JOE BUDDEN, ALL LOVE LOST REVIEW
Joe Budden is an artist that
has consistently stayed in the blogs predominantly for all the wrong reasons,
however with his project “All Love Lost” dropping today, I’m going use my
latest blog entry to give my unbiased review of his latest offering.
Anybody that knows me
personally, is privy to how fondly I speak of Joe Budden, he is probably
outside of Jay-Z my second favourite active rapper. His lyrical ability for me
is up there with the very best of them, unfortunately it is not what most
people would associate him with.
The casual rap fan will recall
Joe’s appearances on Love & Hip Hop, alongside his numerous tragic
relationships as his claim to fame. This notion is something that was topic of
conversation during his promotional appearance on The Breakfast Club.
DJ Envy, somebody that worked
closely with Budden in his early days also questioned the New Jersey native’s
appetite, and his work output over the last few years. Surprisingly “All Love
Lost” is Joe Budden’s 13th project. For a rapper that made his debut
in 2003 that is a pretty consistent level of productivity. My question wouldn’t
be necessarily his activity, but the quality of the projects that he has put
out.
As a critic I have often
toiled with The Best of and The Worst of Joe Budden. Lyrical ability is never
lacking however he has struggled to make a cohesive sounding body of work
excluding the Mood Muzik series. A perfect example of this was “No Love Lost”
released in 2013. It saw him revert to a more commercial sound in search of
that song that could be played on radio, Lead singles “Put it down” and “NBA”
offered this, but it proved to alienate core fans who would have preferred him
to stick to his unconventional formula of making a song.
Fast forward to 2015, fresh
off a reasonable round with his group Slaughterhouse, Joey is back to his best.
“All Love Lost” is an introspective, emotion fuelled and lyrically profound ode
to Love, Pain and progression which he encapsulates brilliantly on the intro
track.
The Lead single “Broke” has a
dark and eerie feel, with Joe expressing his thoughts on failed relationships,
a common theme throughout the Love Lost trilogy. The hook provided by an
unnamed female vocalist, breaks up the song nicely as the cadence used in
delivery by Joe could easily zone you out. It isn’t your typical radio friendly
single but it sets the tone for the album.
The list of rumoured producers
working on the album strayed from the likes of Justus League and DJ Premier;
alternatively Budden used beats from producers he has become more familiar with
over the last 3 years. Karon Graham and 8 bars return following up from their
solid work on “Some Love Lost”, along with OVO’s Boi-1da. Unexpectedly straying
away from his usual sound it’s AraabMuzik that provides the best arrangement on
the album.
“Love, I’m Good” is the
highlight of the LP, 3 verses with compellingly contrasting content, combine
together to create an amazing song with Joe directly addressing the negative
vices that are prevalent in his conscious mind. The first verse sees him tackle
Hip Hop and his love for the art form but the lack of purity in its current
state.
“Now I’m watching my first
love die, I’m witnessing murder,
when Common stopped loving Ol’
girl, what was he telling me,
Cold world……. now she won’t
dig you without a melody”
The first verse is hard to surpass,
but the pain spilled on the third verse makes it the most memorable on the
entire album. Joe speaks uncandidly to his son Trey, he addresses their
relationship and how external influences may have had a negative impact, but in
turn tries to explain without laying blame, that fractured communication doesn’t
mean he doesn’t care, and one day hopes to provide something that only a father
can offer to his son.
“I gotta eat that see you got
a grudge lil’ nigga
We flesh and blood, lil’
nigga, no ifs ands or buts lil’ nigga,
You can think your dad is
nuts, lil’ nigga
I’m talking to you ‘cause you
came out of my nuts lil’ nigga”
This very personal track is followed
up by the promotional single “Slaughtermouse” with Joe seemingly writing a
letter to his label owner Eminem. He openly expresses how much of a fan he was
of him growing up and gets off his chest that they are probably “less different
than we are alike”. We’ve seen similar tracks in the past for example J.Cole’ s
“Let Nas Down” and Kanye West’s “Big Brother”
The remaining tracks on the
album see Budden feature with a few R&B artists including Marsha Ambrosius,
Eric Bellinger and more notably on “Unnecessary Pain” Yummy Bingham the lead
singer of Tha’Rayne (a group Budden collaborated with in 2003).
“Love for You” featuring
Emanny, a regular uncredited contributor throughout the album, sees Budden reflect
on his public perception and how he deals with the rumour mill and how it affects
his likability with new people who enter his life. Boi-1da flips an Elle
Goulding sample previously used on Drake’s Pound Cake to provide the nice
rifts, and it is the complementary backdrop for Budden to spazz on.
In summary this album is
quintessential Budden, raw and uncut. My only criticism would be the lack of
other rappers, Jadakiss being the only rap feature. Despite a few varied flows
used, would have been better to hear some other rappers spill some pain, you
can’t be so selfish in future Joey. Again to reiterate it is probably not for
your casual rap fan, however if you have the required attention span and can appreciate
meaningful 5min plus songs then this is right up your street. Unlike some other
previous works this is something you and just press play and let it play all
the way through.
The album is available now on
itunes:
Comments
Post a Comment