Why did Raekwon and Method Man have beef with Joe Budden?
Joe Budden, former rapper and present-day podcaster, has gained a reputation as one of hip-hop’s most outspoken figures.
It’s hardly a surprise, then, to learn that such a figure has made some powerful enemies from the scene over the years. Among others, Budden once found himself taking on members of the Wu-Tang Clan.
During an interview with VladTV in 2013, the Clan’s Raekwon reflected on a beef he ended up locked in with Budden back in the day. Rae hadn’t ever intended to get pulled into such a conflict, but he felt compelled to defend one of his bandmates.
Method Man had been included on a list of all-time rappers, but Budden didn’t think he deserved his lofty position. The manner with which he expressed that opinion annoyed Meth, and a beef between them was born. Raekwon, who didn’t specifically have any issues with Budden, felt that he was forced into the middle of a feud he wanted no part of.
Rae “tried to stay out of it,” he told VladTV, because he was on good terms with Budden’s bandmates from his supergroup Slaughterhouse. He specifically highlighted Kxng Crooked and Royce da 5’9″ as people he respected.
Rae had recently worked with Kxng Crooked, in fact, for which he had been given “a bag of money.” He didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes in light of that, but, equally, he felt he needed to stick up for Meth.
Reports emerged in 2009 that Rae’s crew actually clashed with Budden, leading to the Slaughterhouse man getting smacked in the eye. With things getting physical, things could easily have escalated from there. But cooler heads ultimately prevailed.
Rae and Budden apparently talked it out, with Rae explaining that this wasn’t his beef. They worked the matter out, and the incident was forgotten. “That wasn’t nothing,” Rae said of the conflict. “That was bird shit.”
Rae also said that Meth and Budden patched things up, too. “They squashed it out,” he claimed, “and I guess, everything is happily ever after.”