Joe Budden doesn't believe that Logic's suicide awareness song "1-800-273-8255" came from a genuine place.
In a video shared on Tuesday, the retired rapper and podcast host guested on The Pivot Podcast where he was asked about Logic's 2017 single, which featured Alessia Cara and Khalid. The song appeared on Logic's third studio album, Everybody, peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Grammy Award nominations for Song of the Year and Best Music Video.
“Logic is full of shit. I don’t believe him,” Budden said on the podcast around the 40-minute mark, challenged by co-host Ryan Clark about his lyrics about suicide and depression. “You can’t know and you can’t prove it. But Logic is full of shit… Logic put out a song with mental health as the phone number – 1-800-whatever-the-fuck-that-shit-was. Pandering bullshit."
He continued, “Everything about Logic is pandery. So there’s really no way to ever tell what’s truthful and what’s not truthful. And since he said [he experienced suicidal thoughts] I try to take him off my list of people to speak about because I do have a heart. But I do think he’s full of shit.”
Budden has dished out other criticism to Logic over the years, calling him "one of the worst rappers to ever grace a microphone" in 2019.
The Maryland emcee recalled the backlash he got for “1-800-273-8255,” in his memoir The Bright Future, although he believed he'd made an "impact on the culture."
“The same fans who had heard ‘1-800’ and been like, ‘This is amazing. This is so special. This is needed,’ now were the ones going, ‘This sucks’ and ‘He’s too mainstream," Logic wrote. "The most popular thing I’d ever done, the song that was going seven times platinum, suddenly became ‘the worst song Logic ever made.’"
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
