Slept on Rappers

Born in Harlem, Budden lived in Queens until he was 12 and from there moved to Jersey City, which he still calls home. He is one of five boys (one older brother and three younger brothers - two are twin brothers). Budden heard music in his home (his father is an emotional multi-instrumentalist) and on the streets while he grew up.

In the year 2003, Budden released his debut solo studio album, Joe Budden. It included Budden's 2003 Grammy-nominated summer hit "Pump It Up", and was also featured in the soundtrack for the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious and the video games Def Jam Vendetta & Def Jam Fight for NY. The song "Focus" was also featured in the game and Joe Budden was also a character. Its second single was "Fire" featuring Busta Rhymes, which was in the movie Mean Girls. The song "Drop Drop" was featured on the soundtrack for the movie Cradle 2 the Grave. Joe has hinted in many songs that he was a recovering drug addict. Joe has reaffirmed his position as a recovering addict several times through multiple outlets.

After his debut album, Budden's sophomore release titled ‘The Growth’ was hampered due to the label's problems with Joe and his Def Jam seniors not happy with the direction of his music. The production of the album appeared to end up in a development hell and was ultimately not released. Continued disagreements between Budden and Def Jam forced the two sides to part ways. However, Budden managed to release the first and second installments of his Mood Muzik mixtape series while on Def Jam, and the series has been met with critical acclaim.

In December 2007 Budden signed a multi-album deal with Amalgam Digital and released his independent debut Padded Room as well as Mood Muzik 3: The Album, Halfway House, and Escape Route.

Joe Budden reached out to Crooked I, Royce da 5'9", Joell Ortiz and Nino Bless for a track titled "Slaughterhouse" on one of his Amalgam Digital releases, Halfway House. Based on the reception of the track, they decided to form a group, minus Nino Bless, and named it after the first song they made together. They released numerous songs throughout early 2009, leading up to their self-titled album, which was released through E1 on August 11, 2009. The album features production from Alchemist, DJ Khalil, Mr. Porter, Streetrunner, plus guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch, K. Young, and The New Royales. The group signed with Shady Records on January 12th, 2011.

Many of Joe Budden's relationships with women have been in the spotlight, most notably his 5 year relationship with model Tahiry. He is currently dating model Esther Baxter. He has also been romantically linked to models Gloria Velez and Somaya Reece.

Budden has a son from a previous relationship. In 2010, he was wanted by New Jersey police in relation to unpaid child support payments.

Budden has also been in the spotlight for his numerous controversies with other rappers including Ransom, Game, Saigon, and an incident involving several members of the Wu-Tang Clan.

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Single: Fire