Avg Rating: 
4.3 ( 10 total votes )
The last five years have not been kind to Joe Budden. Once a rising star in the rap game with his hit Pump It Up, Budden seemed poised to become the biggest thing to come out of New Jersey since the mafia. Then his deal with Def Jam deteriorated after his sophomore album The Growth was apparently a little too grown for Jay-Z, prompting Budden to ride the mixtape circuit before signing with Amalgam Digital – only to experience a serious case of hip-hop deja vu. Budden’s long-awaited album Padded Room has been delayed again, … ...Read the full album review
Fans can also check out Joe Budden's previous albums: Joe Budden - No Love Lost | Joe Budden - A Loose Quarter | Joe Budden - Mood Muzik 4: A Turn for the Worse | Joe Budden - Padded Room | Joe Budden - Mood Muzik 3: For Better or For Worse
DJBooth Album Review
The last five years have not been kind to Joe Budden. Once a rising star in the rap game with his hit Pump It Up, Budden seemed poised to become the biggest thing to come out of New Jersey since the mafia. Then his deal with Def Jam deteriorated after his sophomore album The Growth was apparently a little too grown for Jay-Z, prompting Budden to ride the mixtape circuit before signing with Amalgam Digital – only to experience a serious case of hip-hop deja vu. Budden’s long-awaited album Padded Room has been delayed again, leading him to release the hold-over album Halfway House, a good but not great album that won’t stop the clamor for Padded Room.
As always the truth is somewhere in between, but one thing is undeniable; Budden is a very complicated man. One of the best line-for-line rappers in the game, Budden uses Halfway House to touch almost every version of his multi-faceted flow. Budden may have staked his place in the game on the foundation of his intelligence and lyricism, but don’t get it confused, the man can definitely go hard. Let’s start with Slaughterhouse, a posse cut that will have aspiring rappers hitting rewind and taking notes. Joell Ortiz leads a roster of hard-hitting lyricists, but fittingly Budden saves the best for last, overshadowing everyone with lines like “I get it, you get hot leaded, until everything on you but your torso is prosthetic.” Damn. If Halfway is a preview of Padded Room then there’s going to be a lot of rock-edged tracks. Just take On My Grind, a song that blazes with power chords and live drums. This is the Joe Budden that’s been burning through the underground, a man seemingly capable of writing a novel’s worth of dope lines, and Grind displays his strong but complex flow.
The other side of Budden is at times an almost frighteningly honest and tortured man, an openness that’s earned him his most intense fans. Halfway has plenty for those heads as well, starting with the…um…soulful, The Soul, a track soaked in nostalgia and memories. Soul is a glimpse of Budden as a young man past who loved hip-hop and life with a sometimes destructive tendency, which come to think of it is a lot like the adult Budden. An even better explanation of Budden’s current situation is Sidetracked, a track that explores his often bi-polar relationship with music and the music industry: “Sometimes I want to make money, but sometimes I ain’t motivated, sometimes I think it’s overrated.” The list of rappers with big enough balls to be that personal is small, and Budden’s willingness to step so far out the box no one can touch him is what makes him such a compelling figure, and Halfway House a compelling album.
Then there’s the third and final side of Budden. It’s the part of himself that he seems the most uncomfortable with, the voice in his head (and probably from just about everyone else) that asks “When you gonna drop another hit like Pump It Up?” Rarely has a rapper been so tortured by the implications of that question – money, fame, artistry – than Budden, but still, he keeps trying. Touch And Go is blatantly club friendly track complete with stuttering synths and a catchy hook. I won’t deny Budden another shot at a hit, but the more interesting question is how many Touch And Go-esque tracks will make it onto Padded Room. The answer will be the difference between a good album, and a great one.
Joe Budden is to album delays what Snoop is to weed smoking – just about everyone does it now and again, but not like these guys. These delays seemingly stem from Budden’s refusal to put out an inferior product, which is what makes him so good, but that kind of perfectionism can be paralyzing. Let’s just hope the next time we hear from Budden it will be because he released Padded Room, not ended up in one.
Listen to More: Joe Budden Written by Nathan S.
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Member Reviews and Ratings
Average Member Rating: Total Ratings: 10
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DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
 this budden album has a lot of good tracks, i have been waiting for him to release new stuff. yall gotta check out sidetracked its a banger fo sho
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| Posted on Oct 30, 2008 |
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Tastemaker |
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Great underground album with solid tracks. The reason why Sidetracked is a hot song is he freestyled over Coldplay's Lost song. Dont like that one personally...fav songs are Under The Sun, Slaughterhouse, and Soul. Bangin album with great production!
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| Posted on Oct 31, 2008 |
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DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
yeah halfway house was that joint and joey that dude. I been messing wit budden since his first album he is one of the best and most slept on lyricst today. and sidetracked is a classic, just listen to it.
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| Posted on Oct 31, 2008 |
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DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
Man,
that album is pure heat regular dudes could relate to all songz on this, specially the soul. With mm2 and mm3 budden was a great lyricist but he complain and biting to much. Now he proves he's the best lyricist right now, @*#$! great songwritter |
| Posted on Nov 01, 2008 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 56 |
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"The Soul" is a classic listen. There, the flow and content mesh perfectly with the production. Before Halfway, I hadn't listened to Budden since his annoying "Pump it Up" and was unaware of his talent. But now I'm a fan. I'm eagerly anticipating Padded Room and like Nathan pointed out, PR's success (and I mean success in the artistic sense) will hinge on whether Joe decides to make an album that is either filled with cliche club tracks or authentic pieces. After listening to 11 songs where an artist prides himself on being real and outside of hollywood, its awkward to hear Joe spit on something like "Touch and Go". But overall good music, my favorites were "The Soul", "Check Me Out", and "Just To Be Different".
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| Posted on Nov 03, 2008 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 433 |
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There are some great songs on here, including "The Soul", "Slaughterhouse", and Just To Be Different". But what I really can't wait for is Padded Room. Seeing as you can only get this on the internet, it is kinda hard to find if you don't use iTunes. Everybody on there seems to think that this holder is the Padded Room....but I know that it isn't.
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| Posted on Nov 04, 2008 |
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DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
Salutations...........All i can say is, WHAT THE @*#$! WAS JAY-Z Thinking, this would've made every nigga on the def jam label step their game up, even the boss, but anyway, this nigga has been killin it for awhile now, and this is what i aspect, a lil better than aspected but great, i would love to see this nigga rip a track up with ludacris, cory gunz, saigon, and lil wayne, on a kickdrumz beat or a bangladesh beat, shit a kanye beat even, they would all kill it, thats just my opinion, so holla at ya boi, JOEY JERSE is ILLLLLL
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| Posted on Nov 04, 2008 |
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DJ Booth Crew  Total Ratings: 8293 |
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Jersey Representin!!!! First off, I must say that this Mixtape is a SOLID album coming from Joe B! He is one of the BEST MC's in the game and he sure HOLDS it down for NJ! Whenever I listen to him, I can tell he is Definitely from Jersey with his slang and delivery, It's just Jersey at its finest when it comes to Rap. On this mixtape, there is something for everyone, good lyrics, nice beats, and it just so happens that he has something to say. He relates to absolutely everyone in some type of way on at least one song from this mixtape. He also allows you to visualize everything he says, making for great storytelling. The only reason it isn't classic is because there are a couple of songs I skip like touch and go, and it is just missing something...It's not as good as the Lil Wayne album, T.I. album or the NAS album, but it is a DAMN GOOD MIXTAPE, and I just hope that his real album is on the same page as this but just taking it to the next level! JUMP-OFF is back!!! It's that on-top MUSIC!
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| Posted on Nov 04, 2008 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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Only reason i havent given this a 5, is because One or two songs SLIGHTLY BORE ME..and not even in a bad way lol
Lyrically and soulfully, this 'album' is one of the best i've ever heard. I almost was shocked listening to slaughterhouse, it s bluddy amazing!!!! cant wait for padded room |
| Posted on Dec 06, 2008 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 195 |
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whoever hasn't heard "Just to be Different" needs to listen ASAPPPPPPP. wowowowow!!
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| Posted on May 12, 2009 |
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