As you could probably tell by my charts on here, I'm a big fan of rap. And not just the mainstream crap that most people try to paint as the whole genre, I mean the REAL stuff that is not as widely glorified. I first came across
Joe Budden back when he was still a part of the mainstream (around the time "Pump it Up" dropped), unaware of what true talent he had until I bought his debut album. That is the ONE ALBUM I still thank myself everyday for actually buying off a single. I bought it for "Pump It Up," but after listening to it all the way through one time, I hardly ever listened to that song again when it hit my CD player.
There are few - and I mean very, very few - rappers that actually strike a nerve with me. I listen to a lot of them on the mainstream side for the beats, the catchy hooks, the guest spots, etc. & on the underground side for some "words of wisdom" so to speak. I try to relate my life experiences to what that person is saying in their rhymes. Even at the peak of this, it never seems that my thoughts sync with one rap artist like they would with a rock artist or a singer/songwriter, because even though rap is simply your spoken thoughts, 99% of rappers don't write down what they 100% feel. To me, there are only enough of this type to count on one hand, and Joe Budden is the best of the best example in this case.
He usually drops an album & there will be a song or two that really, truthfully get "under my skin." I remember listening to "Walk With Me" & "10 Mins." for the first time. I would stop, rewind & press replay on so many lines. Then repeat the songs over & over & over gain until I memorized every lyric. I even wrote a poem for a Creative Writing class in high school, loosely based off "10 Mins." about me incorporating the mindset of Joe's song into my personal experiences at that time.
When I say this guy has reached me beyond not just all rappers, but most artists of every genre, I'm not kidding. I know I'm probably the furthest throw in the world from the type of fan Joe Budden would be writing his songs for, but that's what makes it so great: his words reach out so wide that even when they get to me, so far away from the initial fan-base he would probably think of, they still cut as deep as when the pen touched the paper writing them down. And when it comes to the songs of his that have this effect, "Whatever It Takes" is epitome of it all.
It's funny, this song isn't even one that can be found easily. The original mix, with the soulful sample in the background, and the original Clinton Sparks' production, is only available on Sparks' mixtape-album "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed, Too." It's not even on any Joe Budden releases in this form, only as a remix on "Mood Muzik" with a different (much-less potent) beat. When I found this song, however, and heard it for the first time, I got chills. And not just the typical "that was really good" chills, the "this is ME, this is MY LIFE that he is talking about" type chills.
The song cuts roughly around 7 mins. Despite there being a "hook" at the beginning & end, there is no cut-away from the meat of the song: the lyrics. This track feels like a diary entry ripped out of his personal book, and he delivers it with such passion at times it's almost unbelievable that this song is rarely spoken of when you even talk about Joe Budden in rap circles. Here is the lyric sheet for the song, minus the hook, but if you wanna cut to the part that makes me feel the way I feel about this song, skip to the highlighted portion:
Alright I'm dealin' with some shit homie, it's in the back of my head
An' it's some shit homie, but I just rap it instead.
See I got wolverine bones in me
But the whole World's throwin' stones at me
Like they all gotta bone wit' me.
Got a child's mother, an' I hate her to death
But that's my child's mother, so that's my mate to the death.
It's wild how I love her, for puttin' lil' me here
And me and her could beef forever, she gon still be there.
Then there's some other niggas, I judged their character wrong
But they some other niggas, now let's get back to the song.
I got a drug problem, that I ain't tendin' to
Because I got enough problems
An' my solution is to stuff problems.
But if suttin' goes wrong with that
Then it's back to PCP, an' so long with rap
See I'm depressed lately, but nobody understands
That I'm depressed lately, I'm sorta feelin' repressed lately.
But y'all been hearin' an' seein' me less lately
Like, has anyone noticed the regress lately ?
Look deep nigga, don't I seem stressed lately?
Seemed disturbed, lotta' regrets lately?
Got a company - that I'm signed to
But they ain't in my company, when all I need is some company.
When I start feelin' like everybody's done wit' me
I'm try'na see what everybody want wit' me.
Then the mistress - yeah, the girl from Ten Minutes it's her;
Now I'm needin' ten minutes from her.
I can't get into it, but I want'chawl ta' know
That I'll get into it, but I'll save that for The Growth.
Then, their's rap beef, but I'm so secure wit' me
It's only rap beef, I don't need sec-ur-ity!
Wanna get at me, wanna go to war wit' me
Thats just one phonecall for me.
Check the shit - I got a whole hood, that don't appreciate this
But it's not the whole hood that depreciates me
What'chu you gun' tell me, when it's the streets that made me?
An' I won't let the belly of the beast degrade me
An' then, there's rap critics, they say all I make is "dance music"
But to almost anything you could dance, stupid!
They ain't like the single, so they ain't cop the album
Wouldn't give a chance to it, not a second glance to it.
They say, "he wines too much, he's too bitter"
They call it, "complainin'", I call it, "explainin'"
How normal niggas could get caught-up in the game an'..
Lose they mind, an' y'all call it, "entertainment".
Some shit wit' me, but dude's been knew 'dat
But I'm gamblin' a lot, an' I ain't use to do that.
Then this rap ain't payin' the bills, it's mo' money, mo' problems
Or it's no money, mo' problems.
All enormous when you play at these stakes
That's how it feels to have a warrant on a famous face.
Then,o the album's pushed-back;
'Cause they say, "he needs a single at the moment"
But what "he" NEED is a single moment!
Then I'm involved in the he say, "she say"
That's on my mind on replay, each day.
Then, it's the bullshit that she say, "he's gay"
'Cause she wouldn't like to think that he ain't like her.
Jus' 'cause she was throwin' it at me, an' I ain't touch 'er
She'll say anything aside from, I ain't wanna fuck 'er
Naw... I don't feel good, so I don't wanna go to a club
Don't wanna go to a lounge, I jus' wanna lounge!
In the same sweats that I had on for days
Same T I had on for a week, what I got on it speaks...
What I got on, it reeks
No shape-up, chillin', 'cause that's just how I'm feelin'.
An' one day at a time, it's God willin'
I'm try'na see straight, but the fog keeps buildin'.
Pulse starts racin', the Bulls's startin' to hate me
But I gotta be a King, 'cause their's Wolves try'na play me!
Hoodie when it's hot, like it's freezin' Winter
Rap star, eat and sleep for dinner
An' it's hard try'na keep this in ya;
So I write it all down, so one day maybe when life is all sweet I'll remember.
Then, it's probation - I know we all go through it
We call it, "probation", but there's no "pro" to it
Yea, my soul's achin', only a few peers know
Funny thing about the case is - it's a few years old.
Had some shit goin' on wit' my - OH!!, that felt good, but it's bad
So I'm sittin' here like, "what the bitch had?"
It's not rap - it's real, look scrappy it's true
Go on, what's poppin', do we look happy to you?!
Now, if it goes to the wire, got the soul of a fighter
Bruised-up and sloppy, or damaged like Ali.
Up-late talkin' to the fans on the website
That's the only thing that send yo' man off to bed right?!
Fuck the World, fuck my moms and my girl!
Well, maybe not mom, jus' lemme' remain calm.
This too won't last, this too shall pass
At least that's what I say y'all, that's what I pray for'
An' I'm the only thing that's standin' in my way y'all
But I gotta be with me, it's no escape y'all...
I guess depression just stepped in, an' took-over shit like it's known ta' do.
Guess it said, "Hey Joe, I'm goin' home wit'chu
Turn your phone off, I needa' be alone wit'chu
I needa' be in the zone wit'chu
'Cause I'm the only thing you prone to, nigga
Look, I own you, nigga!!
Been wit'chu since 10, but'chu startin' to confuse me
'Cause it's been so long, an' you still try'na lose me.
Like, how could you show me such cruelty?
When everybody turns their back on you, Joe it's you an' me.
Joe, you don't want me to see you right?
Then why you always come get me, how we re-unite?
Tell me! I know you feel for me deep in your heart;
Doctors, meetings, pills couldn't keep us apart.
But, now you got a deal an' you wanna get rid of me
But.. we're roommates, I'm in your head, Joe you live with me."
So I don't write for the fans, naw', I write to my man
In hopes that he'll just leave an' understand.
Like, like... please leave the kid in peace!
Let me smoke this one cig. in peace
Just leave for a second, man it's been too long, an' I can't troop it
As long as you around, I can't make that "dance music".
Now, if you replace the name Joe in that portion with mine, and replace the "dance music" part with what I want to accomplish in my life, that is all me. That is what I would say, and what I would feel. That is the single most real, honest, emotional thing I've ever heard in a rap song ever. Period. And on top of that it just totally syncs with my personal emotions.
The rest of the song is great too, but obviously I have very few of the experiences Joe talks about at this point in my life (kids, wife, jail time, music industry, etc.). Still, that one part combined the PASSION & the HONESTY in his voice makes this my favorite rap song of all-time. It's even time-tested! I first heard this song when it was released around 2004, and 5 years later, it still has the same effect it had on me the first time I heard it. I've probably listened to this track over 100 times or more since first hearing it & it never loses it's magic.
So, even though that was probably a much longer & much more drawn-out analysis of why
Joe Budden is my favorite rapper & why this song is my favorite rap song of all-time, it's true to me.
2. The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death (212) 
Dance With the Devill" Dude from school asked me if I had heard the song before (and I hadn't). Man that track has crazy good storytelling going on. Props to Immortal Technique.
Joe Budden