In the mid-2000s, Wu-Tang Clan legend and successful actor Method Man (real name Clifford Smith) had a strange feud with New Jersey artist and podcaster Joe Budden. However, after much back and forth, the Tical emcee admitted that he was tired of the ‘Pump It Up’ act and wanted to “Snuff” him.
The origin of the pair’s beef was trivial. However, it escalated very quickly. In 2009 VIBE magazine released curated a list of who they believed to be the best rappers of all time, and Method Man’s appearance on the list was questioned and highly criticised by Budden, who insinuated he didn’t belong on the list.
The two went back and forth on social media for months, but at an event in California, in defence of Smith, a member of Raekwon’s crew decided to attack Budden physically. This took the feud to a new level, and shortly after, the Blackout! musician bumped into Budden at a concert in Long Island.
In a conversation with Matthew Hoffa on his My Expert Opinion podcast, Smith recalled his backstage encounter with Budden, detailing, “So he’s trying to say something in my ear, I heard a couple of words, but then I see this white boy filming on his camera. So now my focus is there. I don’t even hear what Joe’s saying. I go to snatch the shit out his hand.”
Smith proceeded to detail how his entourage then began to manhandle Budden, but he decided to call them off. Following the minor backstage exchange, the How High actor explained that he approached Budden again in the parking lot and recalled, “I go to walk back toward the van like, ‘Joe, I wanna talk to you. Where you at? Okay, I’ll go over here.’ We walk over there. We go behind the van. Now, Joe, you don’t know this, but the whole time you were talking, I was gonna snuff you.”
Method Man revealed that during their civilised exchange, Budden said something that caused him to have a change of heart, stating, “The reason why I didn’t, in that moment, was ’cause you said some real shit. Now, I don’t know exactly what it was word for word and shit, but it was definitely something that made me think in that moment.”
However, Smith revealed that even after their conversation, Joe Budden continued to talk down about the Wu-Tang Clan and continued to disrespect him and his counterparts on a regular basis. He even tried to convince Budden to return to music instead of attempting to be a commentator, unveiling, “It got to a point where I’m talking to him like, ‘You a talented muthafucka. You don’t need to go this route with all that dumb shit. But I’m telling you, after this moment, if there’s any more bullshit, my hands are tied.’”
However, Budden continued and is now a successful commentator and podcaster who has appeared on several shows. His solo albums and material as part of Slaughter House have mostly gone unnoticed, and to this day, Budden makes a living critiquing and disrespecting artists. You can watch Method Man speak to Hoffa about the feud in the video below.