lil yachty and joe budden interview

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Why Joe Budden & Lil Yachty’s Discussion Is More Important Than You Think

Why Lil Yachty and Joe Budden's 'Everyday Struggle' discussion was important for the culture.

By Ashley Pickens

Ashley Pickens

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By now, we’re all keen to the Lil Yachty – Joe Budden drama that’s been transpiring ever since the latter shared his opinion on the 19-year-old’s debut album cover and expressed his disdain toward what he’s doing to hip-hop. Yachty’s father, photographer Shannon McCollum, even ripped Budden one after he came for his son.

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But on Tuesday’s show of Complex’s Everyday Struggle  with DJ Akademiks and the  Rage & The Machine  rapper, Budden struggled to hold back his personal opinions of Yachty’s existence — literally. After Yachty confirms he’s “happy everyday, life is moving fast, I can’t be slowed down,” Budden seems to dissect his response, and every other one following, as a psychologist picking their patient’s brain and offering a diagnosis. “Maybe he has been media trained?” Joe says.

Budden presses the issue of Yachty being “happy everyday” even further by telling him “how humans are” with their fickle emotions, claiming it’s impossible to be one thing all of the time. And of course, social media had a field day with Budden’s annoyance at Lil Boat’s happiness.

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Yachty : “I’m just enjoying life, happy, bless-…” Joe Budden : pic.twitter.com/kqaShPjghf — Jay Breeze (@DeLaBreezus) May 3, 2017

Teenage boy: “I’m grateful for all my blessings and happy I don’t have to struggle anymore.” Joe Budden: pic.twitter.com/T0DxQuj6Bv — Welcome To Your Tape (@divaTy) May 3, 2017

Yachty : I’m just happy to be alive Joe budden: HAPPINESS AINT REAL HIP HOP pic.twitter.com/9KkIK3I0f5 — xavier (@xavierwss) May 3, 2017

if you say “i’m happy” 3 times in the mirror joe budden shows up like this and starts yelling at you pic.twitter.com/8Ebv6FoNBH — ? (@sIowloves) May 3, 2017

@cthagod Lmao smmfh… I can see it — Joe Budden (@JoeBudden) May 3, 2017

*Joe budden gets phone call from wife* “Joe…idk how to tell you this….your son..our…..son…….he’s happy joe, he’s happy “ Joe: pic.twitter.com/qiqSojGxSx — christobach (@chrisdavidbanks) May 3, 2017

A heated exchange transpired, as both rappers tried to defend their viewpoint. But everything isn’t what it seems. Budden broke the harsh energy by dapping up Lil Boat in respect to breaking barriers with his deals with Target and Nautica.

As the interview continued on, the heart of why Budden was so determined to  — what it appeared to be — throwing shade at Yachty, slowly unveiled itself. Along with that, the great divide between the “old heads” and the “young cats” came to surface as well.

Budden began to reveal a seemingly more rational side of himself, as Yachty expressed that he was unaware of whether or not he was in a 360 deal. (Yachty has since tweeted about the comment and says he owns his publishing.) Toward the end of the interview, in which Budden enters the emotional fury conducive to his character – which he attributes to his passion for hip-hop – one can vaguely hear him admitting that he was Yachty in his heyday.

And now, enters in the Pro-Joe Twitter.

Joe Budden yelling at Lil Yacthy is funny as hell but what he’s saying is 100? truth — Bokenza —- (@infimiz_one) May 3, 2017

@LostWizard92 @JoeBudden @lilyachty The labels pick for him, tour dates, photo shoots etc. Budden been in the game and knows what it’s about. Money motivated. — spacco (@spacco21) May 3, 2017

That @JoeBudden & @lilyachty interview is one of the most important convos in hip hop, perhaps ever. — Jersey’s Own. (@JusThoughtZ) May 3, 2017

Very important, indeed. Pro-Boat Twitter may have been blinded by Budden’s emotionally-charged rant-filled history and let his entire point in his “interest” with Yachty fly over their heads, just like Budden’s hat did when Yachty accused Budden of “f–king up.” But, Budden is like the OG to the YG’s of hip-hop trying to steer them in the right direction — or at least in the case of Yachty. Joe maintains “anybody who’s passionate in hip-hop has to be invested in them,” referring to Yachty and the newer generation of rappers in his category.

Budden goes on to bring up a discord between the younger and older generations of hip-hop that have transpired throughout the near-five decades that the culture has thrived. When you pair that with the threat of major labels and 360 deals, it’s understandable why Budden is spewing with passion, as Yachty nonchalantly tells him to “chill” about a possible future Budden tries to warn Boat of — one which the  Teenage Emotions  rapper seems to be ignorant of.

Lil Yachty, Rap's Next Big Thing, on His Unapologetic Approach to Hip-Hop: 'I Honestly Couldn't…

The rise and fall of Bobby Shmurda is probably one of the most prominent and relatable examples of said future. It seems Budden is just trying to warn Yachty about his label, Capital Records, “…Cashing In & Then Bailing Out,” like Epic Records seemingly did with the Brooklyn native.

According to the “Hot N—-a” rapper, “When I got locked up, I thought they were going to come for me.” But he was left with the harsh reality of being alone. Shmurda shared with the  New York Times  that he thought Epic Records would support him because he “felt that their union was more like a family affair instead of business relationship.” This is the reason for why Budden repeatedly expresses his despise for major labels, but props up subsidiaries like TDE and Yachty’s team, QC (Quality Control), who actually bring the talent to labels. Budden seems to want to educate Lil Boat to do with a 360 deal what Jay Z has done with Live Nation, while steering him away from what the “Bobby B—h” spitter experienced.

Iron sharpens iron, right?

This article was originally published on VIBE .

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Lil Yachty Finally Responds to Joe Budden

Joe Budden had some choice words for Lil Yachty during a recent episode of 'Everyday Struggle.' Yachty has finally responded.

Image via Getty/Tim Mosenfelder

Joe Budden may have started something with Lil Yachty .

In yesterday's episode of Everyday Struggle , the New Jersey native and retired rapper criticized Yachty for his Teenage Emotions album cover and overall approach to his music.

View this photo on Instagram

"I don’t think that Yachty is hip-hop," Budden said. "I don't think that Yachty's label is hip-hop. When you're not hip-hop and you're trying to just troll or exploit, you get things like this."

He continued: "Yachty is ruining the culture. Someone who should not be accepted in this fucking culture."

Yachty clearly heard what Budden had to say, who took to Twitter to share an old Lil B diss track aimed at Budden and wrote, "Mood."

{ "id": 133405570 } Listen to Lil B - T Shirts and Buddens (Joe Budden Diss) by EverythingOnDeckBased #np on #SoundCloud https://t.co/fNtiqdCnrN

{ "id": 133405568 } My Mood 🎶🎶🎶 https://t.co/d7nIVHrpNh

Budden was quick to respond:

{ "id": 133405569 } Fuck your mood. https://t.co/ZYy32o5fEm

{ "id": 133405572 } Mood …. nigga lol

When a fan asked if Budden was coming out of retirement to get some bars off in Yachty's direction, he clarified he's "just having fun."

{ "id": 133405573 } Lmao just having fun https://t.co/NBVktotAUz

Budden also gave Lil B props for the diss track:

{ "id": 133405571 } That Lil B diss still hard all these years later tho lol

Check out the full episode of Everyday Struggle below, along with Lil B's Budden diss.

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Lil Yachty Clashes With Joe Budden In Interview

On May 2, 2017 rap super-star Lil’ Yachty was in the Complex building to be interviewed by Joe Budden and Youtube hip-hop commentator Dj Akademiks . The duo has a show called “Every Day Struggle” which is garnishing attention from rap fans across the globe.

In the interview, Lil’ Yachty is calm, respectful, and articulates himself very well. He answered all the questions to the best of his ability and was seen as very mature for his age. Joe Budden on the other hand was constantly yelling and claiming that Yachty was bullshitting on just about everything he said. Joe seems bitter and angry as an older head in hip-hop. Budden was yelling so much that at one pointYachty has to tell him “Yo my nigga…chiiill.” LOL

Minus all the screaming from Joe Budden it was an okay interview. It gave people more insight into what Lil Yatchy stands for and what he wants to accomplish as a rapper and businessman. I think that older and washed up rapper like Joe Budden will never understand where these young new rappers are coming from with the music that they make.

It has always been like that with rap music. But what old heads need to understand is that this generation of rap music is lead by the youth and it’s not going to change anytime soon.

Yes we should encourage new rappers to know their history on the legends who paved the way for them, but also give them time to consume that information. We shouldn’t expect them to know it all at once. We should also respect the type of music they make because it is needed. It makes them as well as others feel good.

We need that in rap music in order for it to continue to touch the lives of others. Feel good music outsells “gangta” rap in this day and age, so it’s actually because of music like Lil’ Yatchy’s that allows rap music to continue to grow and develop. Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

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Joe Budden Gets Paid to Hate

How the perennial loudmouth turned a contentious career in rap and reality TV into a new life as hip-hop’s preeminent media pundit on a daily web talk show called ‘Everyday Struggle’

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"Rap Twitter usually deals with things on a very surface level," says the notoriously argumentative rapper Joe Budden, now a cohost of the spirited web talk show Everyday Struggle . "We peel the layers back. [Cohost] Akademiks is gonna give me every single thought from a consumer perspective, and I’m gonna shit on all of it," he says. "Because I hate consumers."

"Hate" is the operative word in Budden’s relation to most things. Joe Budden is a hater. He isn’t built for the modern digital economy of likes. On Everyday Struggle , and in general, he speaks from a position of permanent dissent. Which isn’t to say that Budden isn’t constructive with his criticism. After all, he’s worked in the music industry — with as many failures as successes — since 2000. With 17 years’ worth of career insights, Budden brings an ex-jock’s sort of perspective to a show that’s very much modeled off of ESPN’s success with the talking-head format.

Complex Media — a millennial-targeting news and lifestyle web brand and (disclosure) my former employer — produces daily episodes of Everyday Struggle to turn trending Rap Twitter conversations (Lil Yachty’s longevity, Meek Mill’s comeback, Nicki Minaj vs. Remy Ma) into captivating video content. These aren’t boilerplate news segments, but staged, dramatic take showdowns. "What makes sports commentary so compelling is that you have this mix of journalists and retired players," says Complex chief content officer Noah Callahan-Bever, who created the show. "The beauty of retired players is that they can be completely unfiltered because they no longer have to worry about their relationships with franchises, ownerships, or teammates." Everyday Struggle is host-driven, with only five interviews so far in its six-week run, so Budden is hardly worried about alienating sources or talent. "I don’t make calls," he says. "I’m not looking to confirm or deny some shit. I’m just gonna give my opinion on it. This is an opinion-based show. I don’t want to talk to people. I don’t want guests. I only want to talk to Nadeska and Akademiks."

So, every morning, Monday through Thursday, three irreconcilable perspectives gather to get a head start on the day’s music news. Budden, DJ Akademiks (real name Livingston Allen), and the Complex News anchor Nadeska Alexis debate new songs and the latest hip-hop gossip with louder conviction than is strictly necessary. On set, there’s a row of blue and white Everlast boxing gloves arranged under the table just so you know that it could go down at any moment.

Everyday Struggle isn’t the first time that a media company has slotted breakout Rap Twitter personalities into a live-action format. The comedy duo Desus and Mero , who previously worked with Complex and MTV2, now anchor a nightly, self-titled talk show on Viceland. Desus & Mero and Everyday Struggle both take their programmatic cues from ESPN’s lightning-round talk shows Pardon the Interruption and First Take . (Erik Rydholm created Pardon the Interruption , and he produces Desus & Mero for Viceland.) But where Desus & Mero is a happy, relaxing half hour where two amicable comedians laugh at each other’s jokes and make their guests feel at home, Everyday Struggle is a knock-down, drag-out battle between Budden and Akademiks — two men starkly separated by age and disposition. Akademiks, 27, is yappy and enthusiastic. Budden, 36, is dismissive and brutal. Alexis, our dear moderator, is slick and unflappable. It’s a lively dynamic, prone to explosion whenever Budden and Akademiks broach even the slightest disagreement about the most fleeting genre concern.

The show’s hottest topic as of late has been the relentlessly upbeat, teenybopper rapper Lil Yachty — a hater’s archnemesis. In the past year, the 19-year-old has drawn attention to hip-hop’s most contentious intergenerational rift. The old guardsmen have invoked Yachty as a sign of rap’s disintegration as lyrical craft. Budden and Akademiks have sparred over Yachty since the premiere of Everyday Struggle . In May, as Yachty was making the press rounds to promote his debut album, Teenage Emotions , the young rapper sat with Budden, Akademiks, and Alexis as their show’s first guest. Naturally, Budden dominated the interview, seizing the opportunity to call Yachty’s goofy trolling and happy-go-lucky ignorance a shtick to the rapper’s face. "You would be lying to tell me that, as a young man in this industry, in this music industry, in the music business, you are happy 24–7," Budden yelled at Yachty, who took the older rapper’s volleys in stride. "That is a lie! That is bullshit. And I refuse to have somebody tell me bullshit! I want to have an honest conversation!"

The Everyday Struggle interview with Lil Yachty is the show’s most-watched episode to date. It’s also the most memed episode, having yielded a classic image of Budden shouting painfully into the void. On YouTube, the full, nearly 47-minute interview has earned 1.4 million views. (Other recent episodes have averaged around 400,000 YouTube views each.) As much as that’s due to Yachty’s ability to draw an audience as a breakout artist, it’s also a testament to Budden’s ability to spin entertaining conflict with anyone at any time.

"My most recent therapist told me that I can be a bit intimidating and overpowering in presence, and that I should always be cognizant of it," Budden tells me after a recent taping as he’s seated next to his cohosts.

"Wow," Alexis interjects. "That’s deep."

"And you’re not cognizant of it," Akademiks adds, "so you did not take the advice."

The three cohosts all swear that their on-air opinions are real — no one’s trolling, no one’s faking the funk — but they take it all in stride. "As vulgar or childish as it may seem," Akademiks says, "these are real differences we have in opinion, stances, whatever. I believe we’ve built a nice dynamic, and we’ve gotten to a good place of dialogue, but we still don’t agree on a ton of shit."

For Budden, Everyday Struggle is the soap box he’s always dreamed of. "Before I took this job," he says, "I would turn on the TV in the mornings, and I would see Stephen A. Smith. I would watch him from 10 to 12. Then, I’d get in my car and go about my day. I’d put the radio on — I only listen to talk radio — and I’d hear Stephen A. Smith. Then, I would get home, and I’d turn the game on, and I would see Stephen A. Smith again. Do you see what I mean? There’s a lot of different areas that he needs to be functional in, and it requires different attributes." Budden is doing his best to realize Stephen A.’s blueprint in himself. "I’ve done radio, I’ve done reality television, I’ve been on major labels, I’ve been independent, I’ve been a mixtape phenomenon, I’ve done battle rap. I’ve done a lot," he says. And Budden swears up and down that this latest tangent of his career — full-time video punditry — was his great aspiration all along.

For such an angry introvert who supposedly doesn’t play well with others, Budden has spent a great share of his career flourishing as a cast member rather than a solo performer.

Budden grew up in Jersey City with an ear toward New York. He dropped out of high school and graduated instead from rehab for drug addiction at age 17. He got his start rapping on the tri-state mixtape circuit in his late teens, and former Def Jam executives Kevin Liles and Lyor Cohen signed Budden to his first recording contract at age 20. In spring 2003, he released his then-forthcoming debut album’s first single, "Pump It Up." The song, produced by Just Blaze, is a thumping, staccato club record that was catchy and accessible enough to make its way into promotional trailers ( Meet the Blacks ), film soundtracks ( 2 Fast 2 Furious ), and video games ( Madden NFL 2004 ), thus launching itself to no. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is, to date, Budden’s only Top 40 hit, though it now serves as a quaint souvenir of a hard-core rapper’s mainstream phase. At the time, though, "Pump It Up" locked Budden into the hip-hop conversation during New York City’s final decade as the genre’s de facto capital.

In 2004, he briefly cohosted a morning talk show on Hot 97. This was Budden’s first broadcasting gig, which Liles implored Budden to quit to go finish recording his sophomore album. Once Liles and Cohen both left Def Jam for Warner Music later that year, however, Budden’s rollout ground to a halt. Budden claimed that Def Jam’s new president, Jay Z, had stalled his album’s release, and three years’ worth of drama ensued before Budden was emancipated from Def Jam in the fall of 2007.

In his 20s, Budden made accessible records about love and war in the club, and he wore baggy jeans, oversized throwback jerseys, durags, and slight ice: standard East Coast rapper attire in the early aughts. Back then, Budden didn’t stand out from rap’s middle echelon so much as he blended into the ’00s hip-hop zeitgeist — though his resounding bark, and the sharpness of his attitude and punch line–heavy lyrics, held clues to his future path.

Budden grew out of his And 1 phase quickly. In the years after "Pump It Up," Budden drifted from club rap toward a harsher style and trickier lyrical constructions. He stopped writing big hooks. Instead, Budden made angry songs about romance and depression. In his Mood Muzik mixtape series — which spans six projects released between 2003 and 2010 — Budden rapped about depression, self-harm, addiction, and rotten relationships. Joe Budden, the persona, was a sad sack with anger management problems and a penchant for oversharing. Outside of his songs, he would spend hours online each day tweeting about music and women. He was a Twitter talking head when the medium was much coarser and less regulated. "A lot of these fucking pundits," Budden says, "they stay stupid shit, and you never hear them say when they were wrong about it. I won’t pretend to know everything. I give my opinion. I’m opening dialogue. That’s all."

In 2008, Budden fell in with fellow lyrical specialists Royce da 5’9", Joell Ortiz, and Crooked I, who together formed the combative, lyrical powerhouse rap group Slaughterhouse (imagine if the Suicide Squad was all battle rappers). Royce has struggled with alcohol addiction, and Budden with pill addiction; both men have extensively discussed their personal turmoil in interviews, and they’ve chronicled it in their music. Slaughterhouse was a halfway house where four brawny lifers could bring the best out of one another.

Such camaraderie and teamwork notwithstanding, Joe Budden is a bit of a curmudgeon. He fights. He beefs. He quarrels. He’s always gone out of his way to comment, often savagely, on other rappers’ music and movements. Before cofounding Slaughterhouse in 2008, Budden and Royce butted heads a year earlier over Royce’s battle-rap cred. For years, Budden directed dis tracks and bitter quotes at Game, Brooklyn rapper Saigon, cloud rap godfather Lil B, and Wu-Tang Clan stars Method Man and Raekwon. Budden, a noted battle-rap advocate, tends to view rap as sport in the literal sense that requires conflict.

In August 2009, it’s alleged that Raekwon’s affiliates jumped Budden at a Rock the Bells tour stop in San Bernardino, California, after Budden took issue, via a YouTube video, with Method Man’s placement above him in a "Best Rapper Ever" ranking published by Vibe . Immediately following his altercation with Raekwon’s street team, Budden took to his live stream, holding an ice pack to his swollen face, to dismiss the incident as "a faggot move." Royce da 5’9" eventually intervened to de-escalate the tension between his two friends. Budden says, "It took Method Man telling me, ‘You’re extremely talented. We all love you. We all fuck with you. What are you doing? What are you doing? If you continue to do this, it takes away from how we view you.’"

Method Man’s feedback may have been true with regard to Budden’s esteem among rappers, but at the time it was also apparent — and remains so to this day — that many fans are compelled to watch Budden as a merchant of messy, intimate conflict. Naturally, he escorted himself to reality TV, where producers encourage this sort of unrelenting drama as a matter of course.

In 2012, the VH1 producer Mona Scott-Young recruited the model Tahiry Jose to the cast of Love & Hip-Hop: New Yor k in Season 3. Jose was dating Budden at the time, and so Budden entered Love & Hip-Hop as a supporting character. But Budden and Jose were a package deal in the public imagination, so dramatically entangled on the show and online that the thought of one necessarily invokes the other, even now that they’ve been apart for nearly four years. From roughly 2008 through 2013, the two dated on and off. They cheated on each other. They argued privately and publicly. They made a great mess of one another in the press. After two contentious seasons, Jose and Budden both left Love & Hip Hop in 2014.

Six months after Jose and Budden’s final appearance aired, another woman alleged that Budden followed her to a restaurant in Washington Heights and violently dragged her from the premises in a romantic dispute. Budden ultimately pled guilty to disorderly conduct related to the altercation last year, and the more serious charges against him were dropped. Still, the extremes of Budden’s anger management issues mean he’s no longer totally reckless in his music and persona. "I don’t joke around about hitting women," Budden says. "I’m not allowed to joke that way anymore because a woman has made claims, that’s very serious, and I’m very sensitive to it. I’ve never hit a woman but you can’t joke like that anymore." He and hip-hop dancer Kaylin Garcia split after spending a fraught year together in Couples Therapy on VH1. It would be his last regular role on reality TV, though his exploits with current partner Cyn Santana are regularly broadcast via his Instagram feed.

It was during his reality TV stretch that Budden released the (dare I say) softest, most R&B-forward hooks of his career on three complementary projects, No Love Lost , Some Love Lost , and All Love Lost — the last of those projects dropping in October 2015. The same year, Budden launched his own podcast, I’ll Name This Podcast Later (which later rebranded as The Joe Budden Podcast ), thus returning to rap commentary for the first time since his departure from Hot 97 in 2004. When Budden used the podcast to taunt his longtime frenemy Drake last spring, Drake responded with choice words on a French Montana single, "No Shopping": "Pump, pump, pump it up / She got a good head on her, but I pump it up / I’m not a one-hit wonder, they know all my stuff / You let me turn into the nigga that you almost was . "

I should note here that Drake is perhaps the last person on Earth to taunt Budden with a "Pump It Up" joke: for nearly a decade now on Black Twitter, the simple mention of "Pump It Up" has been a shorthand punch line summarizing his long and dramatic digression from mainstream success as a musician. But Budden doesn’t regret much. Since as far back as 2003, he says, he’s thought, "Music is not forever. When this is done, I’ll try my hand at something else."

In September 2016 — seven months before the series premiere of Everyday Struggle — Budden and Alexis went skydiving together in New Jersey. It was Budden’s idea. Complex produced the segment, hosted by Alexis, to promote Budden’s latest album, Rage & the Machine. "He spent the first hour shitting on Complex ," Alexis says. "He feels like people just sit around here and troll rappers." It was during this trip that Alexis convinced Budden that bloggers and critics — a rapper’s standard enemies — aren’t the worst people in the world. They love rap music, and they play invaluable roles within a genre where fans are uniquely obsessed with artist deathmatch comparisons and "greatest of all time"–sized hyperbole. Rap criticism "should evoke some type of emotion," Budden concedes. And Joe Budden is nothing if not emotional. So Callahan-Bever ultimately sold Budden on the show, and they both settled on Akademiks as cohost shortly after Callahan-Bever called the Ohio-based video blogger in to meet him and Budden for the first time. "When I met [Akademiks]," Budden says, "I felt like we had a hit."

Now, Complex sends a car to New Jersey for Budden each morning, and he arrives at the company’s Rockefeller Center headquarters for a 7 a.m. call time. In the green room, Budden, Akademiks, and Alexis huddle around production notes, three breakfast sandwiches, and an open bottle of Hennessy (no one admits to sipping from it, though Budden sits closest to it), gaming out the day’s topics before they hit the studio and record for about an hour. They wrap by 10 a.m., and the producers rush the day’s episode onto YouTube before noon. Thus, Budden concludes his work day before most rappers are even awake. "I never really identified with being a rapper, if we’re being totally honest," Budden says. "Rappers drink. Rappers smoke. Rappers fuck a whole lot of women. Rappers go to clubs every night. Rappers stand on couches. Rappers carry weapons. Rappers wanna fight everybody. Rappers are tough. I’m not any of those things."

Six weeks into cohosting Everyday Struggle , Budden says he’s "retired" from rap. Clearly, he’s joking — he tells me rap is his "passion" — but honestly who, apart from his dwindling mixtape fandom, would blame him for switching professions? Music industry revenue has crashed. Streaming services pay artists pennies in royalties. Budden thinks about the beloved Brooklyn rapper Sean Price, who died in August 2015, aged 43, in such dire financial straits that fans — including Jay Z and Eminem — had to crowdfund support for his family. "You’re talking about one of the best rappers to ever touch a microphone," Budden says. "That’s no way to live. That’s just not a comfortable way to live going into 37, planning your 40s. No, no, no, I won’t do it."

Budden thinks modern rappers, young and old, need to find new lines of work, possibly juggling several profitable pursuits at once. Budden’s older peer N.O.R.E. — a fellow rapper turned celebrity Black Twitter pioneer — found success in life after rap with his own popular interview podcast, Drink Champs , which is produced by CBS Radio.

In his viral showdown with Lil Yachty, Budden repeatedly stressed that he identifies with Lil Yachty as a rapper first and foremost. He didn’t grill Yachty’s musical style, and he only briefly criticized his personal branding in petty asides. All Budden wanted to know is whether Yachty’s finances are in order, and whether he’s thought his bankability through to age 25. The teenager answered yes, his money’s straight; and no, he hasn’t thought that far ahead, he’s just taking things day by day.

Yachty and Budden do agree on one indisputable fact of life: There is no money in rap music itself these days. "It took me a little while to figure out that the money was elsewhere," Budden tells me. "Unless you’re in the top 10 percent of rappers, you’re not getting what the numbers dictate you should get." In his Everyday Struggle interview, Yachty conceded that he prioritizes personal brand over musical craft, and that his brand management, not his musicianship, is what distinguishes him from his closest peer, Philly rapper Lil Uzi Vert. Yachty can’t rap worth a damn, but he can grab, and hold, popular attention. Before he had any hit singles to speak of, he had his name in headlines for a scandalous statement about a dead rapper: the Notorious B.I.G. is "overrated," Yachty told Billboard . That’s a take. That’s a troll. Maybe he could be Budden’s successor once the latter retires for real.

"If Complex wasn’t paying me," Budden insists, "I would never talk about Lil Yachty." Budden spent the past decade and change talking reckless pro bono, and so I doubt that — but his beef is top-grade. He’s earned his premium.

“Closing Time”—Semisonic

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Deciphering The Viral Interview Between Joe Budden And Lil Yachty

May 04, 2017

While the internet is still buzzing about Joe Budden's recent antics in the interview with Lil Yachty, quite a bit of the conversation has gotten lost. 

The one thing that is clear about verbal sparring is that Budden has a chip on his shoulder. For most classical hip-hop enthusiasts, who can border the line of elitist, the new generation of "pop"-rappers seem to rub them the wrong way. This could not have been more obvious than it was on Everyday Struggle . Nonetheless, it's important to take an objective look at the perspectives and points made and address them.

One of the most problematic issues with Joe Budden's approach to the interview was that his emotional tripe buried every teachable moment under his raging disdain for Yachty's era. It was obvious that Budden craved the opportunity to belittle an artist that he feels is hijacking a culture and selling it for cheap. The plot twist was Joe didn't anticipate running into a well-spoken and versed young man who despite appearances has a fair understanding of how he views himself and his position in the industry. Budden did his best to agitate Yachty's perspective in a hopes to get a divisive and competitive fire out of Yachty that seemed to just not exist. At this point, instead of Joe recognizing that his concept of a bloodthirsty and gritty game being standard actually turning out to be perspective, Joe accused Yachty of being well-trained in media. Now, media training for artists is not a new concept and speaking is not a strong suit for the average individual. In all fairness, there is no doubt that Yachty has been groomed in how to express himself and learned from his mistakes but while Joe implied that to be a condescending thing the rest of the world might see that as education. Growth. All in all, there's still some points of concern that Joe did raise that should be career shifting moments for Yachty.

• It is imperative that Yachty knows who is in control of his business, how much they are taking, why they are taking that much, and how many people are touching his money. Where Joe is accurate is labels have a history of taking a young uninformed artist and cashing out on them allowing them to feel and appear rich while robbing them slowly. Then within a few years, after the trend is over, they dispose of these artist leaving them broke and in debt. What was unfortunately exposed was that Yachty has a deep trust in his lawyers and managers to represent his best interest without keeping a checks and balance system to ensure he is protected even from them. The fact that no one around him explained what a 360 deal was before he signed shows a potential level of advantage being taken already.
• What does Yachty want out of hip-hop? This is a very necessary question but let's view it in the vein of Yachty's age. As a 19-year old, in any walk of life, it's a rarity to know fully who you are and where you're going. LilYachty's peers in college often switch majors and even choose undecided while taking prerequisite courses until they find their direction. On a general scale, we understand this to be normal. The issue becomes in an industry driven by popularity and influence before the fame wave settles back into the sands you must decide how you want to impact. If the wave leaves you before you have pivoted you drown in the abyss of artists who "used to be." Partially, Joe Budden falls into this category and his anger is a blurred mix of jealousy and wisdom. 

On the flip side of things, the biggest issue with the generational gap is that the older crowd tends to be more dismissive than they are attentive. Personally, most people of the pre-internet generation are not fans of Lil Yachty's music, and they are not his market. He serves a youth culture that is misunderstood and slightly unguided. The error in the narrative is many people do not know how to distinguish the duality of things. It is possible to hear Yachty out and respect the way he speaks, carries himself, and thinks without endorsing his music. At times, it felt as if Joe Budden wanted to not be forgotten while artists like Yachty are swiftly excelling beyond Joe's musical success.

As well, there is a sector of hip-hop connoisseurs who feel as you allow a free-for-all entry into the genre the standard and potency of its origins becomes diluted. The need to find a balance between quality and quantity is an ongoing battle. There are countless pioneers who created music for the fun of the sport, example Biz Markie. There is often a double standard when weighing artists. Nonetheless, let's applaud Lil Yachty for facing the criticisms and downright attack of people like Joe Budden with a sense of grounding. 

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Lil yachty’s dad defends his son against joe budden.

By Ashley Pickens

Ashley Pickens

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Lil Yachty harbors unwavering support from the new generation of hip-hop, and what seems to be, consistent criticism from the older generation. Yesterday (April 25), Joe Budden joined the hosts of Lil Boat critics and claimed Yachty’s “ruining the culture.”

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In a conversation with Complex and DJ Akademiks, the veteran rapper criticized Yachty’s validity in the culture claiming, “I don’t think Yachty is hip-hop. I don’t think Yachty’s label is hip-hop, and when you’re not hip-hop and you’re trying to just troll or exploit, you get things like this album cover, which is to draw attention to music that’s not drawing attention.”

The two shared a few words on Twitter in which Lil Boat tweeted Lil B’s diss track towards Budden, “T-Shirts And Buddens” as his mood, while Budden responded with a “F*** your mood,” but gave props to this diss track anyway.

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My Mood 🎶🎶🎶 https://t.co/d7nIVHrpNh — lil boat kot* (@lilyachty) April 25, 2017

The highlight of the back-and-forth has nothing to do with either rapper, but Lil Yachty’s dad, Shannon McCollum. The photographer-turned-rap-star-dad wasn’t feeling Joe’s attacks on his son and attacked Budden’s relevancy in comparison to his son. In an Instagram post, which has since been deleted, McCollum states: “N**** you have no relevance in Hip Hop!! And on my life I bet when his album drops his numbers will be better than any project you have released.”

But according to Joe, Yachty seems to be using a homosexual image as a strategy for album sales. “When you come out as a gay person – and I don’t want to sound ignorant here – that community is so welcoming, so supportive, they embrace you, they reject many stereotypes, they don’t seem to prejudge you… welcoming the gay community is a smart business move.”

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Stating that he knows he’s aware that Yachty has not identified himself as gay, he believes he does look “a little fruity.”

In an Instagram post that Yachty’s dad posted last Thursday (April 20), he celebrated the man his son has become behind the cameras and fame, stating that he’s “grateful [their] relationship is solid!!!” So, it’s no surprise that his dad comes to bat for him when another artist is trying to “stop his bag,” as Remy Ma would say.

@JoeBudden pic.twitter.com/9pqOFNlP1t — lil boat kot* (@lilyachty) April 25, 2017

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How Lil Yachty Got His Second Act

By Jeff Ihaza

Until the pandemic, Lil Yachty never stopped to think about how quickly he became famous. “It was a full year from walking across the stage in high school to then I’m in this penthouse in midtown Atlanta , I got this G-wagon, put my mother in a house,” Yachty explains. “It’s a fast life. You not ever getting the chance to think about a lot of shit.”

Yachty’s 2016 hit “Minnesota,” which had the treacly energy of a nursery rhyme, earned the then-17-year-old the title “King of the Teens.” But since then, he’s become an elder statesman of a certain brand of young superstar — and something like the Gen Z answer to Diddy. He collaborated with brands like Nautica and Target; he appeared in the movie How High 2 ; he signed an endorsement deal with Sprite. Signees to his new label imprint, Concrete Boys, even get an iced-out chain.

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Born Miles Parks McCollum, Yachty embodies many of the ways the music industry has changed in the past decade. He rose to fame on the internet and commands attention with or without new music. Over Zoom in March, he’s calm and reserved, pausing intently before he responds to questions. The youthful exuberance is still there, though. At one point, his mom, who lives nearby, calls to ask what he wants from the grocery store. “I need Pop-Tarts,” he says sweetly. “I really want them cinnamon-bun Pop-Tarts.”

He can afford lots of Pop-Tarts. Yachty reportedly made $13 million on endorsements in 2016 and 2017. (“Work hard, play hard,” he responds when asked about the number.) He spends more than $50,000 a month on various expenses, according to one recent headline. (“If anything I pay a little more. I have many assets and insurance, plus an elaborate payroll.”) He’s working on a Reese’s Puffs cereal collaboration, a film based on the card game Uno, and he was one of the first rappers to hop on the crypto craze, selling something called a “YachtyCoin” last December in an auction on the platform Nifty Gateway. According to a report from Coinbase, the token sold for $16,050. Yachty explains that when he was first discovered by Quality Control records founder Kevin “Coach K” Lee, “one of the biggest things he talked about was being a brand. Being bigger than just an artist — being a mogul.” 

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In fact, collaboration has come to be a useful tool for Yachty as he sheds the King of the Teens title for something more akin to a rap mogul. “I only work with people I have friendships with, who I really admire,” Yachty says. “And I love working with newer artists, up-and-coming artists.”  Within the world of hip-hop, Yachty has found for himself somewhere between a megastar and internet hero, and it would appear that he’s just settling in. “I just fuck with new talent. Not even like, ‘let me sign you, get under my wing,’ ” he explains. “Just ‘hey, I’ve been in this spot before. I know what that’s like, bada bing, bada boom.’ ”

Yachty started Concrete Boys last year. One of the first signees was his childhood friend Draft Day, who offers one of the more exciting features on Lil Boat 3, on the cut “Demon Time.” “I feel old sometimes,” Yachty admits. “I feel old as fuck when someone’s popping and I don’t know who they are. Which is rare, because I be on my shit.”

Yachty is also at the forefront of a new realm of social platforms, namely Twitch and Discord, that engender more direct communication within communities. Yachty frequently talks directly to fans on both platforms, and in April he collaborated with Discord on “sound packs,” which allowed users to replace the app’s normal notifications with sounds he created. 

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I ask Yachty where he sees himself in five years. “Hopefully, a really successful actor,” he responds. “And with a bangin’ eight pack. I’ll probably cut my hair up, maybe a little beard. Real sex-symbol shit, you know what I’m saying?” For Yachty, who opened the door to a new brand of celebrity rapper, it doesn’t register as wishful thinking. His enduring celebrity is proof of what’s possible with a solid flow and internet savvy. “I just want to do everything. Because I’ve realized I can,” Yachty explains. “I’ve learned the power I have. The only thing stopping me is me, for real.”

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Everyday Struggle: Joe Budden goes in on Lil Yachty

Joe Budden doesn’t hold back during a recent episode of the Everyday Struggle podcast. One of the most intriguing aspects of the interview was when it appeared that Yachty wasn’t aware of what a 360 deal is. Also, he seemed to take exception with Budden’s strong words against the major label he’s affiliated with. For those who don’t get Yachty’s wave, DJ Akademiks provides a great amount of insight into his popularity. Regardless of whether or not you’re feeling Yachty, between the revelation about his deal exceeding a million dollars and the discussion about his Sprite and Target ads, the interview is worth your time.

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Conservative Pundit Candace Owens Gives Joe Budden Her Harsh Opinion on the State of Black Culture

Joe Budden  has debuted his highly anticipated interview with Candace Owens  and the conservative pundit expresses some harsh opinions on the state of Black culture.

Joe Budden Interviews Candace Owens

On Friday (March 15), Joe Budden finally delivered after teasing the interview with the controversial right-wing talking head for the past couple of weeks. During the interview, which can be seen in full here , the two discuss opinions on Black America, fat acceptance, porn addiction, how she's perceived and more. At one point during the interview, Owens got on the topic of her disdain for the current state of Black culture and cited Ice Spice 's latest single "Think U the S**t (Fart)."

"I just don’t need to hear about Ice Spice’s farts," Candace sternly declares in the video below. "I just don’t. I don’t want to hear about it. We used to produce really good music and it’s gone down the drain. I think even that is international. I think it’s because it’s a part of the, ‘Let’s slowly make it modify the education systems so that Black people can’t read and, at the same time, feed them with a pipeline of garbage,’ and you will wake up one day, and what surrounds you will be garbage."

She continues: "Now, we’re at a place where we don’t even just produce it, we defend it. We’re like, 'That’s Black culture.' No, it’s not. When did you grow up? That’s not Black culture that I grew up with. So, don’t try to make me love filth."

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Candace owens previously calls out ice spice.

This is not the first time Candace Owens has been critical of Ice Spice. Following the released of "Fart" back in January, Ownes blasted the track on her show.

"If you're wondering whether or not it's a good song, what do you think? It's called 'Think U The S**t (Fart)'," Owens said before playing a clip from the song. "Now I think we can all admit that we've fallen as a society. I mean, I wouldn't say that was Mozart or Beethoven, but I'm not all of these mainstream media publications that routinely run to defend this kind of music similar to what they did with 'WAP' the most disgusting and filthiest lyrics I've ever read. They will then sit down and write an article trying to convince you that what you just heard was magical and they did this with this Ice Spice song."

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See Candace Owens opining on Black culture below.

Watch a Clip of Candace Owens' Interview With Joe Budden

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7 Rappers Who Got Veneers

Rappers are now swapping their grills and diamond teeth for some fresh pearly whites.

Veneers have become increasingly popular in the hip hop community within the past few years. The installation of these custom teeth covers help to conceal chips and stains. It is now a very standard cosmetic procedure, especially for entertainers. Rappers are now swapping their grills and diamond teeth for some fresh pearly whites. Recently, Cardi B lost one of her veneers after biting into a bagel, proudly showing off the gap in her teeth on social media. In a video post, she smiled for the camera, laughing off her missing tooth. Cardi B is hardly the first rapper to get veneers or lose a tooth but she is one of the latest hip hop artists to have work done on their smile. Today, we are looking at seven rappers with veneers who have been open about getting them. Take a look at the list below. 

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Back in 2020, Joe Budden got a set of veneers. When revealing his new smile, the rapper-turned-podcaster was met with comedic reactions from fans and his co-hosts. In an episode of The Joe Budden Podcast , he read off hilarious dental themed nicknames created for him by fans, including the episode’s title, “Chief Teeth.” In that same podcast, Budden attributed the sensitivity of his fresh set of veneers to bleaching, making him less talkative than normal. During the prior podcast episode, titled “Podparazzi,” Joe Budden dramatically laughed to flash his veneers as well as some botox. Since then, he has continued to show off his new and improved smile on The Joe Budden Podcast. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Smiles by Mario Montoya (@drmariomontoya)

Joe Budden was not the only rapper to get veneers in 2020. Rick Ross debuted a new set of teeth after traveling to Colombia for dental work. According to a TMZ report, Ross visited Colombia to see Dr. Mario Montoya, who installed his veneers during a six hour-long procedure. TMZ also claimed that Ross’s new smile was free of charge, despite usually costing around $10,000. On what prompted his decisions to get veneers, the rapper said, “Billion-dollar smiles. I’ma keep it real, I’ve been smoking over 25 years so that was that smokers beige.” In true Rick Ross fashion, he added, “I told him I wanted my shit yayo white, ya dig.”

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View this post on Instagram A post shared by 5 Star Smiles (@5starsmiles)

Last year, Lil Pump got some new teeth for himself. The Florida rapper’s porcelain veneers reportedly cost him $25,000, and will last him 30 years. He had the procedure done in his hometown of Miami, Florida, courtesy of 5 Star Smiles. Along with his veneers, Lil Pump also reportedly ordered a new set of grills as well. The rapper’s cosmetic transformation coincided with his weight loss journey , as he has been tracking his gym progress with photos that see him leaner than ever. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gucci Mane (@laflare1017)

Back in 2016, Gucci Mane emerged from prison a new man, donning a new physique. Since then, he has continued to transform his appearance with a newfound passion for fitness. Along with his workout regimen , Gucci has also changed his smile with glaring white teeth. His bright smile followed his release from prison and has since become a part of his signature look. In 2020, Gucci Mane upgraded his veneers , still pearly white but with a singular diamond on each tooth beside his front two. “A quarter milly in GuWop grille,” he boasted in an Instagram reveal of his dental work. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by 2Cool2Blog (@2cool2bl0g)

Cam’ron had work done on his signature gapped teeth in 2022. The Dipset rapper flexed his brand new veneers in an Instagram video while smoking a blunt to Billy Joel. Fans instantly noticed Cam’s new set of teeth, reacting to them on social media. One fan jokingly wrote, “Now who Daddy's teeth Cam’ron done stole… they done Gucci Maned my boy." People also compared Cam’ron’s dental work to fellow Dipset member Juelz Santana ’s missing teeth. Fans can see Cam’ron and his veneers on his sports talk show with Mase, It Is What It Is . 

Early in his career, Lil Yachty boasted his diamond-encrusted teeth, including his $35,000 rainbow grills. He later ditched his dental jewelry in favor of some new veneers. In 2021, Yachty hopped on Instagram Live to show off his bright white teeth. “It's the white teeth show, man. N***a's lookin' and feelin' excellent," he said. Impressed by his own look, he exclaimed, "Imma smile for the rest of the week. For the rest of the month!" Lil Yachty also revealed that he spent $80,000 on his custom veneers.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ogbonna Bowden | Dentist (@dasmileboss)

G Herbo is one of the latest rappers to get a brand new set of veneers . In December of last year, he paid a visit to Chicago-based dentist Da Smile Boss for his procedure. The dentist gave his Instagram followers advice in a post about his session with G Herbo. He wrote, “you didn’t damage your teeth in a day. Therefore you can’t fix your entire dental problem in a day!” Da Smile Boss continued, “Technology has changed, but the foundation is still depending on YOUR dental upkeep and you prioritizing your dental health.” While giving G Herbo a new and improved smile, he emphasized the importance of maintaining one’s dental health. 

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