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What’s up?

I’m great. I’m feeling like a million bucks.

Sometimes you’ll drop three or four tracks at once and then disappear for a month. Why is that?

It all goes with how I’m feeling at the time. That’s really what it is. It’s also all about timing. I feel like if niggas can consistently put out bullshit and succeed, I have to look at that. I’m going to hop on everything right now. Bow Wow, Pretty Ricky and Danity Kane, I’ll be on everything. Fuck it. My way wasn’t working, so now I’ll be on everything.

What was your inspiration for “The Last Real One Left”?

For “The Last Real Nigga Left,” I don’t know…I’ve just been running into a lot of fraudulent people in passing and in speaking to people, I just don’t think they really build niggas like they used to as far as loyalty and honesty and shit like that. I don’t think they do that anymore. That’s where that came from. There were niggas that were coming at me and saying that they had some type of problem with me. My state of mind in the industry and hearing what people were saying about me, that’s how I felt. That was just a mood. All the music, more or less, is going to come from a mood or feeling.

Are you happy with the response the song is getting?

I’m happy. I’m very, very happy. When I put the song out, I felt good about it. 95% of the time, when I feel good about something, the fans are going to feel good about it too.

You dedicate a part of a verse to the Brahlik Animals. What’s going on with you guys?

Nothing, as far as I’m concerned. (laughs) These niggas had put out something a long time ago but I never said anything because they’re not hot and they’ve never been hot. When I was writing “The Last Real Nigga Left,” I was just in the zone. I’m mad we’re even talking about it, but y’all got it up on the site. The only real reason it’s up there is because it says “Dissing Joe Budden.” The shit is corny. They’ve made about 25 diss records and I’ve made not even eight bars to them.

In the song, you also talk about being an “underground legend ahead by eons.” What does that mean to you?

The important part is that you want to be a success at something. For me to do what I do on the underground circuit and the mixtape scene and still get that love from the fans, hopefully one day I’ll be able to walk the fine line between underground and mainstream. I’m happy right now with the respect I get from hip-hop lyricists and purists.

Can you talk about your writing process for “My Life”?

That was produced by Needlz. My man E-Zo is singing on the hook. That’s a typical Joe Budden joint. That’s me talking about my situations and what it’s like coming up when you’re making money illegally. The last verse, I just went into something else in the hip-hop culture and all the stereotypes. That’s another joint I was excited to put out. I’m excited about looking at the feedback and I love to read it, whether it’s “Joe, you’re that dude,” “Joe, you’re never putting an album out” or “Who’s Joe?” Whatever it is, it does something for me.

You talk about getting kicked out of your house at 16. Do you have any regrets over your past or did everything you went through make you into who you are today?

I don’t live with regrets. I don’t live with any regrets. Anything that’s ever happened to me, my God wanted it to happen to me. I don’t live with any regrets.

You also mention Purple Rain and the scene where the Kid is told the music is changing. From when you first came out on the mixtapes to now, do you feel like the music’s changed to the point where you’re not appreciated?

I always felt like I was different from the bunch from when I first came out. I don’t want to call it “better.” I would call it “different.” I would say things differently. I always felt like that early on. I feel like that’s probably more so the case now. But what can you do? I make music for the people that appreciate and understand the music that I’m making. A lot of people dumb down for the masses. I tried that and it wasn’t successful. It may work for other people. But when you hear me spit a punchline, I’ll know that 75% of the people won’t get it, but the people who do get it are really going to appreciate it. That’s who I spit for, the people who are going to appreciate it for what it is.

The last time we did an interview, you talked about how we would have to wait for the album to get the full version of “Unforgiven.” The song leaked awhile ago. How did that happen?

I leaked it. When you get so many joints, you don’t need some. “Unforgiven” was a song that I couldn’t wait for the fans to hear. I thought that was one of my stronger joints and I was saving it for my album. The more I recorded, the less I started feeling that song for my record. I had other kids I was starting to hold close to me. “Unforgiven” started to sound dated to me. That’s what happened. I still love the record, but it’s just not something I wanted to hold on to for the album.

You have a line on there saying, “Real emotion is what we deal with.” That seems important for a lot of artists, but even more important to you.

Hip-hop is the only genre of music where if you show some type of emotion and you’re looked at as weak or wack. My entire life rapping has been because of emotions. I started rapping to deal with emotions and I continue to do so and it helps me do that. I’m not going to switch up my game plan or what helps me get through life on my terms because certain ignorant people think it’s a sign of weakness. I can’t even spell “weakness.” I’ve been through too much to be considered weak. That part of the music is never going to change. Even if I put a club song out tomorrow and the shit becomes the No. 1 record in the world, when a nigga goes to buy my album, it’s going to be deep, full of detail, full of content and graphic. I’m going to let you into where my mindstate is when I was recording the music. It’s been so long since I’ve been out. I’m trying to have one of the top five albums out since 2000. I’m setting the bar high for myself because I know my fans set the bar high for me.

You’ve never pigeonholed yourself into one type of hip-hop. How do you balance your hard tracks with your club tracks?

That’s not too hard. I hate to repeat myself, but it all goes back to a mood or what the beat is telling me to do. When the “My Life” beat came on, just the instrumental, it took me back to a place in my life. Music, to me, is like pictures. It can bring you back to where you were at a certain time. It brought me back and I was inspired by it. A lot of times when I’m talking about real life shit, it’s because something’s happening or I was inspired by a conversation with someone. When I feel I’m not getting the props I deserve for being a lyricist, that’s when it’s time to go in.

Some of the comments left by fans on HipHopGame say “I’m not feeling Joe Budden’s club tracks,” but they still rate the track 5/5. What does that mean to you?

(laughs) Some people may be able to be honest with themselves and say, “You know what? I don’t really like hearing this nigga do club joints, but if I had to listen to a club joint, I would listen to this.” It’s all about what people prefer. I never listen to club songs unless I’m in the club or I turn the radio on by mistake. I don’t listen to the radio. I stay away from BET and MTV and the videos because you get fucking brainwashed to not have an opinion anymore. That’s probably one of the positives to me not having been out in so long. Fans take their ear for granted. As a fan, you’re able to take it in for what it is and you’re going to either really like it or really not like it. When you get into the business and you listen to something, it’s work. You’re listening to how the kick sounds and how the snare sounds and you’re listening to what a rapper is saying. If it’s an R&B song, you’re listening for who wrote the song and who produced it. You’re listening to a lot of things and just me being gone for so long, just a little tiny bit I’m able to listen to music as a fan. I’m not sure if it will last, but I’m able to enjoy it. I love it to death. I’m not mad being in my house because I can listen to a song and not wonder who produced it and if it will sell or not. I kind of went off on a tangent.

It seems as though you have very loyal fans. How would you describe your fans?

I would say they’re very loyal. Joe Budden’s fans are just like everybody else. Some of them are a little weird. I’m weird. Everybody’s a little weird I guess. They’re pretty loyal and very intelligent. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be fans. I have a lot of fans who went through depression like I did. I have a lot of fans who appreciate the real shit I talk about in my music. Joe Budden fans have to be the most patient fans on the face of the universe. They really have to be. Most of them will stick with me through whatever I’m going through and go through droughts without hearing any new music at all. They’ve been waiting four years for an album from somebody who they think is great. They’ll wait a long time. I want to thank them for being patient. They’re the greatest fans in the world.

Will we see a Joe Budden album in 2007?

Honestly, I have no fucking clue at this point. I don’t know. I have some ideas, but I’m tired of giving false hope to people. I’m tired of setting a timetable or setting a date or a month and then somebody fumbles and drops the ball. The fans get their hopes up and it’s happened for too long. I don’t know. Hopefully by the end of 2007 there will be something. I have enough joints done.

Is the hold-up squarely on Def Jam’s shoulders or are there other factors holding it up?

I think for a long time, Def Jam just felt like my attitude was shitty and my work ethic was shitty. They felt that I was lazy or unappreciative or ungrateful. I think for a long time, they felt like that. Sometimes I get in my head and start thinking that maybe they just don’t think I’m hot. I don’t know. I can’t give any answers. There’s just a lot of problems. There’s too many problems in my recording budget. I don’t want to go out on a limb and say what it is because I don’t know what it is exactly.

Should having a bad attitude really be a factor when deciding if an artist should release an album?

When you only sell 500,000 records, it’s a factor. If I had sold 2 million records, it wouldn’t have been an issue because they would have to put the album out to make their money. If you go gold and you have a shitty attitude, you’re more of a liability. It’s not like the company has to deal with your shit. And you don’t want to have a shitty attitude with the people who are handling your project because nine times out of ten, your project will be mishandled. I’m going to keep it real. There was a time when I was on some “Fuck Def Jam” shit. I let my emotions get the best of me and that’s how I was acting. In retrospect, I was totally wrong, even if I did have some validity. It was wrong in retrospect. I try not to live in yesterday. I try to live in today. For today, I don’t know what the problem is. I’ve spoken to everybody I’ve needed to and apologized to who I needed to apologize because I don’t live like that. Even if it’s not Def Jam, I don’t try to be so arrogant where I say, “Fuck niggas” and not make amends and not do my part. I think I’ve done my part. All I have to do is stay in the studio and hope that God takes care of it. Or I can leave. (laughs)

Is leaving Def Jam a real possibility?

I would be a fool to have not thought about leaving. I’m not really going to comment on that because just for today, I’m signed to Def Jam, so I’m going to talk Def Jam. I’m not going to talk about another label. That’s against the music laws.

Is the album still titled The Growth?

I’m not sure if I’m going to keep that title. At this point, it might be titled The Bipolar Collection. That’s how I feel right now. I’m not really sure what it’s going to be called. It’s so premature right now. I don’t have a schedule and I don’t have a date. All I know about is Mood Muzik 3. I don’t know anything about when my sophomore retail album will be released.

How many different versions of your sophomore album have you had?

I’ve ran through about seven of them. I just keep leaking them to the streets. Every time a nigga hears something and says, “Damn, that was dope. It should have been on the album,” it probably was on the album. I’m just too creative and I get too many ideas daily to hold onto a song for too long. I would rather just make a new one. The Growth is going through some changes because the growth has came and went. The growth has been gone for quite some time. I’ve grown. I don’t know what the album title will be.

How’s Mood Muzik 3 coming?

That’s amazing. That is amazing. Truly, truly, truly amazing.

When will it be released?

In the summertime sometime. Somewhere in the summer. I think people forget that it took two years between Mood Muzik 1 and Mood Muzik 2. But because Mood Muzik 2 was so critically-acclaimed, people were just waiting for part 3. I could give a fuck about the waiting part because when it comes, people are going to appreciate it. I got some shit going on for Mood Muzik 3. I’ve had major label and independent offers for Mood Muzik 3. I’ve had all types of offers. It’ll probably be out in the summertime more than likely.

Would you put it out as an official release instead of on the street mixtape level?

I think that’s what’s going to happen. I don’t want to get too into detail with it, but I’m pretty sure that’s going to happen.

Where do you find yourself doing your best writing at?

Home. In my house and in my head. It doesn’t really matter where I am. It just goes with what’s going on with me at the time. If I’m upset, angry or emotional, that’s when the dumbouts come out. That’s when the piff comes out. A lot of Mood Muzik 2 came out because I was very angry at a lot of things. I really need to stop being so angry at a lot of things. I can’t because that’s what really drives me to put the pen to the pad so I can’t really do it.

Will you and Redman ever do something together?

Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Red is a legend to me. I look up to that dude. He’s held Jersey down for so many years. I’d be a fool to not want to do something with him.

What did you think when people thought you were Rasheed Wallace rapping at first?

I thought it was pretty funny. Rasheed Wallace did a drop on the Clue tape and then my “Let’s Get It” freestyle came on directly after that and people thought that was Rasheed Wallace rapping. I thought it was pretty hilarious.

A lot of regions have gotten their shine. Do you think Jersey ever will or do you think it will always be seen as the sixth borough?

One day it’s going to shine by itself. I don’t know when that day is going to come, but it’s definitely going to come. There’s too much talent out there. One day Jersey niggas will decide to stop hating, stop beefing and stop being so angry with each other and form an alliance. Or there will a star nobody can deny or someone will come along with a gimmick and sell 10 million albums.

Have you thought about dumbing down your new music to get a release date?

I never want to dumb down, but I have dumbed down in the past. I haven’t been successful at dumbing down. I’ve listened to other people who’ve said, “Lyrics don’t matter anymore. You need to do this and that.” It never worked for me. When I did “Gangsta Party,” I dumbed down and I was listening to other people. It didn’t work for me. “Jingling Baby” and “Roll Your Backyard” aren’t Joe Budden records. They didn’t work. I’m not doing that ever again in life. The Joe Budden catalog is going to look like it’s supposed to.

What’s going to be your focus for the next couple of months?

I’m on everything moving. I don’t think people really understand that I’m pretty talented at this rap shit. I think there’s a lot of people running around saying, “Joe Budden is not hot.” I’m tired of being called the internet champion and being called cold in the streets. I’m going to get on everything moving. I’m going to oversaturate myself, which I said I was never going to do. I’m going to get on everything and you can’t deny it. Since there’s not so much “hot” out there, I’m going to help.

What advice would you offer to up-and-coming artists?

Patience. At this point, that’s the only advice I could offer. Be patient and stay on your grind. Never let niggas tell you you can’t do it and that you’re not hot.

What do you want to say to everybody?

Thank you. Thank you for your patience. I appreciate it. It will pay off. It will definitely pay off.