Joe’s a shytbag but let’s not revise history. His first album sold almost 100k first week when people were actually leaving their homes to legitimately purchase albums instead of using “album equivalent unit” metrics for “sales”. And he got critical acclaim for his Mood Muzik series. He’s a punchline now and a generally bad person, but he definitely had musical success.
Commercially speaking, Joe Budden flopped as an artist.
I always liked him and listened to the MM series since MM1..... but after Pump It Up, they put weight behind him and he aint move units.
He did 95,000 first week and 400k total at a time when Chingy did 3 million. 400k total (not even going gold) was not a W back then for an artist with the Def Jam machine behind him.
Albums was selling back then. Tony Yayo sold more than that....
I say this as someone who always liked his music, but 'critical acclaim' is strong too. He found an internet audience. If his rap career worked, he wouldn't have transitioned to reality TV and podcasts.
