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This album was released on October 16th in 2015. This is one of the few albums that I really regret not reviewing last year. I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling that it would’ve been nominated for a BCTV Hip Hop Award. It’s the final entry in a three part series. The first album was No Love Lost, which I heard was pretty bad. I never actually listened to it myself tho. The second installment in the series was an EP called Some Love Lost. I don’t remember much about the project other than the fact that I REALLY liked it. I still play songs from that EP all the time. I might have to review that shit in the future. Anyway, I’m expecting this shit to be dope. The only project I’ve ever heard from Joe Budden is Some Love Lost, and I just told y’all that I really liked that, so hopefully I’ll feel the same about this shit. I don’t really have a lot of history with any of the Slaughterhouse members. I’ve heard Human & PRhyme, but other than that I’ve only heard loose tracks. I’ve barely ever heard any of the shit that they’ve done as a group. That’ll definitely change someday, but I don’t know how soon… Anyway, I’m pretty excited for this album, so I’m gonna go ahead and start this shit.

Track 1: All Love Lost Feat. Emanny (Prod. 8 Bars & Parks)

This track is starting now. This beat is dope af. I know I’ve heard this sample multiple times, but this is honestly the best beat I’ve ever heard with it. Usually when I hear this sample, the beat is very chill and honestly kinda boring. This track actually has energy tho. Joe’s goin’ in now. Okay, he’s addressing the negative reception of No Love Lost. That’s cool. I always like it when an artist acknowledges his mistakes. “Just when I thought I can’t dig any deeper / Said my last shit was trash, and they dig when it’s deeper / They ain’t see what I see / I guess my vision was weaker / Or they buy me to hear me, so we can skip all the features.” He’s referencing a lot of different shit, such as his drug addiction. “This is all the while layin’ on my bathroom floor / Hold up, I’m just askin’ him, give me strength to grow up / By now I’m sick and tired of layin’ in my own throw up.” This is awesome so far. Emanny’s on the hook. This beat is really smooth. This hook is great. I always liked Emanny. Of course he references his infamous relationship with Tahiry. “True colors never hide for long / When tables turn, ain’t gon’ matter what side you’re on / And for me that’s a reoccurring theme / Love’s dead; I’m just walkin’ y’all through a murder scene.” Joe Budden makes emotional music. Not in a bad way tho. He doesn’t make emotional music like Drake. But he definitely doesn’t make emotional music like Earl Sweatshirt either. I mean, I guess you could argue that he’s Drake if Drake was a real MC. He doesn’t sing tho. He’s the pure Hip Hop version of Drake. Basically, he’s Drake if Drake could rap, was less of a bitch, and didn’t sing. I definitely fuck with this shit tho. The production is very polished, and this is just a really well put together song. Joe did a great job with the verses, and Emanny was singin’ his ass off on the hook. I really could’ve done without the long ass guitar solo tho. To most of y’all it may not seem like that big of a deal, but I REALLY don’t like electric guitars, and this solo lasted about two and half minutes. It’s so annoying. It doesn’t sound good to me at all. It’s just annoying. So yeah. If it weren’t for the guitar solo I would love this. It lasts way too long tho. It really hurt the track for me. I still fuck with the song tho. It’s a dope song. 4/5

Track 2: Broke Feat. Whitney Phillips (Prod. Louis Bell)

This track is starting now. Whitney Phillips is on the hook. I’m not sure how I feel about it… The beat’s cool. Joe’s rappin’ about a relationship that didn’t work out. Uh… I really don’t know about this hook. I don’t know how to describe it. I feel really bad saying this… but it sounds like white people music. I’m so sorry. It really does tho. It sounds like the chorus to a song that would play during either the intro or the outro to one of them big, blockbuster movies for white people. I can’t think of any examples right now. It definitely couldn’t be a comedy. It would have to be some fuckin’ romantic drama shit or something. I don’t fuckin’ know. I don’t like it. I guess I should’ve just said that from the beginning. I don’t like the hook. Joe did his thing on the first verse, but I can’t get into this hook. The beat’s alright. Yeah, the verses are dope. Joe has a really poetic writing style. I just can’t get into the musical aspect of this shit. I’m not feelin’ the hook at all. It’s cool lyrically tho. Lemme check this music video out… Yeah… Yeah, that’s what I was talkin’ about when I said this would be in the romantic drama soundtrack… I can’t get into this shit, man. It’s just not for me. I don’t think it’s a bad song. Just not my cup of tea. It’s alright. 3/5

Track 3: Playing Our Part (Prod. 8 Bars & Parks)

This beat’s dope af. He’s goin’ in about relationships again. That’s to be expected. I hope the entire album isn’t like this tho. I mean, I know that that’s what he does, but it’s gonna get old if I have to listen to 10 more songs about this shit. He’s doin’ a good job with the subject matter tho. I am enjoying this so far. Yes. That line about Sandra Bland was great.”You the victim, made to think you did it to yourself / Speakin’ of, rest in peace Sandra Bland / I’m believin’ everything that wasn’t on that cam.” The hook is cool. This production is really dramatic. I guess that could be said about every song on this album so far. I enjoyed this song, but it didn’t really blow me away at all. The subject matter isn’t that interesting to me. Joe definitely did a good job with it tho. I’m just not personally into music about relationships and shit. This track is a little longwinded too. It’s cool tho. I enjoyed the song. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 4: Man Down (Prod. Dark Night, Chigz & Parks)

This beat is pretty dope. I’m not in love with the electric guitar in the background, but that’s a personal problem. I’m pretty sure most people like guitars… The first verse was dope. He’s just rappin’ about how some people wanna take him down. I’m not in love with the hook, but it gets the job done. It’s really simple. The way he opened up the second verse was pretty dope. “Okay, let’s start it from scratch; put it all on line / My character’s been defamed; I put it all online.” Damn. He’s really goin’ in on this second verse. His flow is great. “Been called every name in the book; been a liar, a deceiver, a cheater, a woman beater / Am I all, am I neither?” That line was great. It’s not super complexed lyrically, but the flow & delivery were fantastic. He actually sounded really sad as he was spittin’ that shit. This is great. Goddamn. He just killed that second verse. That verse was dope af. He went the fuck in on that shit. The third verse was dope af too. He mentioned a bunch of people that have passed away. “If I was by Eric Garner, I’d have yelled at the pigs / Gave him all my cash, he wouldn’t have to sell that cig.” He also mentioned Sean Price, Chinx, A$AP Yams, Chris Lighty & Robin Williams among others. I wasn’t completely sold on this song after the first verse, but he definitely won me over with that second verse, and the third verse was great too. The hook wasn’t amazing, but it did it’s job. I definitely fuck with this song. This song is dope af. 5/5

Track 5: Immortal Feat. Emanny (Prod. Boi-1da & Vinylz)

This beat’s cool. I honestly expected a little more from Boi-1da & Vinylz because they’re two of my favorites, but I’m still enjoying this beat. It’s just not as great as I thought it would be. Oh shit. Never mind. I guess I spoke too soon. I should’ve known that I wouldn’t be able to judge a beat from 20 seconds. It’s still not incredible, but it’s definitely a really good beat. Wait, hold up… What… Some people are saying that Joe was singin’ on this hook… Is that true? Is that him singin’? Damn. I’m shocked. I didn’t expect Joe Budden to be able to sing like that. I mean, it’s not amazing singing, but it’s a lot better than I would expect it to be. It’s hard to distinguish from Emanny’s vocals. Maybe Joe isn’t singing and it’s just Emanny here. I really can’t tell. I fuck with this hook. It’s dope. Yeah, I don’t think that’s him on the hook. It’s definitely Emanny. I love how the piano comes in for the third verse. Joe Budden’s spittin’. I fuck with this shit man. This is dope af to me. I’m finna check this music video out now… Eh. It was cool. It wasn’t anything special tho. Pretty average. The song is dope af tho. I fuck with this. 5/5

Track 6: Love, I’m Good (Prod. AraabMUZIK & Karon Graham)

This beat sounds a little overdramatic so far… I usually love AraabMUZIK’s production. The beat hasn’t really dropped yet tho, so I should probably wait for that… Okay… Yeah, I was definitely speaking too soon on this shit. This beat is dope af. I’m definitely not a fan of that long intro tho. It’s just some chick talkin’ about how she doesn’t know what love is. Joe’s rappin’ about how he lost his first love, which was Hip Hop. Basically he’s rappin’ like one of them Hip Hop elitists who doesn’t listen to anything passed the year 2000 because “Hip Hop is dead.” I’m just gonna assume that he means the majority of mainstream music. “Did my wordplay confuse her? / Now I see her with Young Thug and Future / Like what did you niggas do to her?” I guess I see where he’s coming from. He still kinda sounds like an ignorant douche tho. This idea of personifying Hip Hop as a chick has been done hundreds of times, but Joe still did a pretty good job with it. I guess. Shit like this has to be done REALLY well for me to like it. He’s rapping about a real relationship on this second verse now. I don’t know. It’s definitely not a bad song. I just can’t get into it personally. I don’t think I’d ever come back to this. It’s alright. 3/5

Track 7: Make It Through The Night Feat. Marsha Ambrosius & Jadakiss (Prod. Mr. Fingaz)

Wow. This beat is fuckin’ incredible. It’s really polished. It’s that kinda production that sounds like fuckin’… I don’t know. I can’t think of anything to compare it to. It’s just really polished. It sounds like it was made by a fairy. In a good way tho. Joe Budden’s verse at the beginning was dope. This definitely sounds like the most accessible song on the project so far. It’s not as personal as the other tracks, and the sung hook from Marsha Ambrosius is cool. Jadakiss is on the second verse. He did his thing. A lot of the other tracks had like 32 bar verses, but this track is the standard length & structure. Just three 16 bar verses with a recital of the hook after each one. The hook from Marsha Ambrosius is a little long winded. It’s not really bad tho. The last verse from Joe was really dope. I don’t know how often I’m gonna come back to this shit, but it was pretty dope. I enjoyed it. 4/5

Track 8: Slaughtermouse (Prod. AraabMUZIK)

I’ve heard this song already. He’s basically making his version of Big Brother by Kanye West, except it’s about Eminem. It’s starting now. “I’m writin’ to you now ’cause we don’t get to talk much / ‘Cept for in the stu’ when we be passin’ through the halls and such / I wonder if you catch me stare at you in awe much / And we be busy workin’ so I never share my thoughts much.” This gives me the impression that they’re really not that close. I mean, they’re close I guess, but I always kinda assumed for some reason that everyone at Shady Records was best friends. He’s goin’ in about how Em signed Slaughterhouse, but they’re still not commercially successful. This is great. “Do you think you’d be as famous now / If you had to put out My Name Is now? / The way the game is now / Awful lyrics, shit is shameless now / Just tell me how you’d maneuver if you came in now.” This is really dope. Everything Joe’s saying is actually pretty interesting. You can’t help but wonder what Em thought as he was listening to it. Hahaha. What if he still hasn’t heard it? That would be crazy. What if Em got interviewed today and somebody asked him about this song, and he was just like “Oh yeah, Slaughterhouse. Those guys are great. What? SlaughterMOUSE? No man, it’s SlaughterHOUSE!” That would be mad embarrassing for Joe. The only way he’d be able to bounce back from that would be if he killed himself. Nah, I’m just playing. “It’s about fashion now, which I hate because I dress like shit / I’m just the best when I spit.” This is great. Joe fucking murdered that shit. I mean, there wasn’t even a hook or nothing. It’s just four and a half minutes of bars. The only complaint I have is the way it ended. It just faded away while he was still spittin’. I wish he could’ve just kept goin’. It’s a minor complaint tho. He fuckin’ killed this shit. AraabMUZIK did a great job too. I love AraabMUZIK, man. He’s seriously one of my favorite producers. Anyway, this is easily one of the best songs on the whole album so far. It doesn’t even come off as dickriderish as Big Brother did. This is dope af. The music video kinda sucks tho. It ended before the song was over. It looked like a fan made video. It was just a bunch of clips spliced together. The actual song is fantastic tho. 5/5

Track 9: Where Do We Go Feat. Eric Bellinger (Prod. Dark Night, Chigz & Parks)

Eric Bellinger is singing his fucking ass off right now. There’s an electric guitar in this beat, but it actually sounds really good. It’s not the main element of the beat. Hopefully there isn’t a solo. Joe’s goin’ in about fucked up relationships again. He did his thing. This hook from Eric Bellinger is really dope. That motherfucker be singin’ like a motherfucker. This second verse is really good. He’s speakin’ directly to his ex. This is great. I love how he came back for that final verse too. It’s a pretty long song, but he does a good job of keeping things interesting. He does to me at least. I fuck with this song. This is dope to me. I’m not blown away because he’s still rapping about a lot of the same shit I’ve been hearing for the past 8 tracks, but it’s definitely a good song. I enjoyed this shit. It’s dope. I just watched the music video. It felt more like a commercial than an actual music video tho. It was just a bunch of graffiti artists painting the album cover on a wall. It was only 2 minutes long. The actual song is 7 minutes long. So yeah. There ya go. I wasn’t really feelin’ the music video. It was fine tho. The song’s dope. 4/5

Track 10: Unnecessary Pain Feat. Yummy Bingham & Felicia Temple (Prod. 8 Bars, Dark Night & Parks)

Felicia Temple is on the hook. She’s either harmonizing with Joe Budden or Yummy Bingham. I don’t know who Yummy Bingham is. If he… She? If Yummy comes in later, then I’ll finally be able to tell if Joe Budden can actually sing too. It kinda sounds like him on the hook. Oh. That IS him singing. Yummy Bingham is a girl. Wow. I’m impressed. I had no idea that Joe Budden could sing. It’s not like he’s singin’ his ass off on some Stevie Wonder shit, but it’s still good. That might be Yummy Bingham on the hook. I just assumed that it was Felicia at first because I didn’t know Yummy Bingham was a female singer. Oh God… This beat is dope af. He’s rapping about relationships again. I actually like this tho. He’s goin’ in. “I see you got a little crew now / A bunch of ugly broke bitches I know better than / And I ain’t tryna say them hoes usin’ you / Well actually who would I be kiddin’? Yes I am.” Okay, now he’s rapping about Hip Hop on the second verse. This is the kinda shit I like. This is great. “And to these fans that I once gave my life for / I gotta tell you that it’s not much left in me / Yeah, and not that it’s growin’ old / But years of bearin’ my soul is takin’ it’s toll.” Whoever that was on the bridge did a great job. I’m not in love with the hook, but it’s good. It’s just not amazing. I still fuck with this song tho. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 11: Love For You Feat. Emanny (Prod. Boi-1da)

This beat is dope af. Damn. Joe killed that first verse. It was long as shit. That’s not a bad thing tho. He ended it by talkin’ about his father when he passed away. Holy fuckin’ shit. Emanny sounds fuckin’ incredible on this hook. The second verse is starting now. “Now the singers wanna rap, the rappers wanna sing / Personally I liked it better back when rappin’ was a thing / ‘Cause now if you wanna get the high notes / When that hook come, you gotta hit the high notes.” Joe killed this song. The verses are great, and that hook from Emanny is fantastic. He was singin’ his motherfuckin’ ass off. I fuck with this shit. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 12: Only Human Feat. Emanny (Prod. Karon Graham)

This is the first bonus track from the deluxe edition of this album. This song originally appeared as track 2 on Some Love Lost. The beat is really dope. It’s led by a piano and it’s really smooth. Smooth doesn’t really feel like the right word tho. Well, I guess it kinda is. Lemme put it like this: the beat is really smooth, but it’s not chill. Joe’s first verse was dope af. This song was made before his mother passed away, and he’s rapping about how his mother was worried about his self-harming habits. Emanny is singin’ his ass off on the hook again. Goddamn. Why do I only ever hear this motherfucker on Joe Budden’s songs? More people need to work with this guy. He’s great. Goddamn. The second verse on this song is fucking incredible. He was rapping about how he was about to kill himself, and he was writin’ the suicide note, but he couldn’t think of anything to say to his mama. “I ain’t tell her just the other day that that gun was in my lap / Pen and pad in my hand, and I was writing a note / Didn’t get far, as soon as I wrote down ‘mom‘ I just stopped / Couldn’t lie to her / Couldn’t figure out how to say bye to her / Couldn’t explain the ‘why‘ to her / Couldn’t picture her getting a call or somebody saying her son had died to her.” God. DAMN.

This is some heavy stuff. Joe Budden fucking murdered this shit. This song is incredible to me. Emanny sang his fuckin’ ass off too. I definitely fuck with this shit. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 13: Fuck ‘Em All (Prod. DJ Dahi)

This is the final bonus track from the deluxe edition of this album. It’s starting now. Huh… This sounds kinda familiar. I must’ve heard this before. I must not have liked it… The first verse was cool I guess. It’s not the typical introspective kinda shit that Joe usually does. He’s basically just saying “go fuck yourself” to all of his “haters.” This beat is pretty underwhelming, especially for DJ Dahi. He’s not really… I don’t know. This definitely isn’t terrible… It’s just all over the place lyrically. This isn’t really what I want from Joe Budden. I can see why this was only a bonus track. The hook isn’t terrible, but it’s kinda corny. It definitely gets annoying after a while too. I’m not really feelin’ this. It isn’t terrible, but nah. I’m not gonna be listening to this shit again. This is wack to me. 2/5

Final Thoughts:

This album is dope. I feel like if you’re a big Joe Budden fan, you’ll definitely like this. He doesn’t really do anything too risky. He stayed in his lane, which is probably a good thing. It was a good idea to just give his fans what they’ve been wanting since they were disappointed with his last album. There aren’t really any bad songs on the standard version of this album. There are songs that I didn’t personally like, but I can’t call any of it wack. If you listened to Some Love Lost, you should definitely just get the standard version of this album. The production is very consistent, and so is the content. He’s just rapping about his relationships and his experience with Hip Hop. It’s a dope album. Joe is a great writer. He’s not just gonna be goin’ off about how he’s the best MC in the world like Crooked I or Royce would do. This album is by Joe Budden, not 1/4 of Slaughterhouse. Don’t expect to hear shit like that. Joe Budden is his own artist, and you can definitely see that with this album. His music is very personal & introspective. There’s a lot of heavy content on this shit. I feel like I just watched one of them fucked up indie drama movies. I fuck with this album. Joe did a good job with this one. It’s dope.

Favorite Song: Slaughtermouse

Least Favorite Song: Fuck ‘Em All

Verdict:

83%

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