Ok, so let’s recap. We already know Nas, Big, Jay-Z and Ghostface top the Exceptional Story-teller list. (Well…….mine atleast) But what about Joe Budden? Can we add him to the list too?
I asked myself these questions upon revisiting a track on his Mood Muzik 2 mixtape entitled, “Three Sides to a Story“. On this particular track, Joe spins a riveting tale from three different perspectives.
In the first verse he describes the life of a young man, named Derek, whose life is riddled with drama. Derek is in and out of jail and lives a hard life and no matter what he does he always finds himself in a f*cked up situation. Derek’s sister Sally is the focus of the second verse. She is molested by her mother’s boyfriend but her big brother Derek is in jail, so he cannot help her. It is difficult to hear Joe recount her tale and even though it brings a bad feeling, you can’t help but continue to listen. He uses simple language to paint a vivid picture of anguish, horror and sexual molestation.You can imagine what this girl must have gone and envision the pain she must have felt. Joe uses just the right words to get his point across and transport you right to the scenes he so expertly describes. This is evidence of an extremely effective story-teller.
The third perspective is the culmination of this sad story. It is told from the stepfather “Bo”‘s perspective. I wont ruin it by telling you what happens but let’s just say that the ending is not a happy one.
With this track Joe Budden proves he can hang with the big dogs. I was always aware of his talent for grittier, more street infused rhymes but he also has a knack for the quieter, true-to-life soliloquies as well. With that said, I definitely feel that Joe Budden belongs up there with Nas, Jay, Big and Ghostface as a “Master story-teller”. And yes I’m basing that off just this one song, and I hope he makes many more like it.
If you haven’t heard the song, you can listen to it here on good old YouTube!
Know anymore Joe Budden songs that are a better example of his excellent story telling ability? leave a comment!
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Other Budden storytelling tracks: Dear Diary, Role Reversal (don’t know if it counts because it sounds partially autobiographical but I doubt it’s 100% true). Another great track is All of Me, but I think that’s totally non-fiction.
Be sure to check out “Dance With the Devil” and “You Never Know” by Immortal Technique as well if you like good stories.
I love ‘Dear Diary’ too. This one stood out to be particularly though. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll check out those Immortal Technique tracks.
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