Ice is no stranger to sharing his hot takes on The Joe Budden Podcast, and this week was certainly no exception. At one point in the episode, he and the other hosts were discussing Nas' 1994 debut studio album, Illmatic. While the project is widely recognized as one of greatest hip-hop albums of all time, Ice disagrees, even calling it a "hard listen."
"I'm not a fan of that album too much," he explained, leaving his co-hosts stunned. "It Was Written was a much better album to me. [...] I'm used to being clowned for my takes, I'm just saying [...] it's a hard listen for me."
"I don't relate to anything," he then added, as captured by joebuddenclips/fanpage on X. "I've come to accept I am a more commercial fan. [...] Just the sound. It was very gritty, hard. It wasn't clean. [...] I'm not saying it's a bad album."
This is far from the only controversial take that's been shared on the podcast in recent weeks, however. Earlier this month, for example, Budden argued that Ludacris, Kendrick Lamar, and other hip-hop artists often mess up solid R&B songs.
Melyssa Ford Joe Budden
"Ludacris has f*cked up the vibe on more R&B songs that he's helped to make lit," he began. "You like Ludacris' verse on that R. Kelly song?"
"My thing about Ludacris is, he got verses on a lot of sensual, sexy type of songs, and this one for example. When he comes on, it's like, 'Okay, this wasn't the time for that.' I feel the same way about him on the T Pain record," he continued before admitting that he doesn't think all of the collaborations are bad. "He absolutely killed the Missy record, but then Jay-Z came. The Usher record he killed."
This latest debate comes amid questions about Melyssa Ford's departure from the podcast. It also comes even amid theories that the show is now censoring her name thanks to rumored tension between her and her former co-hosts.
