Joe Budden

From rising New Jersey rap star to now clown of the Internet, Joe Budden had quite the tumultuous hip-hop career in the early 2000s. Budden’s brand has always been based in complete and utter transparency; whatever he happened to be dealing with in life at the time he was recording, whether it be family issues, mental health struggles, or quarrels with label heads, would end up in his lyrics, artfully and articulately. Budden’s battle with depression is prominent across his entire catalogue of albums, and he has never shied away from including honest, vivid anecdotes about his various suicide attempts. But despite attracting a die-hard cult fan base that would happily purchase his every release, this wasn’t enough to sustain a fruitful career as a rapper—he simply was not generating enough album sales.

So, Budden decided to pull a complete 180. Although he was never an expert hitmaker or chart-topper, he has a true knack for connecting with young listeners struggling with mental health issues. His career’s second wind would maximize this talent in combination with his social media savviness. He abruptly stopped recording music altogether and instead put all of his energy and focus into a career as a podcaster. A Spotify exclusive (although also released on YouTube), the Joe Budden Podcast serves as Budden’s platform to discuss hip-hop related news with an emphasis on artists’ rights and mental health. In an interview with DJBooth, he explained, “As open as I’ve been when it comes to mental health, it wasn’t until air quotes retirement that I was able to dive into some of the things the fans have seen.” Budden wouldn’t have been able to advance the conversation surrounding mental health problems had he stayed an ordinary recording artist, as there are politics involved and topics he can’t necessarily address while signed to a label. With a platform that allows the freedom to discuss anything with virtually no limitations, Budden can speak to and heal his fans more directly than ever before.