Joe Budden (born August 31, 1980 in Spanish Harlem, New York) is a rapper f… Read Full Bio ↴Joe Budden (born August 31, 1980 in Spanish Harlem, New York) is a rapper from Jersey City, New Jersey. In recent years he has come to prominence as one of the most skilled and sought-for rappers in the game, despite his best work being on the internet mixtape circuit.

His music initially gained popularity on New York City's famous mixtape circuit in 2002. Although his biggest mainstream hit to-date is 2003's up-tempo "Pump It Up," Budden is known for his reflective and often insecure lyrics. He is widely considered one of hip-hop's most gifted lyricists, thanks largely in part to his numerous works on mixtapes by such DJ's as DJ Clue, Clinton Sparks, DJ On Point, and DJ Envy.

On one particular mixtape song, called "Crosscountry Connection", Joe started a feud with the G-Unit camp. The Game took offense to a line where Joe claims that gangsta rappers should "be in a G-Unit video with all the gangsta actors", obviously claiming G-Unit are fake gangstas. Unbeknownst to Budden, The Game had just recently signed with the G-Unit camp. The Game and G-Unit fired a few diss songs Budden's way; he replied in kind. The feud was ended when The Game and Budden met in a club in New York City and put the past aside.

During winter and spring of 2005, through Joe Budden mixtapes and hip-hop rumor mills, it was said that he departed from Def Jam to Roc-A-Fella Records with CEO Damon Dash. In reality, Budden was legally obligated to stay with Def Jam. In the beginning of Budden's career, it took him a long time to get public exposure, working more than three years from the first time his demo tapes were heard to the first time he was on the radio. He has appeared on many tracks with other artists including 112, Amerie, Brandy, Cassidy, Fabolous, Fat Joe, Freeway, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Jin, Kelly Rowland, Lil' Kim, LL Cool J, Marques Houston, Usher, and more recently a remix to the hit song "Hollaback Girl" with Gwen Stefani. Some of these were not official remixes, simply mixtape tracks where a Joe Budden verse was added to an existing song.

Though he is thought of as one of rap's most skilled lyricists, Budden's success outside of the mixtape circuit has been marginal purposely. He is known to have invested in real estate in North Jersey and instead of blowing up into the rap scene he decided to make money from other methods instead of getting a record deal. His music is usually more sensitive and thought provoking than that of gangsta rappers, but subsequently, it is also more explicit and unrelenting than most "conscious" or "backpack" rappers.

In late December of 2005, Joe released a mixtape after almost 5 months of being absent from the game. Mood Muzik 2 is considered by most to be a lyrical masterpiece and with so deep tracks such as "Dumb Out" and the emotional "3 Sides to a Story" (in which Joe harrowingly describes a disturbing situation), many wondered had these songs originally been scheduled to appear on The Growth.

In 2007, he was released by Def Jam. In December 2007, he released Mood Muzik 3, which many are calling the best mixtape of the year, with some even saying it's the album of the year since it contains all original material. Some have questioned this since the beat for 'Ventilation' is an edit of 'It's A Shame (Da Butcher's Mix)' by Kool G Rap.

In October 2008, Joe Budden released another highly-rated mixtape, Halfway House; featuring album cuts such as 'Touch & Go' and a snippet of 'Blood On The Wall', a diss to Prodigy of Mobb Deep.

In his career up to his 2nd album, he has worked with artists such as Busta Rhymes and Christina Milian, and has been involved in feuds with rapper The Game and G-Unit. He has since reconciled with The Game.

Since this reconciliation, Joe Budden signed to Amalgam Digital records, and both artists finalized the beef and have collaborated on the single 'The Future' for Joe Budden's now-released 2nd album, Padded Room. The album released February 24th in the U.S. and March 3rd in Canada.

Connect 4
Joe Budden Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

[Intro: Young Chris]
Yeah... uh, C. West
We do this, Joe Budden
Yeah, young Chris, what, what?
Yeah, uh

[Young Chris]
To the heart of North Philadelph, pour my spirit and flesh

Give me the crown, watch me wear it the best, I ain't hearin the rest
Long gone, dancin with bigger fish here
Fish scale advances for glitter wristwear
Ch-chea, motherfucker this year Chris here
Homie the strong's so vital, survival of the fits here
Ain't shit sweet y'all, life about a bitch yeah
Say I drive her crazy though I ride that hoe fifth gear
Talk so much poverty cause I live here
Talk facility cause my family's doin a bid there
You ain't rappin or ballin, we got our hustle out
That's what a thug about, anything to get the fuck up out
The ghetto, dodge the devil, prolong my demise
Got a green sticky lah baby, 365

[Joe Budden]
Hold up, a nigga went from lukewarm to hot
Scratch that, from coldest winter to hell's kitchen
Aside from predictable shots and shells spittin
Wouldn'ta even known it cause nothin felt different

E'rything dope in this game ain't on the radio
That proofs me, check the dames and the ratio
Brain like fellatio, I mean it used to be cane like Horatio
Fuck you, pay me though
Look for him, style in whatever I put on
Come from where you give a wrong look and you would look wrong
Broads off the hook for him
But I treat 'em like Subway, I give 'em 5 dollars and a FOOT long
Young niggaz take your vitamins
Your 28-inch rims higher than watchin me admirin
JUMP OFF e'rything that they aspirin to be
But the bullshit gets tiresome to me
See, only one concern, gettin my bread right
Hate to see you lose your (Life) over a website
I'll feel (Sorry)
Y'all'll only know what I show why Chris Brown and Rihanna that real story
Off puttin words together like (Scrabble)
Build your (Monopoly), they just gon' attack you
Can't (Pictionary) it, they gon' think it's (Taboo)
When you get more, they can't (Connect) the (Four)

[Outro: Joe Budden]

Dawg.. geah, Joey, Chris
Yes Chad, I fuckin know the sound

Overall Meaning

The song "Connect 4" is a collaboration between two rappers, Joe Budden and Young Chris. The intro is presented by Young Chris where he tells the listeners that he is from North Philadelphia and he is the best. He then goes into the details of his life and how he hustles to survive. He talks about the struggles that come with living in the ghetto, such as poverty and criminal activities. He mentions his family members who are in jail and how he is doing everything in his power to stay out of trouble.

Joe Budden then takes over and talks about his transformation from being lukewarm to hot in the rap game. He mentions how not all good music is on the radio and how he is not concerned about what people think of him. He goes on to mention how he treats women like a Subway sandwich by giving them five dollars and a foot long. He advises young people to take their vitamins and stay focused on their goals. He warns against getting caught up in the negative aspects of life and encourages people to keep striving for success.

Overall, "Connect 4" is about the struggles of life in the ghetto, the hustle and grind of trying to make it, and staying focused on achieving success despite the challenges.

Line by Line Meaning

To the heart of North Philadelph, pour my spirit and flesh
I am fully invested in North Philadelphia and it has become a part of me.

Give me the crown, watch me wear it the best, I ain't hearin the rest
I want to be the best and I won't let anyone get in my way.

Long gone, dancin with bigger fish here
I have moved on to bigger and better things.

Fish scale advances for glitter wristwear
I am making a lot of money and can afford expensive jewelry.

Ch-chea, motherfucker this year Chris here
I am here and ready to take over this year.

Homie the strong's so vital, survival of the fits here
You need to be strong to survive in this environment.

Ain't shit sweet y'all, life about a bitch yeah
Life is tough and not always easy.

Say I drive her crazy though I ride that hoe fifth gear
I push myself and work hard all the time.

Talk so much poverty cause I live here
I talk about poverty because it is a reality in my life.

Talk facility cause my family's doin a bid there
I talk about prison because my family members are incarcerated.

You ain't rappin or ballin, we got our hustle out
If you're not making money through music or sports, you have to hustle to survive.

That's what a thug about, anything to get the fuck up out
Being a thug is about doing whatever it takes to make it out of the struggle.

The ghetto, dodge the devil, prolong my demise
Living in the ghetto feels like I am dodging death every day.

Got a green sticky lah baby, 365
I smoke weed every day.

Hold up, a nigga went from lukewarm to hot
I went from being not very successful to being very successful quickly.

Scratch that, from coldest winter to hell's kitchen
I went from a cold and difficult time to a difficult and intense environment.

Aside from predictable shots and shells spittin
Despite the danger of gun violence, there is more to life than just that.

Wouldn'ta even known it cause nothin felt different
The transition to success was so seamless that it didn't feel like a big change in my life.

E'rything dope in this game ain't on the radio
There is more to the music industry than what is played on the radio.

That proofs me, check the dames and the ratio
The success I have with women is proof of my talent and worth in the industry.

Brain like fellatio, I mean it used to be cane like Horatio
I used to rap about selling drugs, but now I am more clever with my lyrics.

Fuck you, pay me though
I am not in this for free, I am making money.

Look for him, style in whatever I put on
I have a distinct style that people always recognize.

Come from where you give a wrong look and you would look wrong
Where I come from, you have to be careful about how you present yourself or you could get in trouble.

Broads off the hook for him
Women are attracted to me.

But I treat 'em like Subway, I give 'em 5 dollars and a FOOT long
I don't take women very seriously and just see them as a way to have fun.

Young niggaz take your vitamins
Young people need to work hard and maintain their health to succeed.

Your 28-inch rims higher than watchin me admirin
Your flashy possessions don't impress me, I am more focused on success.

JUMP OFF e'rything that they aspirin to be
People want to be like me and follow my lead.

But the bullshit gets tiresome to me
I am tired of people trying to be like me, it is not as glamorous as it seems.

See, only one concern, gettin my bread right
My only focus is making money and being successful.

Hate to see you lose your (Life) over a website
I don't want to see anyone lose their life over something trivial like social media or the internet.

I'll feel (Sorry)
I will have sympathy for your problems.

Y'all'll only know what I show why Chris Brown and Rihanna that real story
People only know the surface level of what actually happened between Chris Brown and Rihanna.

Off puttin words together like (Scrabble)
I am good at composing lyrics and rhymes.

Build your (Monopoly), they just gon' attack you
When you become successful, people will try to bring you down.

Can't (Pictionary) it, they gon' think it's (Taboo)
People won't understand your success and will be jealous of it.

When you get more, they can't (Connect) the (Four)
When you become more successful, people won't be able to understand how you got there.

Yes Chad, I fuckin know the sound
I am very familiar with the sound and I don't need to be reminded.

Contributed by Kennedy S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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