Joe Budden

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Believe the hype--Budden, who sat in Def Jam purgatory for three years, ain't your average Joe MC. Like 50 Cent before him, Budden makes the thorny transition from New York underground mix-tape legend to aboveground Billboard chart-ready emcee--especially on tracks such as the club-friendly, Just Blaze-produced "Pump It Up" and the 2002 club hit "Focus." Yet, the most compelling songs here are the ones that aren't as hyper or glitzy, but that border on autobiographical. On "Walk with Me," Budden cleverly outlines a day in his life, moving from tales of past drug addictions to his current status as Def Jam's star recruit. Joe Budden is one of those rare releases that might appeal to both purist heads and Top 20 droids. "Fire," which guests Busta Rhymes, and "#1," which artfully stitches together samples from three popular KRS-One tunes, should satisfy both sides of the "keep it real" argument. Minus some of the overindulgent lyrical mack-ons ("Ma Ma Ma"), this record is near flawless by new millennium rap standards. --Dalton Higgins