Drake released his eighth studio LP, For All the Dogs, on October 6. However, most of the conversation surrounding that project has less to do with the music and more to do with Joe Budden’s critique.
During the “8:45am in Fayetteville” episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, the show’s titular host shared his thoughts on For All the Dogs. Budden began by saying, “I do like the album.” He also called it “the best Drake album since Scorpion.”
But, Joe Budden also expressed disappointment in the final product. His review included the “Pump It Up” hitmaker complaining that Drake seems to be too focused on trying to appeal to a younger audience rather than maturing as an artist.
Drake fired back at Joe Budden on Instagram with a lengthy, scathing message. The Toronto-bred superstar took direct aim at Budden’s rapper-turned-podcaster career by referring to his supposed lack of success as a musician.
“You have failed at music,” wrote Drake. The 36-year-old entertainer also stated, “For any artist watching this just remember you are watching a failure give their opinion on his idea of a recipe for success.”
In addition, Drake commented, “This guy is the poster child of frustration and surrendering. You retired and we never hung up your jersey we don’t even remember your number… You withdrew from rap not cause you accomplished all you need to, it’s cause it wasn’t working for you.”
KXNG Crooked Believes Drake Wants Joe Budden’s Respect
TMZ spoke with Joe Budden’s former Slaughterhouse groupmate, KXNG Crooked, to get his opinion on Drake’s takedown of the New Jersey native. Crooked sided with Budden despite recent tension involving the Slaughterhouse members.
“I feel like [Drake] threw me a stray, I caught a stray,” said KXNG Crooked. “Because I love talking about Hip-Hop. I think it’s a dope, natural progression and evolution of an MC’s career to jump behind the microphone and start speaking about the game as a commentator.”
The head of the Crook’s Corner YouTube channel also said, “I was like, ‘Ouch!’ I felt like he shot at me with that, even though he wasn’t. It was like, ‘Dang, dog. We can’t even do that?’ So, no I don’t think Joe is a failed rapper who turned into a podcaster.”
KXNG Crooked also specifically addressed Drake comparing his level of wealth to Joe Budden’s level of wealth. The Long Beach, California representative suggested that someone of Drake’s status should not even pay attention to anything Budden has to say.
“Skills matter, respect from your peers matters, because if they didn’t, Drake wouldn’t have answered Joe Budden. If those things did not matter, [Drake] wouldn’t have [responded] because he has everything else… Him just responding to Joe just gives Joe the power that Joe probably wanted,” Crooked argued.