Last year, Joe Budden and Charlamagne Tha God united to wreak havoc on their This Year Was Dope/Trash recap. Now, the duo have once again reunited to bring forth a special year-end-recap episode of Joe's Pull Up, which picks up where Dope/Trash left off.
Most of the year's dominant narratives go explored, beginning with the recent "King Of RnB" discourse; Joe Budden pledges fealty to Chris Brown, while Charlamagne pays homage to Miguel. At around the ten-minute mark, Budden offers his top five albums of the year, which include Nipsey Hussle's Victory Lap, Pusha T's Daytona, Jay Rock's Redemption, Royce Da 5'9's Book Of Ryan, and Cardi B's Invasion Of Privacy. Charlamagne echoes the Nipsey, Pusha, Royce, and Jay Rock projects, though opts to choose The Carters' Everything Is Love as his fifth selection.
On the opposite side, the pair wax poetic about their biggest disappointments, with Charlamagne offering a few criticisms of Lil Wayne's Tha Carter V. "I expect more from Wayne at this point in his career," he explains. "I want to hear more from Dwayne Carter, not Lil Wayne the rapper. Once you're over thirty, you shouldn't be called lil anything." Joe counters that the album was doomed to be a disappointment, given the tumultuous rollout, Weezy's health battles, and of course, Birdman's intervention. "This was like Kobe's last game," says Joe. "When he comes back, he'll have to tell us something." Still, the pair agree that Weezy is indeed a GOAT contender, and make sure to pay respects accordingly.
There are plenty of interesting discussions throughout the two-hour special, and to parse through it all would be a time-consuming endeavor to be sure. Yet rest assured that there is much to be discovered, including musings on 6ix9ine, Mac Miller, the year's biggest disappointments, and much more.