Joe Budden released his fifth studio album recently, No Love Lost. No Love Lost found Joe openly speaking about his struggles and the lessons he's learned from them, all with brutal honesty. The rapper is a man of few words, however maybe it's because he doesn't need to say much-- his music says it all. We decided to talk to the Mood Muzik rapper about "Last Day" featuring Lloyd Banks and Juicy J for the second installment of In The Cut (be sure to check out the first edition, featuring CyHi The Prynce).
Although the three rappers are obviously crucial to the song's concept, there would be no track without the producer, A6. A6, a New York native, has done a lot of production for Lloyd Banks, and has developed somewhat of a signature sound. This instrumental is a perfect example of that, and it's the type of beat that Banks' lives for. As for Juicy J-- the topic of "Last Day" was made for the energetic rapper. Joe Budden definitely knows how to choose his features.
Click through the images in the gallery above to see what Joe and A6 had to say on "Last Day." If you have yet to hear the record, press play on the song below.
Leave your suggestions of songs you'd like to see on In The Cut in the comment section below.
On finding balance:
On finding balance:
You have to take risks to realize your dreams, some risks cause pain others elation. Balance, I'm not sure you achieve until you've accomplished your goals.
On living with no regrets:
I don't regret anything, I've learned so much from my mistakes its shaped me as a person. I can only speak for myself, [but] it's the only way I think I could move forward in life. We all make mistakes, you can't live being a prisoner of them.
On if "Last Day" is also a 'fuck the haters' song:
Not at all.
On the Lloyd Banks & Juicy J features:
I think they both are great, Lloyd's lyricism and Juicy's frankness-- I just thought it'd be crazy.
On if they recorded together:
No we recorded separately.
On his favorite verse or line:
Too many to name, I'm a fan of the whole record.
On creating the beat for "Last Day":
On creating the beat for "Last Day":
I threw a couple melodies together on FL. Loaded them up into the mp, and put some heavy drums on them. Usually [I] make 2 or 3 beats a day, so there really wasn't anything out of the ordinary with this one. Just got lucky that it landed on an album.
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On equipment and go-to machines:
Everything gets made on the mpc2500. But I do mess around with FL studio just for the vst's and stuff. [I'm] not a big fan of keyboards.
On if he's worked with Joe Budden before:
My bro Automatik had his email. Gave it me, and from there I sent 6 or 7 of my beats to him.
Not really. I didn't have anyone in mind to be honest. A lot of times I just make beats specifically to make people feel a certain way when they hear them.
On if they recorded in-studio together:
No, I just emailed him the beat. [He] asked me to track it out a month later. And that was it.
On his unique sound:
Well obviously the more versatile a producer is, the more successful they are going to be in the industry. I'd like for people to know its my music when they hear it, but at the same time, never get stuck in one genre/sound. Those who can evolve with time always end up being the most successful. I will always love hip hop, but I do listen to a lot of electronic music and hope to make some in the near future.
