Why no artists should sign to record labels according to Joe Budden
‘Pump It Up’ emcee Joe Budden hasn’t been active in hip-hop for a long time. However, he continues to comment on it, and after appearing on Complex magazine’s YouTube series’ Everyday Struggle’ alongside DJ Akademiks, he became the main host of Revolt TV’s web series’ State Of The Culture’.
However, on these platforms, he was still restricted and couldn’t be as unfiltered as he wanted. That said, in 2021, Budden penned a deal with Spotify to launch his own show, The Joe Budden Podcast, commonly known as The Joe Budden Show.
To this day, he still talks about hip-hop culture, and his show has become one of the most popular rap commentary podcasts. However, during an interview, he spoke about the current state of hip-hop and how he believes MCs no longer need labels to succeed despite the enormous amount of money they put into promoting artists.
During an appearance on season four of the Idea Generation show, Budden explained to host Noah Callahan-Bever how record labels’ influence is dwindling and their irrelevance in the music business nowadays. When he was asked whether or not he would urge rappers to put pen to paper on contracts, Budden replied, Now more than ever, I don’t really see it. I don’t really see the benefit.”
Although he emphasised the need for a team, the Mood Muzik 3 creator detailed how the industry has changed since he appeared with Def Jam in the early 2000s. Recalling how tough it was before streaming, social media and the internet, Budden told Bever, “Because you used to have to rely on a record label for almost everything, and today you don’t. [Back then] you couldn’t distribute, you couldn’t market, you couldn’t pay for things, you couldn’t get radio, you couldn’t get listeners without them.”
Still, although things are undoubtedly much easier now, the podcast host still believes it is impossible to do it truly on your own and clarified that if you have a tight-knit group of people guiding you, you don’t need a record label on your side.
Reiterating this point, Budden remarked, “Today, if you have your own team, and most people that work with labels, they have their own team, to kind of take care of things, there’s nothing you pretty much cannot do! So, what are you signing for? What do you want out of it?”
Despite being prominent now, Budden had a bumpy ride getting to this point. Prior to ‘Everyday Struggle,’ the emcee was a cast member of the reality TV series Love & Hip-Hop: New York but has since become one of the most critical voices in hip-hop media.
The ‘Pump It Up’ lyricist recently received a platinum plaque for the 2003 hit song. However, he was clowned for it by former City Girls member Yung Miami (Caresha), who took to social media and wrote, “I was nine, I’m 30 now,” followed by a series of laughing emojis.
During an episode of his podcast, Budden responded subtly, stating, “The thing about laughter, I think that she will soon realise, is it’s also a luxury. Laughter is good for the soul…laughter is also a privilege. So while I’m happy Caresha is able to laugh because she’s had a stressful year, I am a little surprised she has found enough time to laugh at anything.”
However, he ended by taking it a step further, angrily declaring, “I want to keep this professional and on the music. If Complex were to do a list where all the female rappers ranked, Caresha, you would be last on the list.” He concluded, “You would be drop dead last on that list. Every female out there is wiping you down right now….Caresha was the very last person I expected to do this.”