2. Joe Budden
Complex
Last year’s ranking: 1
Featured on: The Joe Budden Podcast
Followers: 1.42M YouTube;
1.7M IG
Known for: Insightful commentary and insider perspective around hip-hop and the industry
Most memorable moments in the past year: Breaking down Kendrick and Drake’s many disses; Beefing with Drake;
Interviewing Larry Jackson
Nearly 10 years after he started his podcast, Joe Budden’s role as an elder statesman of new rap media is indisputable.
The Joe Budden Podcast, which features Joe Budden alongside a collection of friends—which currently include Ice, Ish, Melyssa Ford, Emanny, and QueenzFlip—has become appointment listening (and viewing) for millennials seeking their weekly dosage of sophisticated ignorance, industry insider talk, diabolical cultural opinions, and passionate rants. Joe Budden has the gall, larger-than-life persona, industry connections, and humor to tackle a wide spectrum of topics in diverse ways, from vitriolic intensity to light-hearted bemusement. He has the rare ability to start conversation cycles, like when he declared that the
“girl rapper wave is over.” Or that
4Batz is AI. Or that
Drake's For All the Dogs was mid.
Speaking of Drake, let’s talk beef… again.
The Joe Budden Podcast thrived during the Kendrick Lamar and Drake saga. In particular, episode
723 “Fancy Feast” was a masterclass. Over the course of four hours, Budden set himself apart by expertly dissecting the barrage of disses that came in the span of a week: Drake’s “Family Matters” and “The Heart Part 6” and Kendrick’s “Meet The Grahams” and “Not Like Us.” He broke these songs down using a mix of meticulous detail and humor, mocking Kendrick skeptic Ish in the process. It was an episode fans were waiting for eagerly and he met the moment.
—Kia Turner
https://www.complex.com/music/a/complex/hip-hop-media-power-ranking-2024 @ViCiouS @keone
www.bgol.us
Complex’s annual Hip-Hop Media Power Ranking reflects which personalities dominated the past year.
www.complex.com