Fade
The Beat Strangler
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illest o.g.
Joe Budden is admired by his fans mainly for the fact that he doesn't hold back and he is very aware of his greatness as well as his faults. He isn't ashamed of any aspects of his life because they all represent him and he puts this on public display for the world to make their own opinions. Joey's strongest point is his social commentary and his extensive knowledge of pop culture which he twists and turns into some of the most rewind-worthy lines in hip-hop. In his social commentary he is brutally honest and sometimes even disrespectful (ask Saigon). Sonically the beats have remained consistent from Part 2. Mood Muzik 3 was everything I expected it to be. Normally I don't do this but for those who haven't had a chance to hear it yet and want to know exactly what jump off Joey is up to these days, here's a breakdown of some stand out songs from one of this year's most anticipated mixtapes.
HIATUS (prod by MELLOW MADNESS) This track begins with Joey in true recluse fashion deleting new messages from his phone most before he even listens to them. Total spit time 4:10. Fire track and the flow is hard... two year wait is up.
VENTILATION (prod BY KLASIX) Total spit time 3 minutes plus. The song ends before he does.
TALK TO EM (prod by MELLOW MADNESS) Total spit time 3:23. This is the the infamous Jay-Z diss track. Budden takes a lot of shots at his former boss and favorite rapper. Making allegations about Def Jam manipulating sales, and Jay misleading youth. Shit 'bout to hit the fan.
WARFARE FT JOEL ORTIZ (prod by KLASIX) Dope collab with the new kid on aftermath. Joel gets better every time I hear him, I'm still on the fence with son but this was an unexpected collab that actually worked out pretty well but, what the fuck is hodge podge piano?
DEAR DIARY (prod by SULTAN) Total spit time 4:26. The title says it all. Some might ask what separates this track from all of Joe's other emotional-bare-my-soul songs? Nothing really except for the beat but it's still dope. Budden is one of a very few rappers who can make redundant content sound new every time. Wonder how long he can keep it up? Dude is like Anansi or old Prodigy, lifetime in between the papers lines.
GET NO YOUNGER FT EZO (prod by KLASIX) Here Joe jacks an old unreleased Lupe Fiasco beat and goes in. One of the other "Songs".
KILLA BH Yellow Boy is always good for a laugh proving that literally anybody can rap especially with the way MC's repeat themselves nowadays.
SEND HIM OUR LOVE (prod by KLASIX) If u ain't know, Stack Bundles unfortunately passed away earlier this year. The acapella freestyle which proceeds this song is one of his last recorded. Speaking directly to his friend, Joe shares personal memories during the chorus with anyone in listening distance. The verses are very heartfelt, going so far as to addressing him by his birth name.
FAMILY REUNION FT RANSOM, HITCHCOCK AND FABOLOUS (prod by SHATEK) Honestly I could've done without Ran, Hitch and Fab but then again it wouldn't be a reunion. Hitchcock who? Never liked this guy. Ransom is not a bad rapper but there's nothing special about him. It's nice to hear Fab spit but he seems very content with his current place in hip hop and doesn't push himself beyond what's come to be expected from the pretty boy with the slick mouth. If these niggas is live than Joey's a created player. Son comes through with 50 strong bars and a tight bridge at the end.
ROLL CALL (prod by SULTAN) Def Jam beware. Honestly something needs to be done to appease Joe before he single handedly tears down something that has stood as a symbol of hip hop since '84 and that's only the first verse. Another hook sighting.
SECRETS FT EMANNY (prod by KLASIX) Joe is a great story teller, hopefully this isn't a skill that's neglected when it comes time for the album. It's common knowledge that Joey spits but people also need music they can relate to. As evident by the current climate of hip hop, all hip hop consumers aren't easily impressed with punch lines, metaphors and other forms of incredible wordplay. Some people just need music to get them through. Shit to relate to. Thankfully Emanny only harmonizes over the track. His voice isn't strong enough to handle a whole chorus on his own. Total Spit time 4:30.
ALL OF ME FT. EMANNY (prod. by KLASIX) Ok I take back what I said about Emanny actually, we gonna have to play this on a song by song basis, his voice fits this beat perfectly. One of the dopest joints here and the music is so powerful it makes u wanna harmonize along even if you can't sing. Extra long even when it fades out at the 7:26 mark it isn't over.
FOLGERS BROTHER Killa B.H. got older brothers too. This dude said "I told Joe I brush my teeth with Colgate / Next thing I know / He brush his teeth with Colgate / Back of my mind I'm like jumpoff no way / Translate in Russian..." you ought to hear the rest for yourself, it's worth it just for that line. I can't even spell what he said but it was funny as hell. He's the real deal holy field and he cook his food on the foreman grill...
LONG WAY TO GO FT Mr. Probz (prod by SOULSEARCHIN) Joey does somewhat of the same thing over the course of this CD, poking his chest out lyrically. Once this method of operations begins to get redundant Joey starts to wind it down. Another hook sighting.
THOU SHALL NOT FALL (prod by KLASIX) One of the few joints on here that follows your standard hip hop verse-hook-verse-hook "song" format. This is another one where Joey addresses some real shit. From Royce's comments on hiphopgame.com and the Mistah F.A.B situation, to his brother getting shot. It's like best week ever with this dude.
STILL MY HOOD (prod by WYKS) An open letter to everyone who says Joey either ain't really from Jersey, or can't go back to Jersey. One thing should be understood, this is still his hood. There's no place like home.
What more do u want from me? Lyrics? Go cop it. I won't even spoil the DVD... actually I can't cuz I ain't seen it yet.
In a recent interview Joe said he stopped writing 16 bar verses a long time ago. It's evident that son has more to say than Castro but it's either all substance or lyrical madness, and that's nothing to complain about. The only thing really missing is an up tempo party joint, but I guess they don't call it Mood Muzik for nothing. The label drama has helped him maintain his hunger. Since he has nothing to lose he's being more experimental with his music and it's paying off in large dividends. He has so many ways to approach the songwriting process and it's very clear what his fans expect from him at this point in his career. Artistically his moves couldn't be any better but he has to make sure he makes good business decisions to ensure that his music is presented correctly to the buying public. Everything should fall into place for Mr. Budden in 2008 but, what a way to end 2007... propers. So now that the trilogy is done Joe must find something different to do for the album. and we all hope it doesn't take another 2 years to happen. One would be cool. Go ahead take a year off Joe, you deserve it. See ya round this time next year. There isn't a question of whether this shit is hot or not but if somebody ask just give 'em that Killa BH "uh huh".
One interesting thing about the flow of this mixtape is if you take all the tracks where Joey just spits uninterrupted and let them play out back to back you could go 31:05 without any interruption from a chorus or even any other rappers for that matter. That's a hell of a lot of rap especially considering that there are about 8 standard format songs also in the mix, and he bending the rules there too, 23 bars here, 32 there. Well worth the dollar or the download. Joe Budden likes to rap and we like to listen.
Not too long before Mood Muzik 3 was actually released Joey appeared on YouTube with a mystery illness stating that he wasn't gonna release mood muzik until he felt better... he's finally been diagnosed with numb tongue..........................................................................pause.The muzik is ill.
"Love Anything Too Much And Its Guaranteed To Kill You."
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