Joe Budden Mixtapes The Early Years

When many artists release new mixtapes, they are giving the public an idea of what their album might sound like. In the case of Joe Budden mixtapes, they were packed with hit singles that would appear in many places beyond the radio. Unfortunately, the early years of his career were fraught with difficulties and controversies that even his many hit hip hop songs could not fix.

Joe Budden was born into a family of five boys in Harlem, New York and was raised in Queens until he moved to Jersey City, New Jersey at the age of twelve. All of his family members were musically inclined, especially his father who played several instruments. These early influences were apparent on the Joe Budden mixtapes that he would release as an adult.

In 2003, after several Joe Budden mixtapes, the rapper released his debut full length album, which was self-titled. He hit the ground running with the single "Pump It Up" and took the hip hop mixtapes world by storm. The song was featured in the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious as well as on two different video games before eventually being nominated for a Grammy Award.

"Pump It Up" was not the only song off Joe Budden’s debut album to make it into the movies. His single "Fine," which featured Busta Rhymes, appeared in the movie Mean Girls, while the song "Drop Drop" appeared in Cradle 2 The Grave. The attention the songs received in the movies only made them more popular among the fans that Budden had established and helped build anticipation for his next release.

With the success of his singles, it seems shocking that Def Jam Records would be unhappy with the direction of his music, but that is what happened. As Joe Budden began his second album, The Growth, he began arguing with executives about the direction it should take. He eventually parted ways with the label and the album was never released.

Having an album end up on the shelf is a distressing career event for any artist. Luckily, Joe Budden mixtapes helped keep the new artist connected to his fans while he wrote new music and looked for a new record deal. Although there was some controversy at the beginning, Joe Budden had had a taste of success and was willing to work hard to pursue his dream of rap superstardom. Just like the G-Unit mixtapes and the D-Block mixtapes before him, Joe understood the place of mixtapes in the hip-hop business to create a buzz and keep it going.