Last night was probably the coldest and windiest night in New York City history. That didn’t stop me from dragging Nisarg to what was being labeled “the Ultimate Joe Budden show” on Varick St. It was my first time seeing Joe live so I was eager. Kanye West is the best performer I’ve seen live. Second would be Jay-Z and third will be Lupe Fiasco.

Who Is Joe Budden? - In 2003, right around the time Interscope Records signed a monster by the name of 50 Cent, Def Jam was looking to add some fire power to it’s rap roster. Kevin Liles and crew found it in New Jersey rapper Joe Budden. The Just Blaze produced “Pump It Up” was the commercial hit of that summer and things looked up for the young rapper. Underneath all that were a series of mixtapes where Budden went into depth about his struggles with drugs, his parents, being stabbed by girlfriends, abortions, label issues and so much more. This would be dubbed “Mood Muzik”. After being dropped by Def Jam Joe took a long hiatus from rap that ended with 2005’s “Mood Muzik 2″. I remember this vividly because it was my first year off to college and I was going through a lot. Mood Muzik helped me get through it like it helped thousands of others get through their issues.

By mainstream fans Joe was labeled a weirdo that blew his opportunity to be as successful as Fabolous. He was called a complainer and accused of making boring and depressing music. Those depressing songs which fans consider masterpieces were all put on display last night at S.O.B.’s. During the 3 hour set Joe ran through several cult classics from the Mood Muzik series as well as album material  from the cd’s Halfway House, Padded Room, and Escape Route.

The Atmosphere – S.O.B.’s by no means a large venue. Through out the night I wondered if a Gucci Mane or a Drake would be able to contain their legion of fans in such a compressed building. For Joe however the setting was perfect. He prides himself on having a one on one type of relationship with each of his fans. Thanks to his live broadcasts and personal songs they know everything about him and he knows a lot about them as well in return.

Amidst what seemed like a sea of white boys that will kill for Joey were other fans of his including his mom who was dissed several times on some of the old songs Joe performed (Joe and his mother have since re-built their relationship). Also in attendance was Shade 45 host Angela Yee with guest Jay Electronica who Joe joked with from the stage towards the end of the set.

Highlights – As I mentioned previously, no stone was left unturned. Joe had to perform easily 40 to 50 songs ranging from 10 minute album cuts to his recent freestyle over Rihannas ‘Russian Roullete’. Fans jokingly asked Joe to perform ‘Porno Star’ which is hailed as one of his worst records of all time. As a response he offered a free sweatshirt to anyone who could recite the God awful first verse of the song. Several fans tried until finally one kid who obviously must have liked the song came up and delivered it flawlessly. Joe talked to his mom from the stage, blogged from his iPhone, broke up fights, smoked cigarettes and drank apple juice. Needless to say the show was a bit ADD but I don’t think any fans went home feeling cheated. That spontaneous and sometimes reckless attitude that critics hate is what fans love and appreciate about Joe Budden.

Lowlights – No one became a Joe Budden fan because of his beat selection. He’s always been heavily criticized even by fans for picking bad beats or good beats mixed poorly. At a Kanye West or Jay-Z show there’s a perfect harmony between the track and the performers voice  (mainly because both use live bands) but that wasn’t the case. Joe’s DJ kept having to lower certain tracks to balance out his vocals; kind of annoying at times. Also annoying was that Joe performs with a backing track which kind of takes away from the live aspect. To his credit he did a great job of memorizing all 50+ songs and several he did acapella but his lyrics would probably standout more if he got rid of the loud backing vocals.

Final Grade  - B+. Great artist, loyal fans, three hours, emotion. All reasons why the show was worth the price of admission.

Below are some videos courtesy of Rap Radar

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