A Look Back at Joe Budden's Wildest Career Moments

Image via Complex Original

One of the earliest signs that Joe Budden had no shame was when he got into an altercation with Raekwon and Method Man backstage at Rock the Bells. After some public comments decrying Meth’s place in Vibe’s Best Rappers list, Budden got surrounded by the Wu-Tang Clan’s crew, and ended up receiving a hard punch to the face. He later broadcast the aftermath online, revealing that he tried to apologize to no avail, and leaving us with a solid video memory.

As we’ve learned, Budden isn’t one for taking insults. Thus, when a girl was forced to accompany her friend to his show and tweeted repeatedly about how much she didn’t like it and was bored, he took it upon himself to remove her. Security showed up to her section and forced her to leave the concert, all because of some trolling tweets.

When Joe Budden joined the cast of Love & Hip Hop: New York, it seemed like a recipe for fireworks. That prediction came true in 2013 when he and Consequence exchanged blows off-camera during the reunion show. Consequence initially punched him from behind, and Joe later retaliated by attacking him back. Both men took to Twitter to claim victory, but the whole situation made for some interesting reality television.

Joe Budden and Jay Z’s beef goes back all the way to 2003 when Jay dissed Joe over his own “Pump It Up” beat. But in 2014, Budden gained some unexpected notoriety when he became the only person that Jay Z followed on Twitter. It seems like it was mostly a joke, referencing their one-time feud, but Budden certainly didn’t mind the shine from a man who is still one of the biggest rappers in the game, even if he would later diss him and Drake in the same song.

One area where Joe Budden has always been well-respected is in the battle rap arena. Even if he hasn’t produced a ton of hits, his skills on the mic are undeniable. Well, in a 2014 battle with Hollow Da Don, he ended up getting totally bodied. The crowd booed him repeatedly, and he kept pausing and telling them to stop. Obviously this only egged them on more, and he ended up dropping the mic and walking off in the middle of the event. Skip to the 49-minute mark in the video above.

Joe never likes to hold his tongue, but after he gave his unsolicited opinion on Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj’s relationship, the couple clapped back in a very public way. “He sound maddd… He a noodle tho,” wrote Meek, while Nicki chimed in with, “Jealousy, jealousy. That’s how you feel? Lol.” He tried to clarify he wasn’t dissing them, but later told Meek, “You don’t rap well enough to go this route with me.” Clearly the bad blood hasn’t gone away.

After being highly critical of Drake’ VIEWS, Budden made his feelings about the Toronto rapper known. After releasing two diss tracks without so much as a peep from Drake, Budden decided to tweet his feelings about the situation. “I’m gonna bar this nigga to oblivion,” he wrote, before taunting Drake by saying, “I’m charged up… U charged down?”

Of course, no list would be complete without Budden’s recent street chase of some teenage Drake stans. After they rolled up to his house yelling about Drake and OVO, Budden chased them in his car through his neighborhood. He eventually caught up to them, walking up to their car with a fist full of rocks and telling them to stay out of his neighborhood or he would kill them. Chill level: zero.