Just as Joe Budden’s success has soared with his singles “Pump It Up,” “Focus” and his upcoming self-titled set on Def Jam Records, the rapper has hit a sudden obstacle, he charges.
“I’m having voice problems. I have a polyp on my right vocal cord,” Budden told AllHipHop.com. “I’m not even supposed to rap.” A polyp is a non-cancerous tumor that protrudes from the lining of an organ..
Budden said a doctor has recommended that he stop spitting his popular rhymes to allow his throat time to repair and, still, he may have to go under a surgeon’s knife to mend the damage.
“I might have to get surgery to get my voice back. I got some swelling going on back there. It just comes from a lot of acid. I drink a lot of acidy sh*t. You’ll never see me without a beverage,” he said. “Even now, my voice is a whole lot deeper than normal. You can hear something is going on.”
The New Jersey-bred, Harlem-born rapper said the relentless schedule of interviews, touring and other promotional outlets has put a tremendous strain on his gravely voice.
“I was doing shows and Def Jam got behind the [album] project. There was so much I was doing, I was doing the dot come sh*t, photo shoots, in-stores…I was doing so much and during the shows, I would come out rapping and in the middle of the show, my voice would disappear. It would just go away completely. It was very embarrassing,” he said.
“When that continued and continued and continued happening, it was time to see what the f**k was wrong. Matter of fact, when it was time to wrap this album up and I couldn’t record, it was time to go to a doctor.”
At press time, there was no update on the 22-year-old’s status, but he continues to push his Def Jam debut, which is scheduled to come out in June.
