![]() ![]() The beat on the hit single “Pump It Up” should win producer Just Blaze a Nobel Prize, but the song is ultimately less a floor filler than it is a showcase for Budden’s tumbling flow. But Budden’s self-titled debut doesn’t disappoint. Of course, it’s easier to spit slang over no-contest instrumentals like “Grindin'” and “In Da Club” than to craft an album that lives up to the mix-tape hype. Like Philadelphia’s Freeway or Atlanta’s Killer Mike, Budden seemed poised to give the rap game a much-needed transfusion of youth, energy, and soul. But in the hip-hop mix-tape underground, the New Jersey-bred rapper’s rubbery voice, acerbic sense of humor (reminiscent of Garden State neighbor Redman), and slurred yet engaging delivery have earned him a rep as “The One.” And when Budden held his own in a playful war of words versus Jay-Z this past spring–serving Hova with hoop-dream zingers like “Stand out like Yao Ming / I’m what’s sparking now / Like, ‘Fall back, Shaq, I’m startin’ now'”–people started to believe. There is no evidence to suggest that Joe Budden can bend spoons with his mind.
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