Joe Budden, Joe Budden (2003)
"I'm tired of hearing about you raps dudes coming with the guns/ never caught a body, had the smell comin' from the trunk/ I'm tired of hearin' 'bout your 4s bust, while I was cuffed on a up-North bus y'all fucked on a tour bus/ all them stories 'bout you gettin' money with gangstas, that shit is pretty funny to gangstas/ I'm tired of hearin' about that gat in your boot/ 'cause when it's said and done and you finished that rap in the booth it's back to the truth/ and your shit is glass thug, [and you] never outside you's a in the lab thug, a pen and pad thug/ it sounds good, you ain't pushin' work in the projects but you spittin' about it when you work on your project/ clown, answer back, I never seen your hammers flash/ just photo shoots when camaras flash/ all I'm hearin' is another niggas life over tracks/ and you lames ain't willing to lose your life over rap." Joe Buddens talks about his life and gangsta rappers' credibility on his album, Joe Budden, as exemplified by his second verse on the album's first bonus track Real Life in Rap.
If you were alive during the summer of '03, you know Pump It Up and Focus, songs with commercial sounds that got serious radio play. The rest of Joe's album is much more complex as is Joe's flow. Pusha Man, probably the albums hardest gangsta track, with a harder bassline and even tougher talking than Real Life in Rap. Then he's got some old school type sounds like on #1. Budden has also got songs with singing on the hook, par for the course in rap now-a-days, like on She Wanna Know featuring Lil' Mo. Budden threw in a club joint with Fire featuring Busta Rhymes. Then the end of the album finds some serious introspectives into Budden's thoughts, life, emotions. This album reminds me very much of Beanie Sigel's the Truth. In fact, Stand Up Nucca reminds me almost exactly of Die; both in my top 25 of rap tracks for all time. Its hard beats and complexity definitely puts this album in the "official" category.
"For all my mans that died with grams at they side/ plans just to ride, gun jammed when he tried/[this is for my] ballas who never made it out the hood, cats who owed but never made it out the hood/ if they offered you pleas but you went to court with it/ my dogs doing time 'cause you got caught with it/ or if you need cheddar, blast heat whenever and run from the cops 'cause you know the streets better/ dope niggas who rich 'cause they know connects, or dope niggas who spit but got no connects/ if you pitch to pay rent, but get no business/ life in the state pen but get no visits/ fend for yourself 'cause you ain't got no boys/ ride or die, really you ain't got no choice/ your alibi straight when you're wanted on the stand/ soldiers who take their football numbers like a man/ hustle OT 'cause your product's rich there/ 'hood know you snitched but you gotta live there/you held your man's shots, you don't know where it hit him/ and you trying to buy guns, you don't know where to get 'em/ if you strapped in the street with your palms all black/ young G's that gotta see their moms on crack/ pops can't be found, hand me downs or you the oldest outta 5, hold the family down/ if you caught a body and your wiz hid you out/ or if you slept in the park when moms kicked you out/ or if you gonna die you gon' leave with a slug/ idolize your big bro but he was a thug/ if you squeeze your leather first 'cause it never hurt/ street cats who never worked cause it never worked/ or if you got your shit snatched, gripped clipped and matched/ too small for the kick back but gotta get your shit back/ killed niggas playing, he was only boxing/ accept 20 flat is your only option/ calm and your juggling between the system/ if you high on parole and gotta clean your system/ if you told 'em to stop 'cause soon you'll lose it/ pull up your pants leg, bullet wounds to prove it/ or if you grab the liquor and swallow it hard, if they drive by you but you follow the car/ full clip, 'cause your foes is lurking/ or the D's at your door with a picture, 'do you know this person?'/ if you dead broke but forced into extortin'/ 'cause your girl's pregnant and she don't want an abortion/ got charged before, strap a gun anyway/ took the state's lawyer but you won anyway/ stand up cats beat the odds by far, real recognize real, r. r. r." Stand Up Nucca is serious.
This album has a little of everything and then some. It misses classic status, but Joe's first album has got him sounding like a veteran.
Rating: 7 Gold Teefs
Buy or Copy: The verdict is out. In my opinion, buy this. If you're reading this in a couple years and Budden turns out to be a couple hit wonder then skip it. It's teetering on real top tier material.
If you were alive during the summer of '03, you know Pump It Up and Focus, songs with commercial sounds that got serious radio play. The rest of Joe's album is much more complex as is Joe's flow. Pusha Man, probably the albums hardest gangsta track, with a harder bassline and even tougher talking than Real Life in Rap. Then he's got some old school type sounds like on #1. Budden has also got songs with singing on the hook, par for the course in rap now-a-days, like on She Wanna Know featuring Lil' Mo. Budden threw in a club joint with Fire featuring Busta Rhymes. Then the end of the album finds some serious introspectives into Budden's thoughts, life, emotions. This album reminds me very much of Beanie Sigel's the Truth. In fact, Stand Up Nucca reminds me almost exactly of Die; both in my top 25 of rap tracks for all time. Its hard beats and complexity definitely puts this album in the "official" category.
"For all my mans that died with grams at they side/ plans just to ride, gun jammed when he tried/[this is for my] ballas who never made it out the hood, cats who owed but never made it out the hood/ if they offered you pleas but you went to court with it/ my dogs doing time 'cause you got caught with it/ or if you need cheddar, blast heat whenever and run from the cops 'cause you know the streets better/ dope niggas who rich 'cause they know connects, or dope niggas who spit but got no connects/ if you pitch to pay rent, but get no business/ life in the state pen but get no visits/ fend for yourself 'cause you ain't got no boys/ ride or die, really you ain't got no choice/ your alibi straight when you're wanted on the stand/ soldiers who take their football numbers like a man/ hustle OT 'cause your product's rich there/ 'hood know you snitched but you gotta live there/you held your man's shots, you don't know where it hit him/ and you trying to buy guns, you don't know where to get 'em/ if you strapped in the street with your palms all black/ young G's that gotta see their moms on crack/ pops can't be found, hand me downs or you the oldest outta 5, hold the family down/ if you caught a body and your wiz hid you out/ or if you slept in the park when moms kicked you out/ or if you gonna die you gon' leave with a slug/ idolize your big bro but he was a thug/ if you squeeze your leather first 'cause it never hurt/ street cats who never worked cause it never worked/ or if you got your shit snatched, gripped clipped and matched/ too small for the kick back but gotta get your shit back/ killed niggas playing, he was only boxing/ accept 20 flat is your only option/ calm and your juggling between the system/ if you high on parole and gotta clean your system/ if you told 'em to stop 'cause soon you'll lose it/ pull up your pants leg, bullet wounds to prove it/ or if you grab the liquor and swallow it hard, if they drive by you but you follow the car/ full clip, 'cause your foes is lurking/ or the D's at your door with a picture, 'do you know this person?'/ if you dead broke but forced into extortin'/ 'cause your girl's pregnant and she don't want an abortion/ got charged before, strap a gun anyway/ took the state's lawyer but you won anyway/ stand up cats beat the odds by far, real recognize real, r. r. r." Stand Up Nucca is serious.
This album has a little of everything and then some. It misses classic status, but Joe's first album has got him sounding like a veteran.
Rating: 7 Gold Teefs
Buy or Copy: The verdict is out. In my opinion, buy this. If you're reading this in a couple years and Budden turns out to be a couple hit wonder then skip it. It's teetering on real top tier material.
posted by Sean at 10:45 PM
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