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Throughout his career
Joe Budden has been considered many things - an outcast, a drunk, very much up himself, and more recently a sucker for love. While he may admit to being, or having been, one or some of these things, something has been missed. How about survivor? Judging from his recent verse on "Want You Back" with
Fabolous and
Cassie, as well as a few older joints, and his
Slaughterhouse entries of course, Joey has physically, mentally, and emotionally been through the wars.
Bringing to the table his first official solo project since the conception of hip-hop supergroup
Slaughterhouse, of which he is a part alongside
Crooked I,
Royce Da 5'9", and
Joell Ortiz, Budden might have finally silenced his critics.
Let’s not get it twisted, Slaughterhouse is the squad. Flipmode may have said it but Slaughterhouse are it.
A deadly foursome, consisting of Joell Ortiz, Crooked I, Joe Budden and of course Royce Da 5’9, are all names not to be scoffed at as far as lyrical prowess is concerned. Successful entities within their own right, now a collective they are signed to Eminem’s Shady Records imprint, and the time has come for the underground to go overground. 
If 2011 has taught the members of #TeamUK anything it's that the 100 metre race they initially thought they were running is actually as long distance event. The early successes which many had achieved have now become a memory as the pressures to maintain such standards becomes harder. Longevity in music has always been linked to acclaimed albums - and battle rapper-turned-UK phenomenon Professor Green takes on the arduous challenge of producing the ever cited 'difficult second album'. At Your Inconvenience follows on from a very successful year for the Walthamstow rapper, claiming plaudits both from commercial and specialist platforms. Balancing the two has never been more difficult, so it's a just matter of whether the professor chooses to favour one of the two markets or remain persistent in creating the anecdote for gratifying both masses.
If the happy ending to the much chronicled story of Royce da 5'9" was his reunion with Eminem, the emcee now moves into the sequel stage of this novel. From ghostwriting for Dr. Dre, to prison, to his alliance with Slaughterhouse, the faith in Detroit’s recognised son hasn’t been deserted by his long-time admirers and this year has shown why. Whilst the emphatic performances on his Bad Meets Evil EP with Slim Shady have catapulted 5'9" back into the radar of critics and fans who seek material away from the underground, Success Is Certain aims to maintain the emcee's current momentum.
It was in 1999 when the world first witnessed when ‘Bad’ met ‘Evil’. Detroit’s finest rappers and long-term friends Eminem and Royce Da 5’9" collaborated on the former’s Slim Shady LP, where both of their sick-to-def styles crossed paths making for a fine outing. But throughout the years, disagreements, personal tragedy and label drama contributed to the distancing of the pair. But after Royce and Em patched things up and became labelmates again (via Shady’s partnership with Royce’s Slaughterhouse collective) the Motor City’s meanest deliverers join forces once again, with the intention of causing an uproar within the realms of Hip Hop’s finest duos.