathartic work is strained relationships and this project is no exception with “Broke” delivering an open letter to one of his exes. Directly followed by the soul-baring “Playing Our Part,” here the emotionally wounded lothario once again details the hopelessness of a dead end dating disaster.
Desperately seeking escape from his cyclical habits, All Love Lost suggests Joe Budden’s self-destructive torture may be beyond help. While many in his position surely feel the pressures of stardom, the morbid “Man Down” is rooted in a persecution complex bordering paranoia. Copping pleas for sympathy, here, Joe responds to the unsavory public rumors surrounding his name by painting him as a victim of unfortunate circumstances. “Immortal” proceeds to question the world around him as he goes through a grim existential crisis: despite his triumph over countless obstacles, he considers giving up on life altogether to stop harming himself and others. This ability to pour everything into his art has long been Budden’s gift and curse; where he pushes the envelope further than most, his joyless journey may be too long-winded for the average listener to stomach.
Where he takes pride in his lyrical gift, the greatest strength at Joe Budden’s disposal is the ability to channel an array of feelings. On the first verse of “Love I’m Good” he laments the drastic state of Hip Hop stating, “Y’all made a mess of it/And somebody gotta address the shit/Rakim would never wear a dress and shit” before directly calling out Young Thug and Future by name. With his crew considered a worthy alternative to the aforementioned, on “Slaughtermouse” he shows affection towards Eminem and his Shady brothers in arms Crooked I, Joell Ortiz and Royce Da 5’9. On an even more personal note, “Love For You” tackles his father’s failing health and the hate dished out from his hometown of Jersey City. While still on the dismal side, this mixed bag of ideas is a welcome departure from his retreat to misery brought on by women.
An extension of his Mood Muzik mixtape series, Joe Budden’s most hardcore enthusiasts will surely cling to All Love Lost’s cries for help. Seeking salvation through his songs, his split personality switches between that of a shallow womanizer and a damaged entertainer forced to take looks in the mirror. The bleak worldview throughout the album hits its peak on the nine-minute “Only Human” where he exorcises his demons, reliving a meltdown brought on by heavy drug use and a drinking bender. Joe Budden’s recorded therapy gives a voice to the lost, but despite his enormous lyrical ability, All Love Lost finds Joe making music as much for his own catharsis than connecting his laments to either other emotions inside him or the world at large.
For me the most personal album of the year thus far and prolly the best.
How can you review an album that isn’t officially out yet?
Cuz they want that traffic..Reviewing a album overnight like yall digested everything. Yall corny for that HHDX.
The album has been available to stream for a couple of days now retards. That’s how they are able to review it.
Lies..I looked every where online for it 2 days ago. This dickhead works for HHDX.
bet alot of people can’t handle this type of music tbh, it’s too real. Unnecessary Pain, just wow. that Jada feature is dope bruh, Marsha Ambrosius is dope too
So the album got a 3 and a half star rating, yet the writer NEVER highlights anything that they dislike about the album. I understand you are trying to generate traffic, but if you are going to give an album “3 and a half stars” maybe you should tell the readers what is wrong with the album. ALL IN ALL, THIS REVIEW SUCKS!
joe has bars
Agree with forberly
When u read that review, u think theres nothing wrong with the album, its going to be 4,5* or 5*
Then u look at the reading…
Great Album joey never seems to disappoint
One of his best albums
Is it just me or does it seem like the user ratings have been very low for albums lately? It doesn’t even mirror the sentiment in the comments. It’s almost as if people are coming on and intentionally rating them low just to troll.
i swear DX is fucking with the ratings. I put a 5 down it doesn’t get counted. It’s weird
Fuck dx, this is a 5
This is what the true Budden fans have been waiting on
Fire
def-ly album of the year
Certified Dylan
One of his best albums!
This and “Tetsuo & Youth” are the best albums of the year to me. Joey is too real.
How the fuck does this album get lower then a 4?
Please stop hating or open your ears
Musically and lyrically masterful!
TPAB, T&Y and All love lost are the 3 best album thus far in 2015
Joey channels that Mood Muzik to great effect on this. He is best when he doesn’t shoot for radio. The only thing missing is that raw rap track a la Remember The Titans but the brutal honesty of Only Human, Immortal and Love, I’m Good more than make up for it
Album of the year!
Complex, paints vivid pics, and again it’s Joe so he does it his way. I agree with everyone here
THIS ALBUM IS AVERAGE TBH
Only one dead song with Marsha Ambrosia. Rest of the album plays like Joey delivered the “Growth” under a new album name.
Flames
Great album definitely in my top 5 this year
First listen last night, unreal. Someone else pointed out, the only misstep is the Marsha Ambrosius track, decent song but I would have left it off. Finding and supporting a physical copy in Toronto is impossible due to distribution, but this is up there with the 2 or 3 best albums of the year. Joe fans know what to expect and get it in spades here, and as usual dx is just fucked up when it comes to reviewing an album.
In my opinion, this is a close to flawless album. He chose a theme and stuck with it the entire way through . I like all 11 songs. The lyrism is top notch . Most the beats are extremely dope. I think the sequencing is good except “Slaughtermouse” should of been after Love, I’m good” and “Make it thru the night should of been placed maybe after “Where do we go” . Other than that I love it. My fav album of the year . 4.5 outta 5 mics
this albim is pure DOPE
great!
the best album this year
5/5
Waited a while to rate this one so I could give it plenty of spins and make sure of my opinion, and damn if this isn’t one of the top handful of albums of the year so far. A little on the long side but this is 5/5. Lyrically and production-wise this is first class. HHDX needs to fix up the review system to stop this situation of people accidentally giving an album 1/5 if they leave a comment without giving a rating. Joe goes deep on this one.
Fuck these clown.
Best album of the year.
Every one on homo thugs nutz, they dont know what real music is.
Very solid album. I’d put it equal with Some Love Lost. It’s a top 5 album of the year for me, no question.
good
so good
best album of the year
8 out of 10. Best album in last 2years. Goes to show the state of hip hop.
I can not listen to anything else. Rap/Hip Hop is kinda disgraceful these days… All love lost gives me a feeling of satisfaction and appreciation. I feel proud to play this anywhere. The music alone is top notch… the lyrics are of course just on point in every category. Honestly this album feels short to me, but I just put it on shuffle and zone out. I can do without slaughtermouse, but I vibe to it to experience it with joe. 10 out of 10…. What else comes close?
I just wanted to rate it. The system is kinda mindless… It’s not clear where and how to rate an album using their system. But anyway I figured it out late but here it is.
fantastic
too good
awesome
sweet
…….
Great album.
Embarrassingly bad album. Sounds exactly like Slaughterhouse’s 2nd album which was a weedplate. Joey been making the same album for 10 years now. Crying over ex’s with corny Skylar Grey type hooks, no thanks.
Budden has been saving hip hop for years. Budden if you ever read this, you’re my mosy favorite MC, man. All Love Lost is one of Budden’s best albums.
Idk how ppl can hate on this Budden album.. This shit is better than 90% of hip hop albums dropping today, period.. this isnt just hihop, but hip hop with a heart + pulse… Thats the way hip hop is suppose to be! Budden lays his shit out there like very few have been willing to do and i have to respect it
he finally laced an album sounds like mood muzik on PEDs