Yesterday, a report from The Source indicated that rapper-turned-media personality Joe Budden would be emerging, butterfly-esque, from his self-imposed cocoon. A contributor of the publication reported that Budden would be performing in the upcoming BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher, where he would be introduced by Eminem, of all people. On paper, such an idea was hardly far-fetched. Yet the website has since issued a retraction, claiming that Budden will not, in fact, be contributing to the cypher. Seeing as we reported on their story, we too bear some responsibility in spreading the narrative; for that, we apologize.
Apparently, Budden's management informed The Source that their contributor had it wrong, which leads us to wonder how such a mix-up might have happened in the first place. Perhaps the contributor simply mixed-up Joe Budden with another rapper, and Eminem for, say, G-Eazy or something. Perhaps Budden's involvement is indeed factual, and management is simply covering bases to ensure a surprise. Perhaps The Source's original report was fictitious from the jump. Either way, a dubious light has since been cast on the entire story, and I would personally like to apologize to anybody whose expectations may have been "pumped up," as it were.
Should you be jonesing for a Budden fix, be sure to catch the rapper on one of his various platforms, be it Revolt's State Of The Culture or Spotify's The Joe Budden Podcast. Carry on with your day, and should you feel inclined, tune in to the BET Hip-Hop Awards on October 16th.