Dee-1 pictured a happy ending to his beef with Joe Budden, who called the New Orleans native a clout chaser. The rapper/activist discussed his desire to resolve his issues with Budden during an appearance on Big Loon’s It’s Up There Podcast.
“I’m not gonna get bullied by someone who feels like, ‘Well, I have a bigger platform than you, I am just going to talk down on you,’” he said. “I literally got a book that’s about not getting bullied and how to overcome it. I wrote this for kids! This is a children’s book, bro, that’s teaching them how to interact with one another even though they may have differences. Me and this dude on the cover who used to bully me, all these years later we best friends, bro … So, that’s why I’m looking forward to—dawg, I can’t wait to hug Joe Budden, bro. I can’t wait to dap him off and tell him, bro, my favorite song from you is ‘Follow My Lead’ and da da da.”
Last year, Budden criticized Dee-1 for calling out Meek Mill, Rick Ross and Jim Jones over the content of their music. Budden referred to Dee-1 as a “nasty, clout-chasing Christian” in a rant on the Joe Budden Podcast.
Big Loon questioned why Dee-1 wanted to hug Budden and others who spoke derisively. Dee-1 cited his faith as a major factor.
“If I’m asking for forgiveness from God constantly, then who am I to tell somebody that I can’t forgive them?” he noted. “So, when I see things in the culture that’s contrary to the kingdom culture, I’m just like which one I’m choosing: kingdom culture or rap culture? Man, I love rap culture, but I gotta roll with [kingdom culture] … I have seen myself as a symbol for how other people can handle stuff in a way where it’s like you not gonna bully me, I’m not finna back down. But I’m gonna show you all how we can come full circle to where I do wanna dap Joe Budden off and sit down [with him]. At one time, he thought this is all a ploy so dude could get on my show or whatever. Man, I ain’t gotta come on your show.”
Dee-1 released his latest album From the Hood to Harvard directly to consumers in December 2023. The album hit streaming platforms in February.