Joe Budden Says He Loves Drake…And Then Hurts Him Again “Just Because” (Audio)

The ongoing beef “between” Joe Budden and Drake has had an arc unlike any other in recent memory. As many know, to the public, things began when Joe gave a scathing review of Drake’s new album, VIEWS, saying Drake “sounds real fucking uninspired.” Shortly thereafter, an Instagram clip surfaced showing Drake with French Montana, talking about their upcoming collaboration, and with Drake saying the words “Pump, pump, pump, pump, pump it up,” presumably a reference to Budden’s 2003 hit, “Pump It Up.” In his most recent podcast, Joe says he began getting reports from people that had heard Drake’s verse, saying that the Toronto MC was going at him on the song (8:45). Claiming he was “hurt” by what was said, Budden began building a war chest of response records to the verse, which, by his count, totals 20 songs.

Weeks later, on June 4, Drake released a song called “4pm In Calabasas,” that was loaded with darts seemingly aimed at Puff Daddy, but Budden has long claimed that the song contained many subliminal messages targeting him that only he and Drake would understand, based on their past friendship, and he reiterated that on his podcast (16:00). At the time “4pm In Calabasas” was released, however, Budden declined to respond on record, tweeting “Ain’t no move…Now we all get to enjoy great Drake music,” and telling Puff that he had to respond to Drake’s shots at him.

Drake Fires Back At Puff Daddy & Joe Budden With His Hardest Rhyme In Years (Audio)

Despite saying he wasn’t going to respond, on June 30, Budden released a blistering 6-minute track called “Making A Murderer (Part 1),” where he relentlessly attacked his friend turned enemy. It was on that record where Budden revealed that their beef had to do with more than just music. Instead, he alluded to women the two men have both dated as a cause of some of the friction. Budden named “Bria,” on the record, thought to be model Bria Myles, and others have speculated that Tahiry Jose, Budden’s ex who also has been linked to Drake, may have been a source of consternation.

Joe Budden Disses Drake For 6 Straight Minutes…And It Gets Really Personal (Audio)

Before Drake could respond to “Murderer,” Budden released another record going at him, within a week’s time (July 6). On “Wake,” Budden attacked Drake for appropriating the styles of others, including Gucci Mane, PartyNextDoor and others.

Joe Budden Goes Back To Back With His Second Drake Diss In A Week (Audio)

It was not until last week (July 16), that French Montana released “No Shopping,” which contained the Drake verse that Budden says incited him to war. Beyond the incendiary intro of “Pump It Up,” that had been leaked previously, Drake threw many pointed barbs, seemingly aimed at Budden. “She got a good head on her, but I pump it up,” he rapped, followed by “I’m not a one hit wonder, they know all my stuff.” Given the context Budden provided about the women they’ve dated, and the mainstream perception that Budden is a one-hit wonder, it’s a reasonable interpretation that those lines were in reference to Joe, and those are just the first two bars…

Drake Responds To Joe Budden & Pumps Up The Beef (Audio)

True to his word about having several bullets in the chamber, Budden fired back almost immediately with “Afraid,” a song featuring a prominent Drake sample, on which Budden literally used Drake’s own words against him.

Drake Responds To Joe Budden & Pumps Up The Beef (Audio)

And, that’s where things got even more curious. After Budden launched a campaign against Drake’s diss against him BEFORE the record even dropped, once the verse finally was released, French Montana, Drake’s collaborator on “No Shopping,” now says Drake’s verse was not even about Budden. In speaking with Sway, French said “When me and Drake went in the studio, Joe Budden’s name ain’t come up not one time. So, I don’t think it was meant for him to be dissing Joe Budden on my track. (21:40)”

As curious as that may be, if true, it means that with the release of “Just Because,” Joe Budden has now dissed Drake 4 straight times without a single response from Drake. On his most recent record, Budden says that, contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t hate Drake. In fact, Budden says he loves him, but “sometimes love hurts.” Of the 4 releases thus far, this may be the most nuanced, as Budden delves into aspects of their relationship and some of their similarities. He notes that both are sensitive, rapping “Look, listen, fuck is up with us? How we ain’t agreeing? Sensitive thugs need hugs is the game we in.” He also suggests again that Drake has borrowed a great deal of his style from others, including Budden, himself. “Ain’t been dark in a while. Pardon my style. I mean, I think I hear my part in your style. I can attach different acts to different parts of your style. Yeah we let you act as if you had parts in your style, nah,” says.

As Budden says has been the case with each of these songs, many of these words are heavily coded and above the heads of even Rap geniuses. And while some might think that after 4, potentially unanswered, disses, the ball is in Drake’s court, Joe has shown throughout that he won’t wait to continue pumping it up.