There are some readers out there who probably didn't know that Joe Budden was actually a rapper back in the day. Of course, that's owed to just how influential, prolific, well-respected, and present his work as a media commentator and content creator has been. However, the New York City native once took over airwaves with his hit 2003 single, "Pump It Up," which to this day is his most successful release. In fact, many fans expressed their shock at the fact that it was only just recently that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the track as gold. That means that it sold 500,000 copies, and fans suspect something's fishy.
"It took him 20 yrs to go gold?" one fan commented under coverage of Joe Budden's most recent commercial milestone. "I don’t believe it because I wore that s**t out! Y’all shady af for posting this either way…" another added. In addition, others came through with more analytical reasoning for why this hit song wasn't more commercially successful before. "Joe Budden dropped in the era of limewire; that song would have went platinum if they could have counted streams or people weren’t downloading illegally," a fan wrote.
Joe Budden Fans Left Confused By Late Success Of "Pump It Up"
However, this isn't the only problem that the 43-year-old (may) have with the industry. We don't know whether this even fazes him, but in 2023 in particular, Joe Budden has a bone to pick with the higher-ups at the labels. "Y’all don’t think it’s a little odd,” he begins, “that without Nas and Jesse Collins, without Mass Appeal and Jesse Collins, we don’t get a tribute [to hip-hop's 50th anniversary]? Y’all are the ones that was supposed to do that," he remarked on his podcast.
Meanwhile, maybe one day the former Complex host will pick up the mic again to comment on these issues or fix his grievances from the inside. Until then, though, he has a great foundation of media platforms to express himself in. With or without a gold record, it's undeniable how much he contributed to the culture over the past decade. On that note, stick around on HNHH for the latest news and updates on Joe Budden.