One of the catch phrases that seems to have been around for the past 20 years in some form or another is "keeping it real." Of course now the phrase has changed to "keeping it 100" but it's still the same premise...we want rappers or better yet MC's to tell us the truth. No lies about how much drugs they sell while they're spitting rhymes in their Comcast or Verizon uniform. And it doesn't just stop when it comes to rap, these are hood rules. In my neighborhood in Philly you couldn't lie and say you hit Nikki or Asia or any other around the way girl when you really didn't...we called that "lying on you d-ck" which was one of the lowest things you could do. And is it REALLY just a hood thing? I mean, don't we teach our kids from day one to simply not lie? So at the end of the day, all were really talking about is don't lie. Seems simple right? But we ALL know that's much more easier said then done.
Which brings me to Joe Budden. Why? Well, because Joe is about the most honest MC in the game. But A lot of times he gets dissed for being a 'lil too honest. But more on that later. If you come round here enough then you already know my Joe Budden story. I went to a MOP/Joe Budden show in B'more. I only went to see MOP but my peoples Esco & Keon were hyped to see Joe. And I'm like "pump it up Joe Budden?" (Which in the past 5 years I see is most folk's catch phrase if you're not up on Joe) Long story short, this Joe show was the first time I'd ever been at at hip hop show and felt left out. So by the time I got at 3am I was online downloading any and everything Joe Budden and I've been rocking with him ever since while also converting a RACK of "you mean pump it up Joe Budden" folk over to the Jers side of things. But I won't hold you, I wasn't a big fan of Joe's "Loose Quarter" album and even less of a fan of his last "No Love Loss" album. See, the Joe Budden that I rock with is the "mood muzik" Joe Budden and that's not what I was getting with those 2 releases. Don't know what I'm talking about? Go do the knowledge and listen to "Mood Muzik 4" and you'll see. (which BTW I GIVE 5 mics) It actually got to the point that when I heard about his new EP "Some Love Loss" Dropping I wasn't even checking for it. But I gotta say good looking to my Joe Budeen OG Esco for talking me into checking for it and I'm glad he did cause this "Some Love Loss" is that Mood Muzik Joe I rock with.
"Some Love Lost" sets off with "The Way You Love Me" which is that classic "Mood Muzik" Joe I was just talking about, "First off let me shout out the fam, y'all so gracious/been chilling in the room for growth, it's so spacious/getting to the money, counting these old faces/like I found the smoking gun in cold cases/naw them dark thoughts never got to 'em still, I'm like the legendary Robin Will/even though I understand, I never dealt with the pain like that/a knot from that same rope, but I don't hang like that/we had a couple break-ups, gotta respect cuzzin and I'll hit the reset button, you try to reset Budden, it's real/my accomplishments, already show 'em how I deal with the consequence and you can ask Consequence/she reached out via text like what up with the guy,which is weird, it's been a year since we fraternized/still I made my way back in her life, only to prove to myself I wouldn't f-ck up twice/we reminiscing, thinking hella back, you had to watch me with her but to hell with that/cause I think that me carrying that thought/kind of washed me with her, and even that's cool cause me and you is not me and her."Only Human" let's Joe dig into his addictions and his depression, "tryin' to weather the storm, I thought that black cloud was gone, it's been beside me all along, not the song/I wanna sit in silence, don't speak for a minute, tired of being strong, please let me be weak for a minute/kinda thought that my disease tried to kill your man first, it was easy to get my hands on 30 milligram percs, worse/can't be depression, couldn't have it this long, so many secrets I only told through a glass of patron/my nigga speaking of secrets, that's when I got the Kaylin text, read it and cried, couldn't believe what she was saying next/she said you're going through a lot
I'm hoping you ain't in the grave and dead, cause not too many people know your brain's a mess/who knew that she was keeping track of it all/I wrote back lol but wasn't laughing at all/I ain't tell her just the other day that that gun was in my lap, pen and pad in my hand, and I was writing a note/didn't get far, as soon as I wrote down mom I just stopped, couldn't lie to her, couldn't figure out how to say bye to her/couldn't explain the why to her, couldn't picture her getting a call or somebody saying her son had died to her/and shortly after that my pastor called, which at first I kinda thought it was weird/but that convo preserved me, 'bout God's grace and mercy/he ain't even say goodbye, he said let us pray."
"Alive" has Joe venting about this past season of Love and Hip Hop, "watchin' myself on TV see my knees shaking on that show, plus the way shorty's life is now I bet she's rethinking that no/she thought she was only sayin' no to marriage, but that no is to so much more now I can't wait to see what her path is/I guess being a wife ain't sound as fun as bein' a bad bitch, couldn't deal with my habits, wasn't me though you'd been catfished." "Poker In The Sky" is about Joe dealing with his grandfather's cancer and his addictions, "giving what was given to me, so the soldiers come over unsober/and call me Yoda instead of Joseph/I be like why they come to me for advice, they should really come to me for a vice, I got 'em all/got a counter full of liquor, pocket full of pills, the illusion of control, I can tell you how it feels" and at the same time, he finds a ways to slip my fave line from the album in there, "women don't give a fuck that I have these scars, I'm fucking the same hoes that the athletes are/what a rollercoaster, we argued and we sexed, face in her box, James Harden in her texts/nigga from the Clippers every morning text her good morning, she be sleep, he just be talking to me, my nigga." "OLS4" is Joe going in on his relationship with Tahiry, "got your track shoes on but what you running from, sh-t I know where you going and where you coming from/that’s immaturity showing, its just the baby in you, one of the reasons why I never put a baby in you/tired of hearing how you’ll never trust me again, how you love me, then you hate me, then you love me again/one minute I’m your soulmate then it’s f-ck me again, until you get horny enough and wanna fuck me again." "Different Love" ends the album and after everything we've heard for the last 40+ minutes, I won't hold you it's just aiight to me. Mos def not the way I would've wanted the album to end but it is what it is.
I've actually read reviews of "Some Love Loss" dissin' it like "great we get to read Joe Budden's diary" or "here's Joe whining again about his female problems, this dude needs a therapist." And dude is right, Joe does need a therapist but my question is who doesn't? I'm always talking about how we need more adult contemporary hip hop, you know MC's talking about real life issues and not just about how many strippers and money they got. And then you get Joe sharing but I guess it's too much for some folk. Because the very reason I love Joe and "Some Love Loss" are the same reasons other folk hate it which is bugged for me. I don't know if it's a man thing on some men don't share or what. But for the folk that think Joe opens up TOO much, it reminds me of the marriage coaching I do. You got husbands that are like if I ask for sex from my wife too much, I get on her nerves. But if I don't ask for sex enough then she thinks I'm cheating on her so I gotta find this small eye of a needle space to ask for the "perfect" number which is damn near impossible. And it's like that IMO for the cats who dis Joe for sharing TOO much. It's like keep it real, but not too real. Keep it 100 but really keep it 60. It's almost like these same rap dudes who are sick of all the fake drug dealers rappers but then they get the super honest rapper but they don't want that either. Which makes me ask, what the hell do ya'll want? Here's a better question, do you even know what ya'll want?
I've actually read reviews of "Some Love Loss" dissin' it like "great we get to read Joe Budden's diary" or "here's Joe whining again about his female problems, this dude needs a therapist." And dude is right, Joe does need a therapist but my question is who doesn't? I'm always talking about how we need more adult contemporary hip hop, you know MC's talking about real life issues and not just about how many strippers and money they got. And then you get Joe sharing but I guess it's too much for some folk. Because the very reason I love Joe and "Some Love Loss" are the same reasons other folk hate it which is bugged for me. I don't know if it's a man thing on some men don't share or what. But for the folk that think Joe opens up TOO much, it reminds me of the marriage coaching I do. You got husbands that are like if I ask for sex from my wife too much, I get on her nerves. But if I don't ask for sex enough then she thinks I'm cheating on her so I gotta find this small eye of a needle space to ask for the "perfect" number which is damn near impossible. And it's like that IMO for the cats who dis Joe for sharing TOO much. It's like keep it real, but not too real. Keep it 100 but really keep it 60. It's almost like these same rap dudes who are sick of all the fake drug dealers rappers but then they get the super honest rapper but they don't want that either. Which makes me ask, what the hell do ya'll want? Here's a better question, do you even know what ya'll want?
I mean, if you don't like Joe or think he's corny that's cool, to each his own. But to say Joe can't rhyme...come on ya'll, stop it. I may not be a Canibus fan but I would never say dude can't rhyme. And it's the same with the cats beefin about he shares too much. See, I look at this rap game just like the NBA in that you have specialists. Jordan wasn't throwing Paxon alley oops and he damn sure wasn't passing the ball to Horace Grant at the 3 pt line. Why? Cause that wasn't their specialties. Everybody has their lane where they excel their best at. Jay's lane is talking about drugs and that's when you get Jay at his best. (see "American Gangster" his best album since "The Black Album") Can he make a club song or a radio song? Sure. But his specialty is drug rap. And it's the same with Joe. He can make a club song (cats love to act like "Pump it Up" wasn't a club banger...ya'll do remember Just Blaze did it right?) but Joe's specialty is keeping it 100 and talking about his life which is fine with me cause for me, hip hop has always been about being able to relate to your favorite rapper and that's exactly what I get from Joe. But then again, I guess Joe explained it best when he said "my life is like The Truman Show/but if niggaz don't give a f-ck then what they tune in for?" But for me, as long as Joe stays in his "mood muzik" lane...this dude never gotta worry about me changing the channel.
4 outta 5 mics
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