Joe Budden was an outspoken critic of Eminem’s 2017 effort Revival and consequently, Slim Shady blatantly dissed the former Slaughterhouse MC on the 2018 follow-up Kamikaze. On Friday (January 17), Em blindsided his fans once again with another surprise album called Music To Be Murdered By.
During episode #314 of The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory & Mal, the show’s hosts dissect the new project and Budden is unexpectedly positive.
“I’ll tell ya one thing, buddy: that’s how you start a project,” he says. “People are gonna replay this album. This is the best we’ve heard him in a while — the best album we’ve heard from him [in a while].”
Then Budden addresses the perceived disses that pop up on the album, which reunites Slaughterhouse vets Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5’9 and KXNG Crooked on the track “I Will.” Aside from Budden being noticeably missing — which could be considered a subtle slight — many people assumed the line, “Your group is off the chain, but you’re the weakest link” is about Budden. However, he says that’s not the case.
“The Em line in that song, when he was tearing Lord Jamar’s ass up on old group flips, that led to ‘Your group is off the chain, but you’re the weakest link,’” he says around the 47-minute mark. “In a song featuring [members of] Slaughterhouse, I could see how that looked like it was about Joe. Joe says it was not.
“That’s about Lord Jamar, obviously, if you listen to the eight bars coming before it. You [listeners can] get your panties out the bunch.”
Budden also reacts to “Lock It Up” featuring Anderson .Paak in which Eminem raps, “Try’na save at Kroger, so why would I give a fuck about back-stabbin’ Trader Joe for?”
“Trader Joe, Trader Joe, Trader Joe — that’s hurtful,” he says. “[Laughs] That’s not right! [Laughing] That’s offensive, man. Trader Joe? I’m Joe. [Laughs] You’re telling me Joe is a traitor?”
But Budden is ready for all the shots to stop flying in his direction.
“The same way I feel like [Eminem] should stop dissing Lord Jamar, he should stop dissing me. [Laughs],” he says. “Hey, whatever we had—that exchange when you did all the [multi-day interview segments with Sway Calloway], and whenever I said whatever I said on the pod’, it a moment in time.
“We had our exchange. It’s over. In 2020, I can’t harbor negativity not only towards one of the best rappers, but somebody I’m not angry at. That’s what I gotta stop doin’. I don’t be mad at the people I come in and kill. There’s no hostility after that.”
Ultimately, Budden insists he’s cool with everybody — including Em and KXNG Crooked.
“I don’t have a problem with anybody,” he says. “Everybody has to do what’s best for them. Everybody has to move in a way that they see fit. So when it comes to [it], the word ‘traitor’ is just a little misleading. I have no beef with Em’; I have no problem with Em’. I’ve only ever had but so many conversations with Em’. I’ve been very consistent in my message though: the only problem or issue that I had was in how our business was set up. The end.
“Does that make me a bad guy? For having a different perspective for how the business should go or how we should be treated, or how we should be handled—especially when it’s our sh*t? Like, I know now, ownership is cool and all. But some of us were fighting for it then. I don’t think that should make me a traitor.”
Listen to the full episode above.