Joe Budden’s Son Makes His Own Mood Music About His Father’s Shortcoming (Audio)

From Jaden Smith to Chris Rivers, Hip-Hop is witnessing second-generation MCs flourish on the mic. Joe Budden’s son, Trey, is the latest “Rap kid” to come forth with music. Approaching 18 years old, Trey Budden appears to share his father’s penchant for venting stress over catchy beats. However, in what may be a Rap precedent, a son uses his latest song to get at his father, in a very public, raw, and compelling way.

“Thoughts After The Courtroom” finds Trey confronting his dad. “You the ni**a that’s putting out all our business / F*ck the ni**as in suit and ties, boy, let’s get to business / When you dropped the song ‘NBA,’ I didn’t understand / When you ballin’ in the streets and I’m just watchin’ from the stands / Watch my father on the TV screamin’ ‘never broke again’ / While some everyday struggles happening within the fam / You gotta eat that, know I got a grudge, ol’ ni**a / We flesh and blood, ol’ ni**a / No if’s, and’s, or but’s, ol’ ni**a / You couldn’t care, but I’m not givin’ a f*ck, ol’ ni**a,” raps Trey.

Joe had another child, Lexington, late last year with Cyn Santana. On his socials, fatherhood appears to be a focal point of the entertainer’s life. In the last year, Joe’s career has apparently shifted away from music and into podcasts, TV, and stage.

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Trey accuses his father of milking their relationship and his name for “a cash grab.” The vulnerable song admits pain that causes tears, as Trey tells his father that he hates him. The record also shows gratitude for Trey’s mother, Angie, whom Joe Budden fans will know from early mixtapes and the 2003 self-titled debut.

In late 2016, Joe Budden spoke to Ambrosia For Heads about fatherhood and his relationship with his firstborn. “I was an absentee father for so long, so now, for me to be so heavily involved in my kid’s life and just talking to him, seeing things through his eyes, his friends, that whole world, it’s changed everything. I no longer communicate the same way that I used to. Like, we need the elder statesmen to kind of be the elder statesmen,” said the Jersey City, New Jersey MC. “We need the grownups to be the grownup, and I think in Hip-Hop it’s very easy for that line to get blurred because our favorite rappers, they look the part—they look young, act young…It’s almost a part of the game now, is to identify with that younger audience and that demographic—so the line is easily blurred. [My son] un-blurred that line for me, and it’s manifested in all areas—all facets: the music, romantically, in business and with my family. I mean, he’s really changed that much for me. Thank God.”

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He spoke more about their growing relationship at the time. “I used to be so angry that, for whatever reason, there was a disconnect between my child’s mother and myself, and my kid was out of my life. It’s right there in [my lyrics], if anybody wants to go check for this stuff. So I used to be so angry, right? But today, in hindsight–it’s just why hindsight is so important–I don’t even know if I would’ve been able to go and rap and travel the world, and learn, and have all these different experiences if I was an active father then. It’s almost uncanny to me that I’m still blessed with this ability and I’m afforded this lifestyle, and I have all of this knowledge from my travelings in music, and my son is 15 years old and we are side-by-side for me to give it all to him. I’m so enjoying fatherhood — even the pitfalls of it. It’s just such a new experience. He’s [invigorated] me.”

Online, Budden supported his son’s song with social media shares.