Joe Budden’s Reveals Why He Never Collaborated with Drake

Joe Budden and Drake share one of the most unusual relationships in hip hop. Drake, who grew up admiring Budden, drew inspiration from him for his emotionally charged style. While Budden has distanced himself from the music scene to focus on podcasting, he has become known as one of Drake’s most vocal critics. Over the years, the two have exchanged jabs through social media and their music. Interestingly, they nearly collaborated on two occasions. According to HotNewHipHop, Budden revealed this surprising detail during a recent episode of his podcast.

While discussing the J Cole podcast Inevitable, Budden mentioned that Drake was approached to provide a hit for Cole’s debut album. This led to a conversation about the significance of a Drake feature, prompting Budden to share that he almost worked with Drake twice. The first instance occurred in 2006, when Drake was still releasing mixtapes. However, the collaboration did not materialize, and soon after, Drake skyrocketed to fame. Budden recounted another instance where he and Drake discussed a potential song together.

According to Budden, Drake proposed a track featuring an R&B hook, which Budden declined. He explained to his co-hosts that he was not interested in that style of music.

“That’s not the type of record I wanted to make with him,” Budden explained. “I wanted him to tap into his rap bag. I wasn’t chasing hits at that point.” The former rapper claimed that Drake was actually the one who instigated plans for a collab, and promised to get a verse to Budden. “All that phony n**ga sh*t,” Budden claimed. “[It] never came.” Joe Budden joked that Drizzy did him the same he did J Cole.

One of his co-hosts raised the question of whether Drake might view Budden’s critical stance as stemming from the unfulfilled collaboration. Budden acknowledged that this could be a possibility, but he ultimately considered the missed opportunities as part of the past. Reflecting on it now, he admitted that it was unwise to turn down a Drake hook during a time when everything Drake touched became a hit. This adds another layer to the complex dynamic between Drake and Joe Budden.