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.
Dreamerz
Joe Budden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Check it,
More questions, more answers
More ci smoke and more cancer
More arguing, more resistance
Its seems like the closer we get, its more distance
More angles, a million different looks
Was on the same page, just in different books
Cause we ain't break up, more like broke down
Now that's pain and torture
Add that with restraining orders
Then add the soul of my slain daughter
None of this is how we planned it to be
One big insanity plea
Shit could never end amicably
I miss you trying
You probably think don't think I try too
When you stubborn and prideful
Not much is insightful
But God was trying to show me something He aint think that I knew
Sometimes shit that doesn't breathe can die too
[Hook: Emanny]
Were we just dreamerz?
Waiting for our shot to shoot to the moon
Were we just dreamerz?
Spending our lives trying to see this thing through
Waiting to fly away
Waiting to fly away
Waiting to fly away
Waiting to fly away
[Verse 2: Joe Budden]
How we go from thoughts of marriage
Thoughts of me copping carrots
Talks of what we'd name her while shopping for a carriage
But when the dream stopped, who knew you'd see me like a savage
That you dreamt of vacations, but only woke up with baggage
All you ever did was love me, and look at where it got you
And when you wanted more, all I did was say I'm not you
I'm selfish not selfless, and I say that with love
So in essence you're asking for what I'm incapable of
So now I find I'm going over choices I ain't even made yet
Were we clouded by good times of great sex?
Running fast towards an unknown fate
That altered when I introduced you to my unknown traits
In your dreams, seems you had me pegged as another man
But in mine, only you would understand
In our minds we were perfect
We witnessed our dream get murdered
Now reality is on trial and we both awaiting the verdict
[Bridge 1: Joe Budden]
But you'll always be close to me
Though you said this ain't how it's supposed to be
What we had was so real
But you said i don't care
Never thought this day would come
You said you gave your all and was left with none
But we can both be spared
But you don't think thats fair, thats fair
[Hook]
[Verse 3: Joe Budden]
You can't see how you ever began to like a liar
You lost track of all the little things that I admired
But when the peace left, I knew we might retire
Thinking man, I live upstairs, I'm something like somaya
Got memories, but at what point are they lost
You say we could work through it, at what point is it forced?
We shoulda never rushed
Cause it's like now we at a point where you won't never trust
And for me I cant believe thats all we ever was
The high's gone, need a better buzz
Cause we sleep in the same bed, but we never touch
My solution to every beef is to revisit
Though we'll have the same emotions we won't be so livid
Won't be so vivid
I think your girl secretly applauded our drama
We don't need those critics
We owe it to go over our foundation with a keen eye
Sad part to say you never have the same dream twice
[Bridge 2: Emanny]
We let love and all its possibility
Take us from reality
Made it hard to see that
We were bound together
Just to cover up the pain
Im wishing the skies were rain
And wipe all my thoughts away
Cause im tired of dreaming
The lyrics of “Dreamerz” by Joe Budden feat. Emanny speak of a relationship that has gone awry. Joe reflects on the numerous issues that have caused him and his partner to drift apart, including arguing, resistance, and restraining orders. He ponders how they went from considering marriage and naming their potential child to arguing about their relationship. The song talks about how they have different perspectives of the relationship, and how the dream of their future has been crushed. The title of the song, “Dreamerz”, refers to the couple that dreamt of a future together, but found themselves drifting apart.
The verses by both artists give their unique perspectives on the relationship. Emanny’s chorus, “Were we just dreamerz? Waiting for our shot to shoot to the moon? Spending our lives trying to see this thing through?” refers to the couple’s dreams of having a perfect relationship, which seem to be crumbling before their eyes. While Joe laments on their misunderstandings, feelings of pain and torture that have led to break down, the broken dreams of having a perfect future, and finally, the fading away of good memories.
The lyrics in “Dreamerz” paint a picture of a relationship that began with love and hope, but has now turned into something full of sadness and despair. The song tells the story of a couple slowly drifting apart, despite their hopes and dreams for a future together.
Line by Line Meaning
More questions, more answers
There's this constant search for answers in this relationship, but every answer leads to more questions.
More ci smoke and more cancer
The problems in this relationship are like chain smoking, the more problems we have, the more it feels like we're killing ourselves slowly.
More arguing, more resistance
The more we try to work things out, the more we seem to push each other away.
Its seems like the closer we get, its more distance
Despite being close, it feels like we're getting farther apart.
More angles, a million different looks
There are so many perspectives in this relationship, it's like seeing it from a million different angles.
Was on the same page, just in different books
We thought we were on the same page, but we were reading different interpretations of the story.
Theres so much i want to say but i got no ground
There are things I need to express, but I feel like I have no solid footing to do so.
Cause we ain't break up, more like broke down
We didn't just break up, we completely fell apart.
Now that's pain and torture
The situation we're in now is causing us tremendous emotional pain.
Add that with restraining orders
The legal issues that have arisen between us have only added to the pain.
Then add the soul of my slain daughter
The loss of our child has made this process even harder.
None of this is how we planned it to be
Our relationship has strayed so far from what we had envisioned.
One big insanity plea
Our situation feels like one big argument for insanity.
Shit could never end amicably
It's impossible for things to end on good terms at this point.
I miss you trying
I miss the effort you put in before things started to fall apart.
You probably think don't think I try too
I feel like you've given up on me and that I'm not trying as hard as I should be.
When you stubborn and prideful
Your stubbornness and pride make it hard for us to move forward.
Not much is insightful
It's hard to gain perspective on the situation when neither of us are willing to budge.
But God was trying to show me something He aint think that I knew
I'm starting to see things from a new perspective that I didn't expect to gain.
Sometimes shit that doesn't breathe can die too
Even things that aren't alive, like our relationship, can still wither away and die.
Were we just dreamerz?
Did we spend our time in this relationship dreaming of things that were never meant to be?
Waiting for our shot to shoot to the moon
Did we wait around, hoping that our dreams would come true without putting in the effort to make them happen?
Spending our lives trying to see this thing through
Did we spend too much time trying to patch up a broken relationship instead of moving on?
How we go from thoughts of marriage
How did we go from planning our future together to being in this mess?
Thoughts of me copping carrots
How did we go from discussing buying a home to this?
Talks of what we'd name her while shopping for a carriage
How did we go from planning for a child to losing one?
But when the dream stopped, who knew you'd see me like a savage
When our dream of a perfect relationship ended, you didn't see me in the best light.
That you dreamt of vacations, but only woke up with baggage
You had dreams of a happy future, but instead, you were stuck with the emotional baggage of our failed relationship.
All you ever did was love me, and look at where it got you
You loved me unconditionally, but it only led you to a place of hurt and pain.
And when you wanted more, all I did was say I'm not you
When you needed me to be there for you, I failed to understand what you were going through.
I'm selfish not selfless, and I say that with love
I understand that I've been selfish when it comes to our relationship.
So in essence you're asking for what I'm incapable of
You're asking for things I'm not capable of giving you, no matter how much I try.
So now I find I'm going over choices I ain't even made yet
I'm constantly analyzing and rethinking the choices I made in the past.
Were we clouded by good times of great sex?
Did the good times and physical attraction mask the underlying issues in our relationship?
Running fast towards an unknown fate
We moved quickly ahead in this relationship without considering the consequences that were waiting for us.
That altered when I introduced you to my unknown traits
Things changed after you got to know the parts of me that I tried to hide from you.
In your dreams, seems you had me pegged as another man
In your ideal future, you pictured me differently than the person I turned out to be.
But in mine, only you would understand
In my future ideal, you were the one person who could bring me happiness and understanding.
In our minds we were perfect
We envisioned a perfect relationship in our minds, but reality proved us wrong.
We witnessed our dream get murdered
We watched as the dream we had for each other was slowly destroyed.
Now reality is on trial and we both awaiting the verdict
We're both waiting to see what the future holds for us and whether we can move forward or not.
But you'll always be close to me
Even though we're not together, you'll always have a special place in my heart.
Though you said this ain't how it's supposed to be
Even though things didn't work out, we both had hoped for a different outcome.
What we had was so real
Our love for each other was genuine and strong, even if it didn't work out in the end.
But you said i don't care
You accused me of not caring about us, but it was just that I didn't know how to handle the situation properly.
Never thought this day would come
We both thought that we'd be able to work things out and stay together.
You said you gave your all and was left with none
You feel like you put everything you had into this relationship, but it still wasn't enough to make it work.
But we can both be spared
We can both move on from this and find happiness elsewhere.
But you don't think thats fair, thats fair
You're not ready to move on just yet, and that's okay.
You can't see how you ever began to like a liar
You can't understand how you fell in love with someone who wasn't truthful with you.
You lost track of all the little things that I admired
You forgot about the things you used to love about me and focused only on my flaws.
But when the peace left, I knew we might retire
Once the calm and happiness in our relationship disappeared, we both knew it was time to let go for good.
Thinking man, I live upstairs, I'm something like somaya
I'm starting to realize that I have more perspective on our relationship than I thought, even though I still feel lost.
Got memories, but at what point are they lost
We have good memories together, but they mean nothing when the love is lost.
You say we could work through it, at what point is it forced?
You're asking if it's worth forcing a relationship when it seems like we're just trying to hold onto something that's already broken.
We shoulda never rushed
We moved too fast in this relationship and didn't take the time to really get to know each other.
Cause it's like now we at a point where you won't never trust
We're at a point where there's no trust left in our relationship, and it might be impossible to gain it back.
And for me I cant believe thats all we ever was
I can't believe that our relationship was ultimately defined by its failure.
The high's gone, need a better buzz
The excitement and joy we felt in the beginning is gone, and we're both searching for a new kind of happiness.
Cause we sleep in the same bed, but we never touch
We may still share a bed, but the emotional and physical connection between us is gone.
My solution to every beef is to revisit
My solution to any problem in this relationship is to revisit and analyze it, but that might not be enough anymore.
Though we'll have the same emotions we won't be so livid
Even if we try to work things out, we'll still feel the same emotions and frustrations.
Won't be so vivid
The passion and intensity we once had for each other won't be as vibrant anymore.
I think your girl secretly applauded our drama
I feel like your friends might have enjoyed watching our relationship crumble.
We don't need those critics
We don't need outside opinions or criticism to determine what's best for us.
We owe it to go over our foundation with a keen eye
We need to carefully examine the foundation of our relationship and decide if it's worth trying to rebuild.
Sad part to say you never have the same dream twice
We can't go back and relive the same dream we had for each other. It's time to let go and move on.
We let love and all its possibility
Our love was full of possibilities and potential, but it didn't work out as we had hoped.
Take us from reality
Love made us lose sight of the harsh realities of our relationship.
Made it hard to see that
We were blinded by our love and didn't see the problems until it was too late.
We were bound together
We were meant to be together, but the timing and circumstances just weren't right.
Just to cover up the pain
Our love was like a band-aid, it helped cover up the pain but didn't actually solve anything.
Im wishing the skies were rain
I wish we could start over and wash away all the pain and hurt we caused each other.
And wipe all my thoughts away
I wish I could forget about the past and start over with a clean slate.
Cause im tired of dreaming
I'm tired of dreaming about a future that will never come true. It's time to face reality and move on.
Contributed by Christian E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Rex
I discovered Joe early this year and this is my first time listening to an entire discography because it was just so beautiful
Track Courtesy Of J. Cardim
I remember when I made this beat, my boy which is also a producer gave me this sample because he didn't know what to do with it. It was just raw vocals. I ended up cookin this up and Joe went crazy for it.
Irsalaan Ilyas
Mood muzik 4 was diff levels, revisiting this shit in a different mindframe is mad
Christopher Ross
@Rouge Shadow listen to Sober Up from this album bro... you tell me what you hear in the first few seconds and tell me this dude bluffing
Droppin Julz
Broooooooo I’ve always wanted to destroy this beat. Joe been my favorite rapper since I first heard 10 mins. I got a freestyle I did to Making A Murderer on my page. If you happen to see this hope we can work in the future.
Mystic Ruin
All of the Joe/J Cardim stuff is dope.
EMoney Quarantino
Cause its pure fire, thats most likely why he went nuts.. good shit man.
jeremy kimball
Going through exactly this, For every die hard fan I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making songs with substance...... JOEY!!!!
egile36
This guy is unbelievable there should be more like him.
Mike Griffen
This is one of the deepest, most emotional tracks I've ever heard. Unbelievable song