Joe Budden does not live with regret, but he's not too proud to admit there are certain moments from his past that could have been handled better.
While speaking with former NFL players Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder on The Pivot Podcast, Budden mentioned how he took every opportunity to publicly complain about Jay-Z being named the president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings in 2004. The rapper-turned-podcaster said he was one of several artists on the label at the time who "had an issue" with Jay's new role.
"This was the first time that a rapper, our peer, was calling the shots, in charge of DMX's release date and LL [Cool J's] release date, and none of us took that well. And I really didn’t take it well," Budden recalled. "I didn't handle myself well at all."
"Every interview that they booked for me, I kicked their back in," he continued. "Every chance I got in front of a microphone, I had just disparaging things to say about people who, ultimately, were maybe trying to help me. Even if they weren't trying to help me, if I would've helped myself, I would have been in a different predicament. But I didn't. Gas on the fire."
Back in the late 2000s, Budden went after Jay on his mixtapes Mood Muzik 2 and Mood Muzik 3. On the 2005 song "Old School Mouse," Joe explicitly mentioned Jay and several of his albums, rapping, "Don't hear Reasonable Doubt the same more/I can't listen to Blueprint (naaw!)/Got a resentment toward Hov', tryin' to hate on 'em, throwin' in my two cent." A few bars later he raps, "Don't get me wrong, still I love Clue and Hov/But they both rich, so what that gotta do with Joe?!" Budden continued his disses on the 2007 cut "Talk 2 'Em" on Mood Muzik 3, alluding to Jay's songs by rapping, "I hate ya last single (pause) Boys Roc" and "Every Encore ain't a good one."
During his recent interview, prior to opening up about how he poorly handled Jay-Z's role as Def Jam president, Budden made it clear that he does not live with regret because he "pulled a lesson" from those experiences. When asked by Crowder if he has ever looked back at certain moments and thought they should have been dealt with differently, the 43-year-old enthusiastically responded, "Oh shit, I say that a lot."
"In some instances, I maybe went about it the wrong way or expressed myself the wrong way," Budden said of his past conflicts. "But the intent is always pure. The intent is always for the better of everyone. It's never like a selfish act."
In regards to his feud with Eminem and Shady Records, Budden believes his intentions were in the right place as he tried to get a better situation for himself and his fellow Slaughterhouse members, Joell Ortiz, KXNG Crooked and Royce da 5'9".
Budden's comments about the Jay-Z situation begin at the 6-minute mark.
