Joe Budden is an American rapper from Jersey City, New Jersey.

In 2003, Budden released his debut solo studio album, Joe Budden. It included Budden's 2003 Grammy-nominated hit “Pump It Up,” and was also featured in the soundtrack for the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious. Its second single was “Fire” featuring Busta Rhymes, which was in the movie Mean Girls. The song “Drop Drop” was featured on the soundtrack for the movie Cradle 2 the Grave.

After his debut album, Budden's sophomore release, titled The Growth, was hampered due to the label's problems between Budden and Def Jam which was not happy with the direction of his music. The production of the album appeared was never resolved and it was ultimately not released. Continued disagreements between Budden and Def Jam forced the two sides to part ways. However, Budden managed to release the first and second installments of his Mood Muzik mixtape series while on Def Jam, and the series has been met with critical acclaim.

In December 2007 Budden signed a multi-album deal with Amalgam Digital and released his independent debut Padded Room as well as the albums, Mood Muzik 3: The Album, Halfway House, and Escape Route.

Budden reached out to Crooked I, Royce da 5'9", Joell Ortiz and Nino Bless for a track titled “Slaughterhouse” on one of his Amalgam Digital releases, Halfway House. Based on the reception of the track, they decided to form a group, minus Nino Bless, and named it after the first song they made together. They released numerous songs throughout early 2009, leading up to their self-titled album, which was released through E1 in August 2009. The album featured production from Alchemist, DJ Khalil, Mr. Porter, Streetrunner, plus guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch, K. Young, and The New Royales. The group signed with Shady Records in January 2011.

Musician, Entertainers, Live performances, Hip Hop, Rap & Hip Hop, Celebrity Music,