‘Pump It Up’ musician and former Slaughterhouse rapper Joe Budden has recently revealed why he doesn’t interview other artists in a sit-down conversation with Rap Radar. Speaking to Elliott Wilson and Brian ‘B Dot’ Williams, the New Jersey detailed his brand and why he tries to refrain from inviting MCs onto his platform.
Firstly, Budden highlighted that he wanted to rely on something other than guests to pull in viewers and instead establish his own brand that people enjoyed, irrespective of who appeared on the show. He also disclosed that he didn’t want to enter a frivolous competition with other rap podcasters, such as Noreaga, who hosts the Drink Champs podcast and Talib Kweli of the People’s Party podcast.
Budden explained how, if he had done that, it might have led to the three former MCs fighting for scraps. As evidenced by his involvement with the Complex series Everyday Struggle, Budden can be a pretty provocative host and an intense character at times, which has led to many artists being averse to appearing on shows with him.
Elaborating on his future plans concerning artists, Budden stated, “I’ll still interview a rapper or two. I’m just not gonna make it how y’all will make it. There’s not too many of them that I wanna pedestal. I don’t really fuck with all that, so.”
The New Jersey native explained how he developed a following while on Everyday Struggle and State Of The Culture but also made a lot of enemies, highlighting, “I was too scared to rely on anything. I didn’t wanna have to rely on guests. I was never that well-liked…but the people that come and fuck with me, I have a relationship with them or somebody really, really close to me.”
He then admitted that although artists ask to appear on his podcast, his rejection isn’t indicative of indifference but, instead, a suggestion that Drink Champs or People’s Party may be more appropriate for a healthy, less intense dialogue. He continued, “N*ggas be trying to pop up…but listen, I like that there are so many places for rappers to go. Cause I don’t wanna talk to them, but I certainly wanna hear from them and hear more about them.”
Budden has had to speak about his relationship with rappers as he and Gillie Da Kidd have recently reignited their longtime feud in which Budden accused the emcee of living a fake baller lifestyle. You can watch his interview below.
