Joe Budden - Halfway House

Arriving just in time to keep you procrastinating a bit longer on finding out just where the fuck your polling place is, Joe Budden unleashes his new, Amalgalm Digital endeavor "Halfway House".

Surprisingly cohesive production-wise and filled to the very brim with clever wordplay, Budden might have just hit his third consecutive home run in as many at bats with "Halfway House". Utilizing rhymes that cover a myriad of experiences from his past including his stints as a drug dealer and user, Budden puts us into a deep trance as we focus intently on his every word. He has a natural talent for drawing in his listener and this time around he has the right production that blends ever so perfectly to his verses, adding a heightened dynamic to an already fierce experience. Joe has now officially become the prototypical lyricist for the modern era.

"Halfway House" starts off poignantly and intensely; the Intro finds Joe speaking at length over a bluesy rock track, that points to things to come. What follows are three perfectly placed and break neck paced ode's to Budden's innate flow and adept writing capabilities. "Overkill" sports one of the best beats on the album and one of the most sub par guest features in Heartbreak; a young man that clearly and quickly found himself in over his head aside the assaulting and intimidating delivery of the Jersey City, NJ native. Kicking around and examining his own life as introspectively as a wounded, yet supremely articulate poet over the melancholy, rock infused ballad "Sidetracked", and then shifting gear into full on attack mode as he gangs up on a sinister Scram Jones production "Slaughter House" with some of the games finest young emcee's, Joey provides (as aforementioned in this very blog) one of the nastiest posse/collabo tracks this year. Anyone else think Joey and Joell need to record a whole album together? That's just a thought.....

Budden moves into more speculative territory as he completely shatters an overwhelming beat in "Under The Sun", while having a personal and honest conversation with himself and someone else who remains nameless....

Heartfelt reminiscing on his early days making music and just in general, makes "The Soul" a standout track and one of his shining moments as a recording artist in my opinion. I found more than a few relatable moments in that very special track. One of the albums less than spectacular moment's ensues after questionably it's best finishes though, lol...."Anything Goes" isn't bad really, but somewhat all over the place and lacks direction a bit, but then again, I guess that was the point...could've done without the re-visitation of that all too familiar sample as well, but I will admit the break in this track is magical; the drums cut out and Budden rhymes coldly over a single, weighty horn. Spellbinding. "Go To Hell" is an interesting piece of music and really finds Joey thinking out of the box and out loud. The beat is insanely creative and keeps true to the rock infused, hard hitting theme that is built throughout "Halfway House". "Just To Be Different" is a masterful look at some of the moments and traits that Budden seems to lament the most within the demands of an out of touch Hip-Hop industry over a somber, piano driven track. Once again Joey delivers top notch quality through his rhymes and simply mesmerizes with a quality project.

While I wish that he would've ended this project after "Just To Be Different", alas he didn't and threw in a terrible attempt at a club hit in "Touch & Go". Incontestably the worst song on the whole project, I'm just glad that it was the final track and that truthfully it was the only one of it's kind on this outing.

This is one of the best albums of 2008 and it comes to us just as the 4th quarter is but 2 months away from wrapping up. I'm proud of Joey man...he really came through and delivered after a few setbacks and push backs. For those that doubted his potential, your skepticism should be eradicated by the time you finish listening to "Halfway House". As a said earlier Budden has undoubtedly used this performance as a way to prove to all the naysayers that he is in fact the class of Hip-Hop's lyricist's right now. To me he did exactly that. Aside from one minor mis-step at the very end of the LP, everything was on the up and up. He displayed a masterful ear in his beat selection and then destroyed those very beats with his vocals. Sure a few critics will complain about the noted lack in choruses on "Halfway House", but real heads got everything they wanted. That's what's important. I think Joe recognizes what he's good at and what he ain't and he chose to go in and perform highly in what he excels in. No complaints over here. Great project, great production and great focus.

-BIG D O





01. Joe Budden - Intro
02. Joe Budden - On My Grind
03. Joe Budden - Overkill
04. Joe Budden - Check me out
05. Joe Budden - Sidetracked Ft. Heartbreak
06. Joe Budden - Slaughterhouse
07. Joe Budden - Under The Sun
08. Joe Budden - The Soul
09. Joe Budden - Anything Goes
10. Joe Budden - Go To Hell
11. Joe Budden - Just To Be Different
12. Joe Budden - Touch & Go

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